Driving abroad: what you need besides a passport

Vehicle documents and the Green Card, driving someone else's car, vignettes in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova, mandatory kit, winter tyres and fuel.

The passport side of the trip is the same for the driver and the passengers. The car adds its own list: documents, insurance, road charges, a kit in the boot. Some of it is checked at the border, some by the police of the neighbouring country, and it is the second part that most often slips out of view.

This page covers the car. Passports, children and entry conditions are in Documents for crossing the border; luggage allowances are in Customs allowances. Updated: 2 September 2026.

Three documents for the car

1. Driving licence. A Ukrainian national licence is recognised in EU countries for a temporary stay; an international permit is not needed for the trip.
2. Vehicle registration certificate. The border guard checks the number in it against the plate; customs may check the VIN.
3. Green Card, the international third-party liability policy. Without it you will not be admitted to the EU. Buy it before the border: not every crossing sells it, and where one does, it adds time. Validity can be checked in the MTSBU database; a policy with a mistyped plate number is invalid.

Check in the Green Card before leaving: coverage territory (for the EU you need full coverage, not "Ukraine and neighbours"), the dates, the plate number, and that the policy is issued for this car, not for the driver.

Someone else's car: power of attorney

If the car is not registered to you, you need a document proving your right to use it. In practice this is a notarised power of attorney from the owner that includes the right to take the car abroad. Border guards and customs may ask for it, and not only Ukrainian ones: Polish or Slovak police will also ask whose car it is.

A power of attorney without explicit permission to leave the country formally gives no right to take the car out. If you already have one, reread it before the trip.

Temporary admission of the car into the EU

A Ukrainian-registered car enters the EU under temporary admission without duty. The condition many do not know: the car must leave the EU customs territory, and the total stay is limited, for private vehicles to 6 months in any 12. Overstaying is a customs offence in whichever country the car is found.

Bringing your own car back into Ukraine is not a problem: it returns rather than being imported. Importing a foreign-registered car is a separate subject with different rules, which this page does not cover.

Road charges: vignettes and toll sections

The most common mistake of drivers heading south for the first time is not buying a vignette. Fines are issued from cameras and arrive by post months later.

Two traps. In Romania the rovinieta is needed immediately after the border, because the national road starts at the checkpoint. In Slovakia and Hungary the vignette is tied to the plate number: one wrong letter equals no vignette.

Further on, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia also use vignettes, while Croatia, Italy and France charge at toll plazas.

What must be in the boot

The mandatory kit is national too. The police check it and the border does not ask about it, so you may learn what is missing from the fine:

In practice, the Ukrainian kit plus a vest covers every neighbouring country except Romania with its second triangle. Keep the vest in the cabin, not the boot: in Slovakia and Hungary you must put it on before stepping out of the car on the road.

Winter tyres and lights

• Slovakia: winter tyres are mandatory when there is snow or ice on the road, in the season from 15 November to 31 March.
• Romania: winter tyres are mandatory in winter road conditions, with no fixed dates.
• Hungary, Poland: winter tyres are not mandatory; Hungary may require chains on some sections.
• Dipped headlights by day are mandatory all year in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania (outside towns in Hungary, everywhere in the others). In Ukraine, from 1 October to 30 April outside built-up areas.

Fuel

The EU import allowance: a full standard tank plus up to 10 litres in a portable canister. Individual countries add their own rules on carrying fuel, and the Polish limits have changed before, so check before you leave. Details are in the fuel section of Customs allowances.

The second question is where to fill up. The price gap between Ukraine and its neighbours runs both ways and differs by border. Current prices on both sides of every crossing are in our fuel section, which also shows whether to arrive with a full tank or refuel after the border.

What is checked at the border itself

Leaving Ukraine: the border guard checks passport, driving licence, registration certificate, power of attorney and whether the car is wanted; customs checks luggage, cash and fuel in canisters. Entering the EU: the border guard checks passport, EES registration (photo and fingerprints the first time), Green Card and vehicle documents; customs checks luggage and food.

These four checks are the minimum processing time we add to the queue calculation on every crossing page. How it is calculated is in How we calculate waiting time.

Driver's checklist

1. Driving licence, registration certificate, Green Card with the correct plate and full coverage.
2. Power of attorney with the right to leave the country, if the car is not yours.
3. A vignette for Slovakia, Hungary, Romania or Moldova, bought before the first kilometre.
4. Warning triangle, vest, first-aid kit, fire extinguisher; a second triangle for Romania.
5. Winter tyres for Slovakia and Romania in season.
6. No more than 10 litres in a canister.
7. The waiting time at your crossing, both outbound and inbound, because they are different figures.

This page summarises the neighbouring countries' rules as of the update date. Exact requirements are in each country's road code and on the official vignette portals; check the insurance side at mtsbu.ua.

Page updated 2026-09-02