Critical Status of an IT Company and Employee Reservation in 2026: Diia.City.

Under martial law, for many IT companies the issue of an enterprise’s critical status and employee reservation has become a key factor in ensuring stable business operations.

However, in practice, the procedure for obtaining the status of a critically important enterprise often causes difficulties: the rules change, requirements are interpreted differently, and mistakes in documents may lead to refusal, fines, or delays.

In this article, we will examine how the procedure for critical status and reservation works for IT companies in 2026, as well as which nuances should be taken into account before submitting documents. We will share our cases. 

What the status of a critically important enterprise means

The status of a critically important enterprise for the economy allows a company to reserve employees who are subject to military registration.

To obtain this status, a company must meet at least three criteria provided for by law.

For IT companies, the following criteria are most commonly applied in practice:

• no tax arrears
• compliance with the salary criterion
• Diia.City resident status.

Let us consider each of them in more detail.

1. No tax arrears

This is a basic condition for applying for critical status.

The company must confirm the absence of debt to the budget by means of:

• a certificate confirming the absence of tax arrears, or
• an extract from the State Tax Service regarding the status of the taxpayer’s settlements.

Even minor tax “tails” may become grounds for refusal to consider the application or may delay the procedure. It seems simple, but in our practice there have been cases where this caused a delay. We identified it in time during the assessment of the company’s readiness to submit documents. 

So, first of all, it is important to conduct a tax review of the company’s settlement status.

2. Salary criterion

Another important indicator is the average salary of employees.

It must not be lower than the minimum wage × 2.5. As of March 2026, this is approximately UAH 21,618 of average accrued salary per employee. This indicator is confirmed by a certificate issued by the enterprise.

Even if the calculation is made for an incomplete month, the average indicator must still meet the established threshold.

3. Diia.City residency

For technology businesses, an important criterion is Diia.City resident status.

This applies to:

• standard residents
• startup residents

However, startup residents are subject to additional requirements for confirming their activities.

Additional requirements for Diia.City startup residents

Startup residents must submit one of two document packages.

Option 1

• an initial compliance report (after three full months of activity)
• confirmation of income, investments, or grants in an amount of not less than EUR 20,000.

Option 2

• an annual compliance report
• an independent auditor’s report.

The annual report is submitted by June 1 of the year following the reporting year. That is why most startups choose the first option, which allows them to apply for critical status faster.

An important nuance: changes in the rules during review

In the practice of supporting IT companies, a situation often arises where requirements change while the application is under review.

State authorities assess documents not only under the rules in force at the time of submission, but also under those in force at the time the decision is made.

This means that sometimes the application has to be withdrawn and resubmitted. This happened with one of our client companies. Due to a change in legislation that effectively had retrospective effect, we had to withdraw and submit a new application. Nevertheless, this case also ended successfully with the status of a critically important enterprise being granted to our clients. 

Therefore, it is important to monitor legislative changes even after submitting the documents.

Data on employees liable for military service

Together with the application, the company must provide information on the number of employees liable for military service.

This may be:

• a certificate in free form signed by the manager
• or data from the register via the Diia portal.

Since technical errors sometimes occur in registers, companies must have accurate internal data. A kind of Plan B. This is also a story from our practice. 

How documents for critical status are submitted

The document package is signed with the manager’s qualified electronic signature and submitted by email to the authority that determines critical status.

For IT companies, this is usually the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

Reservation of IT company employees

After obtaining the status of a critically important enterprise, the company may begin the employee reservation procedure.

The basic rule is: no more than 50% of employees liable for military service may be reserved.

However, there are exceptions. For example:

• employees who are already reserved by other enterprises may not be counted toward the quota
• if the company has only one employee liable for military service, the 50% limit does not apply.

Reservation of the beneficial owner

Legislation also provides for the possibility of reserving the ultimate beneficial owners of critically important enterprises. If the beneficial owner is not an employee of the company, their reservation may be carried out outside the established quota.

Duration of critical status

The status of a critically important enterprise is granted for 12 months. Employee reservation is valid only during this period. The company must continuously meet the criteria on which the status was granted, as inspections are possible.

Does reservation grant the right to travel abroad

Reservation may be part of the document package for an official business trip abroad. However, in practice, this is not sufficient.

Usually, the following are required:

• properly executed company documents
• a clear purpose of the trip
• confirmation of the employee’s role in business processes.

And this is also from our practice. There were situations where two employees crossed the border: they were going to attend a conference. But only one was allowed to leave, although the documents were identical. We have an internal explanation on this matter and will обязательно share it during a personal call regarding the assessment of your company’s readiness. 

Legal support for critical status and reservation

The Digilaw legal team supports IT companies at all stages:

• company registration
• entry into Diia.City
• analysis of critical status criteria
• verification of salary indicators
• document preparation
• reservation support
• military registration administration.

If your company plans to obtain the status of a critically important enterprise or reserve its team, it is worth starting with a legal assessment of the company’s capabilities. Write to us to schedule a free 20-minute call: hello@digilaw.pro