Czechia to pay Ukrainians coming back home

Czech President Petr Pavel has signed amendments to the Lex Ukraine law, regulating the status of Ukrainians who have left for Czechia since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Czech president’s website; European Pravda

Details: The amendment's key provision extends temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens in Czechia until March 2025, in accordance with the decision of the EU Council.

At the same time, the law also foresees providing financial support to refugees with temporary protection status as they seek to leave for Ukraine. The amount of this assistance is yet to be determined by the Czech government.

Refugees will have the opportunity to apply for such assistance only once and no later than three months before the expiry of their right to stay in Czechia under temporary protection, i.e. by the end of 2024.

Should these people later seek a long-term visa in Czechia, they would first face the obligation to repay half of the amount that the Czech government allocated so that they could travel back home.

Background:

• As of October, there were 359,000 Ukrainian refugees in Czechia, about 115,000 of whom were legally employed.
• Earlier this year, Czechia also tightened the conditions for assisting Ukrainian refugees to reduce budget expenditures.

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