Ukrainian refugees abroad most often face legal issues related to the EU legislation on employment, housing, temporary protection and issuance or loss of documents.
Experts from United for Ukraine, which provides legal support to Ukrainians who were forced to go abroad because of the war, as well as experts from the Ukrainian Bar Association told Interfax-Ukraine, “most legal requests by Ukrainians abroad relate to EU state legislation for people displaced from Ukraine (such as employment, education, housing, financial assistance) and temporary protection rules (such as registration for temporary protection, changing country/place of residence to limit
“Ukrainians also face various issues of issuance or loss of documents (e.g., residence permits, visas, birth certificates, disability certificates) in various individual contexts,” the experts noted.
According to lawyers, a separate category is legal requests for temporary protection for persons who are not necessarily covered by the European Union Council Directive stipulating that temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens who have left for the EU before February 24, 2022, may be granted at the discretion of the authorities of each EU country.
“EU countries have regulated this issue in different ways. For example, Germany and the Netherlands provide temporary protection to Ukrainian citizens who left Ukraine for the EU no earlier than 90 days before the Russian invasion,” the experts said.
At the same time, according to lawyers, many Ukrainians who went abroad, also apply with questions of Ukrainian law, for example, on the birth of a child abroad, marriage or divorce, receiving social benefits and pensions abroad. In addition, a hot topic is the taxation of income abroad, in particular in situations when a citizen of Ukraine continues to work remotely in Ukraine while abroad.
“Ukraine has a number of international treaties on avoidance of double taxation. Most of them provide for obtaining tax residency status after 183 days of residence in a foreign country. In many cases, this means that the income of a citizen of Ukraine living abroad should be taxed in the country of residence, regardless of where the income was received”, – stressed the lawyers.
The experts noted that the temporary protection status approved by the Council of the European Union in March 2022 for persons displaced from Ukraine because of the Russian invasion provides a residence permit in a particular EU country, and gives the displaced person a number of basic rights, among them the right to employment, education, medical and social assistance.
“At the same time, temporary protection differs from refugee status because it is acquired through a simplified procedure and does not include an obligation to remain in one country,” the United for Ukraine stressed.
At the same time, according to experts, the issue of extending temporary protection status was settled differently by EU countries. In particular, Italy, Portugal, Greece automatically extended the residence permit for Ukrainians by law, that is, without the need of any formal actions. In the Czech Republic, Estonia, Belgium and France, in order to renew the residence permit, it was necessary to undergo the procedure of additional registration within certain terms. At the same time, since the beginning of the war Germany has been issuing residence permits valid until March 2024.
“As at the beginning of the war, so now, a person has the right to freely choose a country of temporary protection. At the same time, unlike in the early months of the war, today the choice of residence within one country may be limited. Due to the large number of displaced persons, countries strive to evenly accommodate people in both large and small settlements,” the lawyers stressed.
The United for Ukraine noted that, in particular in Germany, a person can choose a place of residence only if they have family ties or work in a particular city. Otherwise, it is necessary to apply to the center of primary reception, where the distribution takes place in a particular locality in one of the federal states.
Lawyers stressed that the possibility of changing the country of temporary protection has become a relevant issue over time. Some states at the national level have banned the granting of temporary protection to persons who already had such a status in another EU country. Such countries include, above all, the Czech Republic and Poland.
A similar ban applies not only to having temporary protection in another EU country, but also to visas to other countries, such as Canada or the United States. Thus, Ukrainians in the Czech Republic, who obtained a visa to Canada under the special program for Ukrainians CUAET, had to cancel such a visa in order to keep Czech temporary protection.
Some other countries (e.g., Germany, Portugal) provide temporary protection regardless of previous acquisition of such status in another country.
“It is also important to remember that some countries (e.g. Croatia) may require an individual to provide proof of cancellation of temporary protection in the first country. Therefore, in order to avoid difficulties before moving, it is important to inform the competent authorities of the host state and obtain confirmation of the waiver of temporary protection,” the lawyers stressed.
Experts recalled that most EU countries have introduced various types of financial assistance, as well as free housing for persons displaced from Ukraine.
At the same time, the amount of social assistance differs depending on the level of income in each country. In particular, the amount of monthly social assistance for an adult can vary from EUR74 in Slovakia, to EUR365 in the Netherlands, EUR400 in Spain and EUR502 in Germany (amounts are subject to change).
Most countries also have a range of social benefits for families with children that Ukrainians can take advantage of. For example, in Poland, such types of assistance include social assistance for raising children, a one-time assistance at the birth of a child, and a one-time benefit at the beginning of the school year.
“Changes in the provision of social assistance that have occurred since the beginning of the war mainly concern the fact that states have begun to take into account a person’s income and financial situation when determining the amount of the benefit. In addition, some countries have reduced the amount of social assistance, thereby encouraging Ukrainians to professional integration”, – emphasize experts.
Czech Republic, in particular, since April 1, 2023, set the maximum period of granting gratuitous accommodation to 150 days from the date of receipt of temporary protection, and since July 1, 2023 reduces the amount of assistance after the first 150 days.
“In addition to the reduction of financial assistance, the daily expenses of Ukrainians in Europe are gradually increasing, because, for example, free public transport services for Ukrainians in most European cities have been canceled,” – the lawyers specified.
At the same time they underlined that countries hosting Ukrainians are interested in their organic integration into the local community and provide educational opportunities and assistance in finding a job. In particular, school attendance for children of certain age is compulsory in Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy, about the intention to introduce the duty of school attendance for Ukrainian children from September 1, 2023 has been recently announced in Poland.
“A prerequisite for the successful integration of Ukrainians into the labor market is learning the local language, so states encourage language learning in every possible way by offering free courses. Completion of foreign language courses may be a condition of social assistance. Countries where the national language issue is rather sensitive are planning to introduce stricter regulations for employment without knowledge of the local language. For example, employment for Ukrainians in Lithuania is permitted without knowledge of Lithuanian language until March of 2024, which is planned to cancel after that date”, – the lawyers said.
In the United for Ukraine and the Ukrainian Bar Association note that the bodies that are obliged to protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens abroad are consular offices of Ukraine, and the consul must take measures to ensure that Ukrainian citizens fully enjoy all the rights granted them by the legislation of the state of residence. In particular, citizens of Ukraine may seek help from the consulate in cases of threat to their life or health, the death of a citizen abroad, detention by law enforcement agencies of a foreign country or in situations where the citizen of Ukraine was a victim of a crime.
At the same time the consulates cannot provide legal representation of Ukrainian citizens during court proceedings.
The lawyers also noted that passport operations are especially urgent issue for Ukrainians abroad, in particular, due to the fact that at the beginning of the war Ukrainians could cross the border with neighboring countries with their internal passports.
At present the State Migration Service actively works on opening divisions of SE “Document” passport service abroad. Documents, including passports and ID-cards are already available at the SE “Document” offices in Poland, Turkey, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany and Spain.
“In situations when due to certain reasons a person cannot issue a new document, consular offices render services of extending validity of foreign passports and including information about underage children into foreign passports of their parents. Thus, it is possible to avoid situations when citizens of Ukraine are abroad without valid passport documents”, – explained the lawyers.
