Ukrainians abroad: what you need to know in order not to lose refugee status

More than 10% of Ukrainians have already left the country because of the war and settled mainly in the EU countries. Most have been granted refugee or temporary EU protection status. And such statuses have their own characteristics.

Leading lawyer of the outsourcing company Nota Group Anna Zhakot told Mind what is important to know in order not to lose such a status.

Moving around the EU countries

When a Ukrainian receives temporary protection on the territory of a European state, he has this protection for a certain time. During this period, he can stay in this state without problems.

But if a Ukrainian wishes to leave this state and go to any other, in this case, the standard rules apply, which are established for Ukrainian tourists and provided for by the general visa-free regime in the presence of a biometric passport.

“Such a departure and stay in another Schengen country is possible, but with a total duration of not more than 90 days within 180 days in one country. There are certain exceptions to this rule. Some countries (including Poland and Georgia) have made exceptions for Ukrainians and extended such periods. At the same time, the number of EU countries that can be visited for a 90-day period is not limited,” the expert explained.

But it’s important to remember that the official right to employment for a Ukrainian can only be granted by the state that has provided official temporary protection (unless the person has a target work permit in another country).

How to change the country of temporary protection

Ukrainians can change states in which they want to have temporary protection. However, before that, a country that already has such a status should be warned about such plans.

Only then the effect of temporary protection in this country is terminated, and the person is limited by the rights provided for by the status.

And if a person with refugee status wants to receive shelter in another country, then in this case you will have to start the process of obtaining this status in another state from the very beginning.

How to return to Ukraine

This can be done at any time, but people with refugee status and people under temporary EU protection must follow different procedures.

If a refugee returns to the territory of his own state, this means returning under his protection. Which means refugee status will be lost automatically.

And here are the faces in temporary protection have the right to return to their country and maintain their status.

“If a person enjoying temporary protection needs to travel to another country that is not a member of the EU or the Schengen area, he does not lose the benefits due to him, subject to further return. However, some EU countries at the level of domestic legislation may establish periods for the stay of Ukrainians outside such traitor countries until they return without losing such status. As a rule, this period is 30 days (for example, in Poland, which received the largest number of Ukrainians). It should also be noted that in some countries there is no such restriction at all,” the lawyer noted .

There are some other countries with special features. Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are not EU countries, but are Schengen countries. Therefore, Ukrainians can arrive in these countries after crossing the Schengen zone, but the conditions of temporary protection in their territories will differ from the rights guaranteed by the EU countries.

Therefore, before leaving and any changes in your status abroad, you should check for up-to-date information on the policy of a particular state on this issue.

Where are higher salaries and more vacancies for Ukrainians abroad

Segodnya was told that in March-April more Ukrainians were looking for a place in the EU countries and Israel. Also in March in Poland there were one and a half thousand job advertisements, and in April there were only 700 of them. And in Hungary, on the contrary, the number of job advertisements increased.

In Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, average wages have risen. Now they are UAH 23,750, UAH 25,000 and UAH 40,305 according. Wages fell the most in the Netherlands.

Read in our material, what is the level of salaries in other countries, which specialists are now looking for more, and how to properly look for work abroad.

We also talked about where Ukrainians can find free shelter abroad, and wrote about new residential complexes in the Kyiv region that will be built for those who lost their homes during the war.