A special long-term residence scheme will be available to Ukrainians with temporary protection in the Czech Republic and an annual income of over CZK 440,000, under a regulation approved by the government yesterday.
According to the conditions, only those who are of good repute, have been living in the Czech Republic with temporary protection for at least two years, and have not received humanitarian benefits since last July will be eligible for the special long-term residence.
A consortium of NGOs working with refugees and the Office of the Ombudsman have reservations about the Interior Ministry’s proposal, arguing that only few refugees would meet these conditions.
The Interior Ministry has stated that the special long-term residence is not a residence permit addressing the stay after the end of temporary protection, but is a complementary option to continuing temporary protection. Those who do not meet the conditions or do not wish to switch to the immigration regime will continue to remain under temporary protection.
According to the ministry, the measure is intended to serve as an incentive to further integration for self-sufficient and well-adapted refugees. The special long-term stay is made possible by an amendment to the law dubbed “lex Ukraine”.
One condition for the special long-term residence is a clean criminal record. Participants must have been in the Czech Republic since at least the end of March 2023, and cannot have received humanitarian benefits since last July. They would also have to be employed or running a business in the Czech Republic, pay taxes and social and health insurance contributions, and not have any arrears on health insurance.
As a minimum, refugees eligible for the scheme would have to have a gross income of CZK 440,000 per year. For each additional person registered together, the sum would be increased by CZK 110,000, and children would have to attend school in the Czech Republic.
According to the report submitted to the government, the authors of the regulation took into account the standard conditions that foreign nationals must meet in order to obtain residence in the Czech Republic when drafting the conditions for the special long-term residence.
However, Andrea Krchova, director of a consortium of NGOs working with migrants, said in February that the conditions in the proposal were very strict. The Interior Ministry’s initial estimates were that about 20,000 people would apply for the scheme, she said.
The NGOs, together with the Ombudsman’s Office, consider it a better solution for refugees to be able to switch to all existing types of residence. However, according to the Interior Ministry, this would require a change in the law.
From the start of the conflict in Ukraine three years ago until the end of last year, the Czech Republic has issued temporary protection to a total of 659,970 people, and has long been the EU country hosting the most Ukrainian refugees per capita. Last December, the Czech Republic had about 36 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants, according to the report. Nearly 400,000 refugees from Ukraine still have temporary protection.
