From July 19, 2022, third-country nationals who lived in Ukraine on temporary residence permits cannot count on providing housing at the expense of municipalities. In addition, they will no longer be granted the right to education, health care and living allowance. The reason is that such foreigners are no longer subject to the EU Temporary Protection Directive. An official document on the subject in Dutch can be read here.
The reason for this decision
Before the start of the Russian invasion, a large number of foreigners lived in Ukraine who worked, studied and had other grounds for obtaining a residence permit (permit). With the outbreak of hostilities, some of these foreigners fled to the EU. The states of the European Union have developed a Directive on the status of temporary protection (RTB), which covered all legal residents of Ukraine, including foreigners who lived in it on a residence permit.
More than 5 million refugees left Ukraine. Most of them went to the EU countries. Since help had to be provided quickly and to everyone, the refugees were not divided into Ukrainians and citizens of other countries. But the concern for Ukrainian refugees is a heavy burden on the budgets of all countries of the European Union. In the Netherlands, the brunt of this burden fell on the municipalities (gemeente), which created enormous problems for them. It can be said that a huge part of the funds and efforts of municipalities is spent on helping refugees, and not on Dutch citizens in need of help.
Europeans are always ready to help endangered refugees when it comes to life, health and unjust persecution. However, the vast majority of foreigners who lived in Ukraine on temporary residence permits are not exposed to such threats in their countries of origin. The public, municipal and state authorities of the Netherlands rightly pointed this out to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Immigratie en Naturalisatiedienst (IND)).
The government has decided that third-country nationals who have a residence permit in Ukraine (not citizenship!), are no longer subject to the RTB, respectively, and cannot claim the benefits provided by the directive.
State Secretary van der Burg said the issue of providing protection to those who need it is essential, but it is not possible to overburden municipalities with foreigners who can be safe in their homeland.
The decision of the Government of the Netherlands is not retroactive. This means that all third-country nationals who lived in Ukraine on a temporary residence permit and registered in the Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen (BRP)) as persons in need of temporary protection before July 19 can stay in the Netherlands. In addition, such foreigners will continue to enjoy all RTB benefits. The Temporary Protection Directive is valid until 4 March 2023. It is possible that its validity will be extended, but whether in this case refugees from Ukraine who lived there on a residence permit will be able to receive protection is not yet known.
What will happen to foreigners not covered by RTB?
Such foreigners must leave the Netherlands. If you cannot afford to travel to your home country, you should contact the Return and Departure Service (Dienst Terugkeer en Vertrek (DT&V)), which will help you solve this problem. If you believe that you will face inhuman treatment upon return to your home country, you should apply to the IND for refugee status. The IND expects a surge in such applications.
Nalog.nl provides immigration services. Contact our specialists and we will try to help you.
Publication Date: 21.07.2022
