To encourage return from abroad: government allocates aid to two categories of Ukrainians

The government adopted the relevant resolution on January 26, the Government portal reports.

Previously, assistance to low-income families could not be granted if there were able-bodied persons in the family who were not working or had not paid the unified social contribution for the previous three months before applying for this assistance. The government noted that refugees returning from abroad after a long stay could not receive this assistance.

According to the decree, in order for refugees to return to Ukraine and find employment, the allowance will be granted for 6 months:

• for families returning to Ukraine after a long (more than 90 consecutive days) stay abroad, even if such families have able-bodied unemployed persons who have not paid the unified social contribution.
• for families of internally displaced persons who, as a result of displacement, did not work or did not pay the unified social contribution.

It is noted that the payment of low-income assistance is combined with tools to encourage employment, so that people can eventually support themselves.

"Thus, if there are able-bodied persons in the family of IDPs or returning migrants who are not working, after receiving low-income assistance, they must promote their economic independence within two months after the assistance is granted - that is, either find a job or register with the State Employment Centre so that the Centre's specialists can help such persons find a job or, if necessary, undergo retraining and retraining," the government said.

Low-income assistance is provided to families whose total income does not exceed the subsistence level for a family, as it is currently (for able-bodied persons, this is 55% of the subsistence level (UAH 1,665.4), for children - 140% (under 6 years old - UAH 3,588.2, from 6-18 years old - UAH 4,474.40), for persons who have lost their ability to work - 100% (UAH 2,361). Thus, the assistance is calculated as the difference between the subsistence level for a family and its average monthly total income.

The situation with Ukrainian refugees

EU countries have approved the extension of temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine until March 2025.

According to Eurostat, as of the end of November 2023, 4.27 million Ukrainian citizens were granted temporary protection in the EU. Germany (1,235,960 people; 28.9% of the EU total), Poland (955,110; 22.3%) and the Czech Republic (369,330; 8.6%) received the largest number of Ukrainian refugees.

On January 25, Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen commented on the information that Kyiv had started talking to its partners about encouraging Ukrainians to return home. "If I were a Ukrainian official, of course, I would urge people to return. When the war is over. But until then, Europe, and Finland in particular, should help Ukrainians as much as they need," she said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that all those who left Ukraine illegally should return and pay taxes.