Netherlands allows some Ukrainian refugees to stay only until spring: details

This is reported by dutchnews.nl.

The court overturned the decision of Justice Minister Erik van der Burg to deprive refugees without Ukrainian citizenship of their residence rights and benefits, which he issued in September last year. The government official must return to the previous instructions, which granted people living in Ukraine with residence permits the same rights as Ukrainian citizens.

The decision affects about 2,900 people who moved to Ukraine to work or study before the full-scale war. The largest group includes students from countries such as Nigeria, Morocco, Tanzania, and India.

After Russia's full-scale invasion, the Dutch government offered refugees from Ukraine a special status with immediate access to work, healthcare, and education. The refugees are also provided with housing in municipal shelters.

In July 2023, the Minister of Justice canceled this measure due to concerns that it made the Netherlands too attractive to third-country nationals.

In its decision, the State Council claimed that there were no legal grounds for the minister to postpone the expiration date of their rights to September 2023.

The EU has extended protection for Ukrainians and foreigners with permanent residence permits in Ukraine until March 4, 2025. But this does not apply to people with temporary residence permits in Ukraine, the court noted.

These refugees will have to return to Ukraine or their country of origin after March 4, 2024, or apply for asylum (international protection) through the regular system.

• 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%) accepted the largest number of Ukrainian refugees.