In the Netherlands, the Council of State did not allow the government to prematurely stop the protection of refugees from Ukraine who are citizens of third countries with temporary residence permits in Ukraine. About this the Volkskant.
"The Dutch government was not allowed to prematurely stop the protection of refugees from Ukraine who are citizens of third countries with temporary residence permits. The temporary protection directive will expire on March 4, 2024. Such a decision was adopted by the State Council today," the message reads.
Citizens of third countries are persons who worked or studied in Ukraine as foreigners and had a temporary residence permit there, the publication explains. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, they, like the citizens of Ukraine, fled the war to European countries.
In the Netherlands and other EU countries, this group of refugees received the same temporary protection as Ukrainian refugees and citizens of third countries with a permanent residence permit in Ukraine. They did not have to go through the asylum procedure in the Netherlands. They were immediately allowed to live, work and study, receive medical care, and were also entitled to financial assistance.
Out of 106 refugees from Ukraine living in the Netherlands, 5700 are citizens of third countries. 2900 of them did not have the right to permanent residence in Ukraine, for example, because they worked or studied with a temporary residence permit.
At the same time, just a few months after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the Dutch government decided to no longer provide protection to citizens of third countries from Ukraine who had temporary residence permits in Ukraine.
According to the newspaper, State Secretary Erik van der Burgh wanted the Netherlands not only to no longer accept new refugees from Ukraine who are citizens of third countries with temporary residence permits in Ukraine, but also for such refugees from Ukraine who were already in the Netherlands , were deprived of assistance. As noted by the Dutch government, citizens of third countries with temporary residence permits in Ukraine could safely return to their country of origin.
Immigration lawyers filed lawsuits on behalf of third-country nationals. The court could not make an unequivocal decision. The case was transferred to the Department of Administrative Jurisdiction of the State Council. On January 17, she made her decision.
What exactly will happen after March 4, 2024 is still unclear. Until then, the situation for all groups of refugees from Ukraine will not change.
The Association of Municipalities of the Netherlands (ANG) and the Immigration Service (IND) are studying the State Council's decision, the publication writes.
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