“Ukrainian refugees are spread throughout the Czech Republic. There are of course the largest number of them in large cities, the largest number of them per population in the city of Pilsen,” said Pavla Novotná, director of the asylum and migration policy department.
The exact number of Ukrainian refugees on Czech territory is 338,736. Of this number, 26 percent are children under the age of 18 and 4 percent are senior citizens. 61 percent of economically active persons are women and 39 percent are men.
There are 120,000 working Ukrainians, 87 percent of whom are employed, from which the state receives social security contributions. The rest are employment contracts from which insurance does not have to be deducted.
They return a billion more to the state than they receive
Earlier data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs for February this year showed that working Ukrainian refugees pay more to the state coffers in levies and taxes than the state spends on humanitarian benefits.
At the beginning of this year, the state sent them 0.9 billion crowns, while the Ukrainians “returned” 1.9 billion to the system.
About three quarters of Ukrainians who can work have jobs. Approximately 97,000 people receive the humanitarian benefit, but their number is constantly decreasing.
It is the granting of temporary protection, which is valid until the end of next March, that allows Ukrainians to enter the labor market, the education system or health insurance. According to Novotná, the numbers of employed Ukrainians are above average on a European scale.
Long-term residence for those who work and do not receive benefits
Novotná also presented an amendment to the Lex Ukraina law, which is headed for the interdepartmental comment procedure. Those Ukrainian refugees who do not receive benefits from the state and are economically independent will be able to obtain regular residence status under the Law on the Residence of Foreigners in the form of long-term residence.
“The temporary protection regime for Ukrainian refugees will continue to function. Some of them want to live with us for a long time and gain a clear perspective. Therefore, we offer economically active refugees from Ukraine the opportunity to obtain a long-term residence permit similar to that enjoyed by other foreigners from third countries,” said Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN).
According to him, employers will then be able to make better use of their potential, which should be positively reflected in the income of the state budget and the pension and health system.
Those who want to apply for this status will have to be of good character, economically independent and will have to spend at least two years in the temporary protection regime. After five years, long-term residents could be able to apply for permanent residence.
The amendment should apply from January next year. The Institute of Temporary Protection is time-limited at the European level until March 2025, it will be discussed at the EU level and its extension will probably be approved.
Two years since the invasion: Ukrainians in the Czech Republic still work in the lowest positions
Homemade
