The Czech Republic has introduced a new long-term residence permit for Ukrainian refugees

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Czech Republic has become one of the main refuges for Ukrainians. According to official data, as of December 2024, almost 400,000 Ukrainian refugees with the status of temporary protection were registered in the country. The Czech Republic holds the highest rate of accepted Ukrainians per capita among the countries of the European Union — about 36 people per thousand inhabitants. However, the state faced the question of what the future status of these people should be and how to ensure their integration.

On March 18, 2025, the Czech government decided to introduce a special long-term residence permit for citizens of Ukraine who are currently in the country with the status of temporary protection. It was reported Radio Prague. 

The new mechanism should become an additional option for those Ukrainians who were able to adapt to Czech society and achieved financial independence. According to the government’s plan, this will allow moving away from the model of permanent social support and provide those who have successfully integrated with the opportunity to obtain a more stable legal status. However, already at the stage of announcing the decision, the document drew criticism from human rights defenders and organizations that care for migrants. The main reason is the strict conditions for obtaining this permit, which not all Ukrainians are able to fulfill.

According to the new rules, in order to obtain a special long-term residence permit, Ukrainians must meet several criteria at once:

• live in the Czech Republic with the status of temporary protection for at least two years, i.e. from the end of March 2023;
• starting from July 2024, not to receive any humanitarian aid from the state;
• to have official employment or to conduct business activities;
• pay taxes and social contributions;
• have no criminal record and no health insurance debt;
• ensure an annual gross income of at least 440 thousand kroner (approximately 17.5 thousand euros). 110,000 kroner is added to this amount for each additional dependent in the family;
• if there are children, to ensure their education in Czech schools.

It was the size of the required income and the requirement not to receive assistance that became the main reasons for criticism of the new approach. According to representatives of the Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations Working with Migrants, as well as the Office of the State Human Rights Defender, the established conditions are too harsh and do not correspond to the realities of life for the majority of Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic.

Human rights defenders emphasize that such a high level of financial independence will be able to be provided only by a small part of Ukrainians – mainly those who quickly integrated into the labor market or started a successful business. Instead, a large part of people who continue to depend on assistance due to objective reasons – raising children, age, health or difficulties with employment – will actually be deprived of the opportunity to obtain a new status.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic confirms these predictions: according to their estimates, only about 20,000 people out of more than 659,000 Ukrainians who received temporary protection from the start of the full-scale war will be able to apply for a special long-term permit. However, critics emphasize that for the real integration of Ukrainians, more flexible and accessible mechanisms for the transition to a stable residence status are needed. They call for expanding the possibilities of obtaining permits and making appropriate changes to the legislation. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic states that legislative changes are needed to expand the number of permits, and for now these conditions will apply.

It is worth noting that the Czech government’s decision demonstrates a clear intention to divide Ukrainian refugees into two categories: those who are able to provide for themselves and integrate into Czech society, and those who cannot yet do so and will remain in the status of temporary protection. This model has already caused a serious discussion among experts and human rights defenders. After all, on the one hand, the Czech Republic is trying to stimulate economic activity and integration, on the other hand, it can leave a significant part of the most vulnerable people without prospects for a stable life. Whether the new long-term permit will become a tool for real integration or turn into a barrier will depend on the further decisions of the government and the readiness to adapt the rules to the realities in which Ukrainians in the Czech Republic find themselves.

According to the official estimates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic, the number of Ukrainians who will actually be able to meet all the strict requirements for obtaining a special long-term residence permit is quite small. Potentially, only about 20,000 people out of more than 659,970 citizens of Ukraine who received temporary protection in the Czech Republic since the start of the full-scale war will be able to be selected.

Against the background of such calculations, human rights defenders and organizations working with migrants insist on the need to review approaches and expand opportunities for Ukrainians to obtain various types of residence permits. They point out that in the current conditions most refugees simply will not be able to physically meet such high financial requirements, and therefore will be deprived of the right to move to a more stable and protected status in the Czech Republic. However, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic directly stated that the expansion of the list of legalization options available to Ukrainians requires changes in the current legislation. And this means that in the near future these rules will remain in force, and the number of those who will be able to use the new mechanism will remain limited.