The Czech Republic is preparing stricter rules for Ukrainian refugees: what will change with receiving assistance and temporary protection

Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic have been living under a temporary protection system for several years, which has allowed them to stay legally in the country, work, educate their children, and receive basic support after being forced to leave Ukraine due to the war. Now, the Czech government is preparing changes that could make the rules for accessing humanitarian aid stricter and the requirements for staying in the country clearer. This is important for Ukrainians because such decisions affect their daily lives: from payments and work to status, housing, and the ability to plan for the future in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Ministry of the Interior has prepared amendments to the law on temporary protection and humanitarian assistance for Ukrainian refugees. The government may consider these changes in the near future, but the final rules will depend on further discussion and the legislative process.

What they want to change to receive aid

As reported by the publication České Noviny, at the proposal of the Czech Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ukrainians with temporary protection who apply for humanitarian aid must have a confirmed connection with the labor market or employment system. This means that a person must be employed, conduct entrepreneurial activity or be registered with an employment center.

This requirement actually ties financial support to the person’s active presence in the Czech Republic and their participation in the country’s economic life. Exceptions are provided for children, students and elderly people under temporary protection.

Another condition concerns physical presence in the Czech Republic. To receive humanitarian assistance, a person must be in the country for at least 16 days in the month for which the payment is assigned. The authors of the amendments explain this by the need to prevent possible abuses, when assistance can be received by people who do not actually live in the Czech Republic most of the time.

Temporary protection may be lost more often

A separate block of changes concerns the status of temporary protection itself. According to the new proposals, it should be terminated for those Ukrainians who stay outside the Schengen area for more than 30 days. The status will also be revoked in the event of criminal or administrative expulsion.

For refugees, this means that prolonged trips outside the Schengen area can have serious consequences for their further stay in the Czech Republic. Those who regularly travel to Ukraine or other countries outside the Schengen area due to family, property, medical or other circumstances should be especially careful.

The amendments also affect a special long-term residence permit, which should give Ukrainians with temporary protection a more stable legal status in the Czech Republic. The government proposes to clarify the conditions for obtaining it and strengthen the already existing requirements.

Among such requirements is the absence of tax arrears. This is an important signal for Ukrainians who work, do business or have financial obligations in the Czech Republic, as the issue of taxes, contributions and official income may become one of the key ones during the transition from temporary protection to a longer format of residence.

Cars with Ukrainian license plates

Separately, the package of changes provides for the obligation for some drivers of vehicles with Ukrainian license plates to register their cars in the Czech registry. This may apply to Ukrainians who have been in the Czech Republic for a long time and use cars imported from Ukraine.

For many families, a car remains not an object of convenience, but a way to get to work, take children to school, move between cities or maintain contact with Ukraine. Therefore, the new registration requirements will require careful study after the government determines the final version of the rules.

Changes in minority policy and the Ukrainian community

Amid the preparation of stricter rules for refugees, the Czech Republic has also decided to liquidate the Department for Human Rights and Protection of Minorities within the government apparatus. This decision is to come into effect on July 1, 2026. Some of its powers will be transferred to individual ministries.

This may be a sensitive issue for the Ukrainian community, as after the outbreak of full-scale war, a number of topics related to the integration of refugees were coordinated through this structure. These included housing, education, employment, support for vulnerable groups, and the transition of people from temporary accommodation to regular housing.

The Czech government explains the liquidation of the department as a desire to increase efficiency and reduce the state apparatus. At the same time, critics fear that the division of powers between different ministries may weaken coordination in the field of human rights, protection of minorities and integration of Ukrainians.

The department dealt with a wide range of topics that were not limited to the symbolic representation of national communities. Through it, issues of human rights, equal treatment, protection of minorities, Roma issues, rights of people with disabilities, gender equality, mental health, prevention of addictions and cooperation with public organizations were coordinated. For Ukrainians, this area is important because of housing, education of children, employment, support for vulnerable groups and the transition from temporary accommodation to regular housing.

After the liquidation of the structure, its functions should be transferred to different ministries. Human rights, equal treatment and civil society will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice, national minority issues to the Ministry of Culture, Roma issues, the rights of people with disabilities and gender equality to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and addiction prevention and mental health to the Ministry of Health. Such a division may make the system more branched, but at the same time the question arises whether a single coordination between the government, experts, civil society organizations and the minorities themselves will be preserved.

Former government human rights commissioner Klara Šymacová Laurenčíková called the liquidation of the department a serious mistake. She emphasized that human rights and equality are related to education, security, medicine, social policy and the work of the state in general, so the separation of these areas between separate departments could weaken their presence in state policy.

Representatives of national minorities also expressed concern. Ilnara Dudash, a member of the Government Council for National Minorities, said the decision was particularly worrying for the Ukrainian community. According to her, minority issues cannot be reduced to culture alone, as they encompass education, language rights, participation in public life, protection from discrimination and social policy. For Ukrainians who arrived after the outbreak of full-scale war, it is also a question of integration into schools, communities, the labour market and the support system.

Of particular concern is that, according to minority representatives, the decision was made without proper consultation with communities and the government council. This creates a risk that the real problems of Ukrainians and other national communities may recede into the background, while state policy will focus on narrow cultural measures instead of housing, education, language support, access to services and protection from discrimination.

For Ukrainian refugees, this change does not mean an automatic cancellation of support, but it may affect how integration programs will be coordinated in the future. If previously there was a government structure that combined different directions and maintained a connection between the state and the public sector, after the reform it may be more difficult for Ukrainians, organizations and community representatives to find those responsible for specific issues.

The proposed changes show that the Czech Republic is gradually moving from an emergency regime of refugee support to a stricter system of rules, where work, actual residence in the country, tax discipline and compliance with the conditions of temporary protection will play a greater role.

For Ukrainians, this means the need to monitor their status, periods of stay outside the Czech Republic, registration in institutions, employment, entrepreneurial activity and possible debts to the state more carefully. This is especially true for people who receive humanitarian assistance, often leave the Czech Republic or plan to register for long-term residence in the future.

Until the amendments are finally adopted, the current rules remain in force. However, the direction of the changes is already clear: the Czech authorities want to more clearly separate those who actually live and integrate in the Czech Republic from those who only maintain status or apply for benefits without permanent residence in the country. For Ukrainian refugees, the main task is not to wait for the last moment, but to check their own documents, grounds for assistance and compliance with future requirements in advance.