What changes for refugees and tenants in the Czech Republic will bring amendments to the law on assistance to Ukrainians Lex Ukrajina.
The Czech government has prepared amendments to the law on assistance to Ukrainian refugees Lex Ukrajina. If the amendments to Lex Ukrajina are supported by the Senate and the President of the Czech Republic, the new rules will come into force as early as April 2023.
The new rules will apply both to social payments for refugees from Ukraine and to those who provide refugees with their housing.
Current conditions for receiving payments in the law Lex Ukrajina IV
As of today, payments can be received by individuals who provide free housing in compliance with the minimum standards of living for a person with temporary protection status for a period of at least 16 days. Even if refugees pay utilities without taking into account the cost of rent, the housing provided will be considered free and will give the tenant the opportunity to receive solidarity assistance.
The amount of compensation for the full rental of an apartment, for a stay of 1 to 5 people, is from 5,000 to 15,000 CZK per month. Those who accept Ukrainian refugees at home (maximum 3 people) can receive 3,000 crowns per person.
The Lex Ukrajina IV law extended temporary protection for Ukrainians until March 2024, but previously issued visas will not be automatically extended.
The amount of cash assistance for a certain age category of refugees:
Adult – 4860 CZK
For a child – 3490 CZK.
Assistance is provided to refugees who receive free food but do not have income to pay for housing, or if the person does not have free accommodation, food and does not receive any income, but has housing expenses
New changes in Lex Ukrajina V
According to the innovations, as early as July, only those tenants who sheltered refugees at home for free will be entitled to receive payments. If refugees are provided with an entire apartment, then the cost of housing will be taken into account in financial assistance.
The amount of financial assistance for refugees in the new amendments will be calculated based on the calculation of the refugee’s income, as well as the time period that has elapsed since the refugee’s stay in the status of temporary protection in the Czech Republic. Only people with no income or very low income will be eligible for the benefit.
List of vulnerable persons for whom assistance will not be reduced:
children under 18; pupils/students studying in the Czech Republic under the age of 26; persons caring for a child under 6; pregnant women; people over 65; people with disabilities who have the necessary certificates; persons caring for a person with a disability who has the necessary certificates.
The amendments plan to abolish the following benefits for refugees:
payments of state social benefits; payments for living and subsidies for housing; payments of benefits for people with disabilities;
According to the UN, the number of registered refugees from Ukraine with the status of temporary protection in the Czech Republic as of February 26, 2023 exceeds 490 thousand people.
Earlier, Focus published data from an FRA survey, according to which only a third of Ukrainian refugees in Europe want to return to Ukraine.
Also in early January 2023, it became known that the governments of some European countries could cut funding for centers for refugees from Ukraine.
