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The Raising Issue of Ukrainian Refugees in Europe: travelling within EU and back home

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The Raising Issue of Ukrainian Refugees in Europe: travelling within EU and back home

Providing refuge for Ukrainians, Europe posed the issues of travelling inside it and back home. At the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine and temporary resettlement of Ukrainians abroad in large numbers, the Brussels’s representatives assured that Ukrainian refugees would have the right to relocate within the EU and back home. Yet in reality, it is not permitted under the refugee status.

According to the agreement between Ukraine and the EU, Ukrainians can stay and relocate within the EU only for 90 days. After 5 months of the war, many Ukrainian refugees in Europe have a need to travel in side it and back home. Neither an international passport nor the refugee status permit to cross the borders of the EU after the expiration of the 90-day period.

The EU has not admitted the issue, but is attempting to balance it. The European Union recently issued new amendments, a solid document of more than 90 pages, which clarifies the set of documents the Ukrainian refugees must provide when crossing a border for each of the EU member state. It worth noting, the Ukrainian refugees must provide a residence certificate issued in the refuge country. The amendments clarify the full list of required documents.

A Polish PESEL, for example, (the analogy to a Ukrainian identification number) does not give a permission to the refugees in Poland to cross EU borders after a 90-day period. Why so? Poland has the largest number of Ukrainians since the beginning of the war. Given the circumstances for Ukrainians to escape the explosions, the Polish government has simplified the immigration regulations. Yet at the same time, they omitted any permissions that would give refugees the right to permanent residence, which would serve as a permission for crossing the EU borders after 90 days for the Ukrainians. Note that the very PESEL provide the right for temporary residence, work, and social services in Poland.

Some of the EU countries that accepted Ukrainian refugees did not provide permission to reside and certification for to crossing the EU borders. Others delay the issue or accept only children.

Emigration law experts advise Ukrainian refugees in Europe return back to the refuge country after visiting their homeland (if they left Poland, then it is better to come back via the Ukrainian-Polish border, similarly for Romania, Slovakia, Hungary).

Experts put the emphasis on a travel bun back home for Ukrainian refugees staying in EU for more than 30 days to continue the refugee status. Otherwise, the person is disqualified from it, as well as from the immigration right and social services.

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