Organization for Aid to Refugees

Ukrainians in Czechia have repaid our help.
They deserve the same as other foreigners.

Temporary protection helped Ukrainian refugees quickly find work and safety. Five years on, their work is indispensable and it pays off for Czechia. Yet they still live in limbo, having to extend their status twice a year and facing limited options. Let’s give them equal standing with other foreign nationals in Czechia.

Sign the appeal →
Illustrative photo

Why do we want long-term residence for Ukrainian refugees?

CZK 4.3 bn

contributed to the Czech budget every quarter

80 %

of them work and keep our everyday life running

69 %

of Czechs think they are integrating well

What is life on temporary protection like?*

Halyna and Olena

Halyna (43) and Olena (16)

mother and daughter

Life can’t be planned just a year ahead

Halyna works, and Olena has just started a part-time job alongside school. They could afford a small two-room flat, but no one will rent to them. Their residence permit only ever runs a few months ahead. So for four years they have been living in a single room.

What would stability change?

With long-term residence, Halyna and Olena could look further ahead than a few months, and with that would come a real chance of a bigger flat. Much-needed privacy would improve their relationship, and with a place to study, Olena’s grades would improve.

Mariia

Mariia (45)

mother caring for her son

There is no safety net

Mariia cares alone for her ten-year-old son with a severe intellectual disability. On temporary protection she isn’t eligible for the care allowance and can’t afford day-care. She has to stay home with her son, day and night, with no respite and no income of her own.

What would stability change?

With a stable status, Mariia could get the care allowance and go back to work. Her son would get professional care and Mariia, at last, time for herself. Instead of drawing benefits, the family would pay taxes - and we would gain a worker.

Oksana

Oksana (34)

doctor

Key sectors depend on them

Her degree has been recognised and she’s studying for her licensing exams. The hospital praises her, yet she may only work as a low-paid assistant. She and her partner want a child, but she can’t get parental allowance.

What would stability change?

With long-term residence, she would get the same security for the same health insurance contributions, including parental allowance. She wouldn’t have to choose between family and work, and we would gain another doctor and shorter waiting times.

Liudmyla

Liudmyla (68)

pensioner

There’s no dignity for the old

She worked all her life and is seriously ill. Her Ukrainian pension is about CZK 2,000 and she can’t get the Czech care allowance. She rents poor housing with her elderly husband, who cares for her as best he can. Without help from donors, she wouldn’t even have a walking frame.

What would stability change?

Liudmyla would be eligible for the care allowance and for professional help, a burden that now falls entirely on her ageing husband. We wouldn’t need to raise funds for her basic aids.

*To protect privacy, these stories are illustrative, but they are based on the real experiences of our clients.

They are worse off than other foreigners, even though other countries have found a way

Ukrainians who fled the war have been living like this in Czechia for five years now. Many have learned Czech, and their children go to Czech schools and have made friends here. Yet they still live in uncertainty, even though their departure would be a big loss for the labour market, as employers themselves say.

How does temporary protection work?

Every January, Ukrainian refugees have to apply online to extend their stay. If successful, they are only secure until 30 September. They then spend months waiting to collect a visa that postpones the uncertainty again, until 31 March. And in January, the whole cycle starts over.

Without proof that they plan to stay in Czechia for more than a few months, doors close:

  • Landlords and employers hesitate.
  • Banks won’t give them a mortgage, and without a visa they can’t open an account.
  • Insurers are reluctant to cover some operations.
  • They aren’t entitled to maternity benefits or the care allowance.

To get by despite all this, refugees work below their qualifications and sometimes face exploitation. There is no time left for learning Czech, rest or personal development.

And still, Czechs blame them for the shortage of housing and jobs, even though the causes lie elsewhere.

At the end of March 2028, the final year of EU-wide temporary protection begins. What happens next will be decided by Czech politicians. More and more EU countries, including Slovakia, are allowing a transition to standard residence permits. Why not Czechia?

We call on the Prime Minister, the Government and the Minister of the Interior to grant permanent residence to Ukrainian refugees who have held temporary protection for more than five years, and to open standard residence permits, such as work or study permits, to those who have held it for less. Older people and the chronically ill should be able to obtain residence on humanitarian grounds.

Join us.

Yes – I want stability for Ukrainian refugees

Who has joined

People who publicly support the appeal.

Lenka and Marcel Klaus
“Every law-abiding person in the Czech Republic who works honestly and contributes to the development of the economy should have the right to a secure future, regardless of where they come from.”

Lenka and Marcel Klaus

KLAUS Timber a.s.
Mikuláš Vymětal
“Most of the Ukrainians I have met are friendly and decent people. They enrich us socially and spiritually, and their children will grow up to be skilled workers. All they need to integrate is a greater degree of security.”

Mikuláš Vymětal

pastor of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren
Natalia Bas
“I opened The Boršč to bring Ukrainian cuisine and culture closer to Czechs. We want to create and build something together here, but we need to be able to plan our future.”

Natalia Bas

co-owner of The Boršč restaurant
Michelle Losekoot
“I’m grateful that, together with OPU, I could help a young Ukrainian artist become an art school student, and a confident woman who succeeded despite the fear that she could lose everything again at any moment.”

Michelle Losekoot

writer and creator
OPU volunteers and clients

About us

The Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU) is a non-profit, non-governmental and humanitarian organization that has been helping refugees and foreigners in the Czech Republic for 35 years. We provide free legal and social counselling, run awareness events and educational programmes for the general public and professionals, and carry out other activities that support the integration of foreigners. In 2025, we helped 7,500 foreigners, and our volunteers gave 2,376 hours of their time.

www.opu.cz

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The more people sign, the more likely the rules are to change.

Sign the appeal

Are you a company? Write to olga.pek@opu.cz and join the appeal as an employer.