The German Federal Ministry of the Interior is planning to establish a fixed regime for the admission of Ukrainian refugees to the EU, as the country is currently hosting the largest number of refugees. Find out what this means and at what stage the new system is currently being developed

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Today, Germany ranks first in the EU in terms of the number of Ukrainian refugees, with more than 1.3 million people in the country. It is important that the flow of Ukrainians does not stop, and thousands of refugees arrive in the country every month to receive temporary protection. 

At the same time, as welt.de notes, German officials are very concerned about the flow of Ukrainians after they have been protected in other European countries. That is why the Federal Ministry of the Interior wants to establish a fixed regime for the reception of Ukrainian refugees in the EU.

Read here to find out which German states are accepting Ukrainians in May. 

The system of distribution of Ukrainians: what does the German government plan to change?

Currently, Ukrainians are free to choose their destination country in the EU. It is also important that the current rules allow refugees to first apply for protection in one country and then move to another to receive protection again. It is noted that at the beginning of the war, this eased the burden on national authorities, who did not have to painstakingly check which country was responsible for protection. However, freedom of movement has now led to a very unequal distribution of refugees in the EU.

For example, today Germany takes in 20 times more refugees than France. Moreover, while the number of Ukrainian refugees in Poland is on the decline, the number in Germany is on the rise. That is why the German government wants to develop a new distribution system that will balance the flow of Ukrainians.

"Germany is strongly committed to the principle of solidarity distribution of asylum seekers and believes that discussion and finding a solution is particularly necessary in view of secondary migration from other EU member states. Therefore, we must strive for an even distribution regime for new arrivals from Ukraine to the EU," said Nancy Feather, spokesperson for the Federal Minister of the Interior.

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When can the new system start working?

Temporary protection under the relevant directive is due to expire on March 4, 2025. Negotiations are currently underway on further regulation of Ukrainian refugees at the EU level. It has not yet been decided what the further regulation should look like and when it can start working.

According to politician Helge Lind, the EU Commission is considering extending the protection status for another year. All EU countries unanimously agree with this. However, it is unclear whether there will be changes in the protection procedure if a new allocation regime is introduced.

A team of international lawyers can help you with obtaining a Paragraph 24 in Germany. For more information, please follow the link.

We remind you! Migration trends among Ukrainians, in particular with the aim of changing the country of temporary protection, are increasing, as the conditions of stay and financial assistance are changing. Read which countries will grant repeated temporary protection in 2024 and what is needed to move in our previous article.

Photo: Getty Images

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Ihor Usyk is the Head of Legal Department at Visit Ukraine

Obtaining temporary protection status in Germany now has certain peculiarities, as not all German states accept refugees from Ukraine. Consult a highly qualified lawyer to help you choose the right region and obtain protection.