TEMPORARY PROTECTION STATUS REVOKED FOR MILITARY-AGE UKRAINIAN MEN

PRAGUE, AUGUST 5 /SRNA/ – Male refugees from Ukraine of military age /23 to 60 years old/ will no longer be eligible to receive temporary protection status in the Czech Republic as of today, unless they provide proof that they have completed their military service or have been exempted from military obligations, Czech Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar said.

"Starting today, an important change to the temporary protection system takes effect. Temporary protection will no longer be granted to Ukrainian citizens of military age," Metnar said.

He assessed that the decision would reduce the number of men arriving from Ukraine by tens of percent. "This will reduce the burden on our agencies and ease the pressure on the Czech healthcare and social security systems," Metnar noted.

The amendments to the rules granting temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens were agreed upon by EU member states and published yesterday in the Official Journal of the European Union. The new rules enter into force today.

The new measure will not apply to military-age Ukrainian men who were granted temporary protection status in the Czech Republic before the new rules came into effect. However, their temporary protection status will remain valid only until March next year.

According to the Interior Ministry, there are currently more than 393,000 Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic.

Last year, the number of men arriving in the Czech Republic from Ukraine exceeded the number of women for the first time since February 2022.