News item | 04-11-2022 | 15:20
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, many refugees came to the Netherlands almost immediately. That is why, under great time pressure, the Regulation on Reception of Displaced Persons Ukraine (RooO) was established in March 2022. The RooO arranges the reception of refugees from Ukraine by mayors and their municipalities. Among other things, the scheme regulates the amount of the monthly financial allowance (food and living allowance) that refugees from Ukraine receive to provide for their basic needs.
Because this was a new task for the mayors, the emphasis in the drafting in March 2022 was on speed and practical feasibility of the scheme by municipalities. That is why we opted for rounded amounts and for a fixed amount per person that is paid out on one reference date. If the refugee from Ukraine received income from work, the entitlement to the monthly allowance for this person lapsed.
After three months, the RooO was evaluated together with the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG). Based on this, the RooO has been adjusted with the main aim of improving the feasibility and explainability of the scheme. In order to increase explainability, the scheme will be brought more into line with existing schemes for asylum seekers, status holders and beneficiaries of social assistance. Proposed changes have been tested for feasibility by the VNG. The amended RooO will take effect in two phases. Part of the amended scheme will come into effect on December 1, 2022, another part on February 1, 2023.
Main changes as of December 1, 2022
As of 1 December 2022, the text of the regulation will mainly change on a few technical points, such as an improved explanation of the terms displaced persons, family, municipal reception and private reception.
One of the other changes is that mayors can pay financial compensation for clothing and personal expenses to people who stay in a care institution for a long time. The amount of this compensation is € 56.12 per month. It is also possible that people who perform voluntary work at the reception location receive a volunteer allowance of € 14 per week. In addition, advice on leaving the shelter has been added. As of 1 December, refugees from Ukraine can temporarily leave the shelter for a maximum of 28 days while retaining their monthly financial allowance. After this period, the mayor can stop the benefits in kind.
Main changes as of February 1, 2023
Changes relating to the amount of the financial allowances will come into effect on 1 February 2023. This gives the refugees time to prepare for this and municipalities have time to adjust their working methods and systems.
Mayors can stop monthly financial allowances for the entire family if an adult family member receives income from employment or benefits, such as unemployment or disability benefits. The mayor can also partially stop these allowances if it turns out that a benefit is insufficient to live on.
In addition, the housing component that refugees from Ukraine receive in private reception will be adjusted to €93 per person per month, this applies to both adults and minors.
Finally, from 1 February, a graduated scale according to the size of the family will be used for the part of the allowance that is intended for food. That means, the larger the family, the lower the monthly food component per person. These changes bring the scheme more in line with existing schemes for asylum seekers, beneficiaries and beneficiaries.