News item | 30-03-2022 | 7:00 pm
The reception of refugees from Ukraine is increasingly taking shape – for the short term in mostly simple reception places for the first expected 50,000 people, and then for a possibly larger group and for a possible longer term. At the moment, approximately 30,000 reception places have been realized by security regions and municipalities, of which more than 20,000 are now occupied. More than 13,000 refugees have also been registered. The flow of refugees from Ukraine poses a major challenge for the Netherlands and we are working hard to resolve all the questions that come with it. Both for the short and the medium term. On Wednesday 30 March 2022, the cabinet took a number of decisions in the Ministerial Crisis Management Committee (MCCb) for the reception of refugees from Ukraine.
Private initiatives
The government welcomes the many initiatives by citizens, social and commercial organizations to help refugees from Ukraine and supports them where possible. People collect money and goods and open their houses.
The Guideline for Private Reception of Ukrainians has been drawn up and published to support private reception. In this, private individuals can find information about how they can offer a shelter, what they should pay attention to and what facilities are available.
The government receives requests from private initiatives to issue statements that are necessary to collect persons from other European countries. We assume that most initiators will have the best intentions, but it cannot be ruled out that there are also initiatives that arise from less good intentions. In order to be able to issue statements, the government must be able to form an opinion about the nature of the initiatives and intentions of the initiators. This is not realistic at this size. That is why the government does not want to encourage these initiatives and considers the independent collection of refugees from Ukraine from other countries irresponsible. With a view to the safety of everyone involved, the government is therefore not issuing any statements.
living money
As previously decided, refugees from Ukraine receive living money to buy food and clothing, for example. During the further elaboration of the scheme, the VNG, together with a number of municipalities, has examined whether the scheme can be implemented properly. On the basis of this, the living allowance scheme has been adjusted on a number of points. For example, the amounts have been rounded off and the living allowance for all refugees from Ukraine of € 260 is paid monthly. In addition, refugees from Ukraine who stay with host families receive an extra monthly amount, the so-called housing component, of €215 per adult and €55 per minor. With this amount, refugees can contribute to the costs incurred by the host family. Host families do not receive any compensation themselves. It has also been determined that the living allowance will be terminated if the refugee from Ukraine takes up paid work.
Work
Refugees from Ukraine who are able and willing to work will gain access to the Dutch labor market. The cabinet is removing the obligation to have a work permit. There are, however, some conditions to provide extra protection for this vulnerable group of people.
Earlier this month, the Council of the European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive. The cabinet has now decided that no work permit is required for foreign nationals who enter the Netherlands under this directive. This exemption applies from 1 April (with retroactive effect to 4 March).
In order to provide extra protection for this vulnerable group of refugees, the government does impose a number of conditions on access to the labor market. For example, people are only allowed to work in paid employment. The employer must also register the employee with the UWV no later than two working days before the start of the work, and the employer must provide information such as working hours and workplace.
Statutory task mayors
As announced earlier, the cabinet will use emergency law because the reception of people from Ukraine cannot be accommodated via the existing structure due to the large numbers of people. At the moment, mayors are voluntarily taking on the task of receiving refugees. The government is very grateful to them for this. But it is important that we also properly arrange the legal basis, which is why the mayors will formally receive the legal task within a few days to receive people from Ukraine. This is done on the basis of the Population Relocation Act. By activating emergency law, we must be able to realize sufficient reception places for refugees from Ukraine together. Mayors receive the necessary financial resources for this. It has been agreed with the VNG that municipalities will not suffer financially.
Concern
The European Commission has asked whether the Netherlands can admit patients who present an urgent medical question in EU neighboring countries of Ukraine. The National Coordination of Patients Distribution (LCPS), as part of the National Network for Acute Care (LNAZ), subsequently made an inventory of the available capacity in the Netherlands. Based on this, among other things, it was decided to start receiving these patients. The patients are offered by the European Union and accepted by the Netherlands in a system specially set up for this purpose. The LCPS then takes care of coordination and distribution in the Netherlands. The UMC Utrecht is requested to open the Calamity Hospital for initial care. The necessary medical examinations are performed here, before the patients are transferred to suitable hospitals in the Netherlands.
For good and safe care it is important that care providers can communicate understandably with their patients. This means that in some cases a professional talent interpreter must be deployed in the event of a language barrier. In many cases, refugees from Ukraine do not speak enough English to communicate with a care provider. It is therefore important that they can deploy a professional talent interpreter in an accessible manner and without administrative burdens. To make this possible, an amount of €1.6 million has been made available for a period up to and including June 2022.