Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, about 82,000 inhabitants of that country have registered with a Dutch municipality. In absolute terms, most Ukrainians found a new home in the four largest municipalities – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. The national average is about 5 Ukrainian newcomers per 1,000 inhabitants.
On 1 November, more than half of the 82,000 refugees with Ukrainian nationality lived at an address that was still uninhabited at the beginning of last year. This concerns, for example, quickly renovated houses and made sleeping places. Almost 20 percent of the refugees lived with other Ukrainians who lived in the Netherlands before the Russian invasion.
Some of the Ukrainian refugees who have settled in the Netherlands since the Russian invasion have also left. According to the CBS, by January 1 of this year almost 17,000 Ukrainians had left. That is 16 percent of all Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in the Netherlands since the outbreak of the war.
These refugees are still arriving in our country, although the influx is rising less quickly than last year. The occupancy of reception places is around 97 percent. Soon there won’t be enough places anymore. In addition, the government wants a total of 90,000 Ukrainians to be accommodated from 1 July. Drenthe must provide 4,128 beds. At the moment, around 3,200 Ukrainians can be accommodated in an emergency reception center spread across our province.
Ukrainians have a special status because of the war in their country and they therefore do not have to apply for asylum in countries of the European Union (EU) for the time being. Until at least March 4, 2024, they may live and work in the Netherlands without a residence permit. Depending on the course of the war, the EU can extend that status for another year.