If you are unable to apply for temporary protection (which is the best option for those arriving from Ukraine), you can apply for international protection under an international treaty. The application procedure takes approximately six months. Once you have applied, you need to be accommodated at a reception center and then to a residential center where you will wait for a decision. You will receive support from the state during the process and also once you are granted the protection.
From this article, you will learn:
● What kinds of international protection are available to you
● What benefits it provides
● On what grounds you can be granted Asylum
● Who can get subsidiary protection
● How to apply
Forms of international protection
International protection is granted either in the form of asylum (for an unlimited period) or subsidiary protection (for a limited period).
Important! You cannot submit multiple applications in European Union (or Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland) at the same time. This principle is based on the so-called Dublin system which states that the State where a member of the family of the applicant for international protection is legally present is responsible for examining the application.
State aid benefits
Once you have been granted international protection, you can benefit from state assistance under the so-called State Integration Program (SIP). This offers assistance in the following areas:
• Housing - help with finding housing, assistance with the costs of moving and furnishing your home with essential basic furniture and other equipment.
• Employment - You have the same rights as Czech citizens in the labor market. You can work without a work permit or register with the Labour Office, search for and then complete retraining or other educational courses.
• Education - You have the opportunity to take an intensive Czech language course. They can also help you with the validation of certificates of education and can arrange tutoring, leisure activities, or clubs for you (or your children). This includes help with registering your children for kindergarten, primary or secondary school.
• Social - Help with preparing for meetings with institutions and with arranging welfare benefits.
• Medical - Assistance with communicating with the health insurance company (you have access to public health insurance), help with finding a doctor, accompanying you, and providing interpretation.
Asylum
Another ground for granting this form of international protection is reunification with a family member (spouse, minor child, or, in the case of a minor child, parent) who has already been granted asylum.
The final ground for granting asylum is humanitarian grounds. There is no legal entitlement to humanitarian asylum and it is purely at the discretion of the Ministry of Interior to whom to grant it and on what grounds.
The basic requirement for this form of international protection is that you completely renounce the protection of Ukraine and cannot return to your home country for the duration of the asylum.
After five years of asylum, you can apply for Czech citizenship.
Subsidiary protection
Subsidiary protection may be granted to those who, although sufficient grounds for persecution have not been established, would face a serious threat to their life or human dignity by returning to Ukraine in situations of international or internal armed conflict.
Subsidiary protection is granted for a limited period of time. It should be reviewed repeatedly to see if the reasons for which it was granted still apply. If so, it may be extended.
You must apply for an extension at least 30 days before the expiry of the period for which it was granted.
Subsidiary protection may also be granted on the grounds of reunification with a family member (spouse, minor child, or, in the case of a minor child, parent) who has already been granted subsidiary protection.
How to apply?
- You need to submit your application to the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. You will receive the application form from the Ministry.
- As an applicant, you will first be accommodated in a reception center. You are obliged not to leave the center without permission.
- You will undergo a personal and medical examination; you will be fingerprinted and a photograph of your face will be taken.
- You will receive an international protection applicant card as evidence to prove your identity.
- You have the right to free legal advice.
- During the procedure regarding your application, you can live in a residential center, which you may leave.
- During the procedure, you will undergo one or several interviews in order to provide more detailed information regarding your application. During the procedure, communication will take place in the presence of an interpreter in the language you understand.
- In most cases, the procedure is completed within six months from the submission of the application. Please be patient and provide active cooperation with the employees of the Ministry of the Interior.
Read the information material on the procedure for granting international protection and on life in the Czech Republic.
- Czech
- English
- Russian
- Ukrainian
For more information on international protection, please visit the website of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.
Sources of information: