In early March 2022, the European Union (EU) activated the so-called “mass influx directive”. This directive grants a different status to people fleeing the war in Ukraine than to all asylum seekers who have previously fled to the EU. This was decided by the Justice and Home Affairs Council, abbreviated “JHA Council”, which is composed of the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs of all EU member states. It is the central decision-making body of the EU in matters of European home affairs and justice policy. The Mass Influx Directive was created in 2001 after the wars in the former Yugoslavia for such war situations, but has not been applied so far.
What is the mass influx directive?
The directive grants a protection status of up to three years and gives refugees equal rights in every EU member state, such as access to labor markets and education. What this means for Germany is that Ukrainian refugees do not have to go through a normal asylum procedure here. They can enter Germany without a visa and automatically receive a residence status. This so-called “temporary protection” is valid for one year and can be automatically extended twice for six months. The Council can extend this status again for another year, to a maximum of three years.
People who receive temporary protection based on this directive (in Germany: § 24 AufenthG) have the following rights:
– Pursuit of dependent or self-employed gainful employment,
– Access to education for adults and access to the education system for children and young people under 18,
– Entitlement to medical care,
– Entitlement to social benefits,
– Entitlement to adequate housing or financial assistance for housing. In addition, refugees have the option to stay with relatives or friends. They do not have to live in collective housing.
Further information:
https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs/DE/themen/ministerium/ukraine-krieg/faq-ukraine-artikel.html
https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/AsylFluechtlingsschutz/faq-ukraine.html
https://mediendienst-integration.de/migration/flucht-asyl/ukrainische-fluechtlinge.html#c3391
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Beflaggung vor dem Tübinger Regierungspräsidium. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Martin Klaus.
