The Czech Republic has begun denying Ukrainians temporary protection
In the Czech Republic, several dozen Ukrainian citizens have already been denied temporary protection due to a lack of proof that they have fulfilled their military service obligations in Ukraine.
The new rules took effect on August 5 and apply to Ukrainian men of draft age who are in European Union countries.
“In less than a week, several dozen people have already been denied temporary protection. They were unable to confirm that they had fulfilled their military service obligations to Ukraine,” said Veronika Votočková, an expert on migration and asylum at the Czech Ministry of the Interior.
Under the new rules, men between the ages of 23 and 60 must provide confirmation from Ukrainian authorities that their departure from Ukraine was lawful. Confirmation may take the form of an entry in the Ukrainian electronic military registration document or a corresponding stamp; however, an extract from the electronic document is preferred.
There are over 396,000 Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic
Currently, there are over 396,000 Ukrainians in the Czech Republic with temporary protection. In terms of the number of Ukrainian refugees per capita, the country remains one of the leaders in the EU.
The Czech Ministry of the Interior has long advocated for stricter rules on granting temporary protection due to the country’s limited capacity to accept new arrivals. As the ministry noted, men of working age made up the majority of new arrivals. In particular, last year—for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression—more men than women arrived in the Czech Republic.
New rules may reduce the number of new applicants
Over the past year, the number of Ukrainian women aged 18 to 65 in the Czech Republic has remained virtually unchanged—there are more than 160,000 of them. At the same time, the number of men in this age group has increased by more than 21,000 and now stands at about 132,000.
The Czech government believes that the new requirements may reduce the number of men arriving in the country, but it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions.
Source: Novinky.
In 2025, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war, more Ukrainian male refugees arrived in the Czech Republic than female refugees. This shift in the migration pattern was the first of its kind since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on EU leaders to review current reception mechanisms. This involves potentially tightening the conditions for certain categories of refugees, particularly men of draft age.
