Czechia launching project to help displaced Ukrainians willing to return home
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Czech Republic is launching a pilot project to facilitate voluntary return to Ukraine for the Ukrainians displaced by the Russian war.
The ministry reported this on its website, Ukrinform saw.
"From June to November, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will lead a pilot project of assistance in voluntary return to Ukraine," the statement reads.
It is specified that foreigners living in the Czech Republic due of the war in Ukraine can apply, and that the project "has nothing to do with the military service of Ukrainian men."
The program is designed for a maximum of 430 persons.
Its parameters were approved on May 15.
Persons who have been granted temporary protection and those who have already received international protection can apply for the project.
"We want to offer help to those who, for example, due to their health or family circumstances, seek to return home," said Minister of the Interior Vit Rakusan.
For 400 people, he explained, a bus ticket will be purchased from the place of residence in the Czech Republic to the nearest place of residence in Ukraine. For the remaining 30 persons with health problems, individual assistance will be provided in the form of medical transport services.
A foreigner will be able to submit a request for reimbursement of travel expenses only once. If they change their mind and seek to apply for a residence permit within the next twelve months, half of the costs will have to be returned.
From the budget of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 5,595,000 Czech crowns (about EUR 226,000) have been allocated for the project.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are about 310,000 Ukrainians holding temporary protection visas, which is almost equal to the number of Ukrainians that had lived in the country before the start of the full-scale war.