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Czechia to extend Ukrainian workers' residency despite populist pressure

The cabinet led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš will extend a program allowing economically independent Ukrainian refugees to secure long-term residency.

ČTK Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas

Written by ČTK,  Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas Published on 12.02.2026 09:47:00 (updated on 12.02.2026) Reading time: 3 minutes

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Shutterstock by BearFotos
Shutterstock by BearFotos

As foreigners now make up over 10 percent of Czechia's population, the new coalition is charting a pragmatic course: welcoming workers the economy needs while promising tighter controls to satisfy populist coalition partners.

The cabinet led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš will extend a program allowing economically independent Ukrainian refugees to secure long-term residency, even as it prepares legislation to tighten immigration rules. This strategy reveals how the government plans to manage a foreign population that has grown to 1.13 million people.

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The government will discuss an amendment on Monday to repeat a residency program that grants self-sufficient refugees five-year residence permits with a path to permanent residency. Last year, around 16,000 people obtained this status under the program introduced by the previous administration.

But the move is just one part of a broader balancing act on immigration policy, as the coalition navigates between economic reality and political promises.

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