Czech govt approves monthly benefit for those who shelter Ukrainian refugees

Update, March 25, 2022

The government has announced that all Ukrainian refugees holding emergency visas issued by the Czech government can use a web application to receive their humanitarian benefit of CZK 5,000 per month, while from April 11 the app will also allow those hosting Ukrainian refugees to claim their CZK 3,000 per month benefit online too.

The simplification of the process for obtaining state benefits relating to the refugee crisis comes with around 300,000 people so far having reached the Czech Republic from Ukraine. The app is available to use in Czech, Ukrainian, English and Russian, and can be accessed here.

Prague, March 23 --Those who accommodate refugees for free at home or in their vacant flats will be eligible for a monthly state contribution of CZK 3,000 per person to cover costs, the Czech government approved today. Labor and Social Affairs Minister Marian Jurečka announced the government decision on Twitter.

One household can receive up to a maximum of CZK 12,000 a month for accommodating refugees.

Benefits may be applied for as of April 11 and will be paid retroactively for March. The Labor and Social Affairs Ministry says it needs an estimated three weeks to create a mobile application for processing the contribution.

Under the newly approved regulation, state support will be paid if a refugee or refugees stayed in a room or a flat for at least 16 days in a row in a month for free. The accommodation must meet certain conditions, such as space for sleeping, for preparing meals and for personal hygiene, and access to a toilet and drinking water.

The CZK 3,000 contribution with a CZK 12,000 ceiling should be paid until the end of June, according to the documentation, and then the government would re-assess the sum based on the situation.

The individual or individuals providing refugee accommodation can seek support after the end of the given month via the app that is currently being developed or at the regional branch of the Labor Office.

The solidarity contribution was introduced as part of a new law on employment and social security of refugees coming from the war-stricken Ukraine in the past weeks. The law took effect on Monday.

The person providing refugee accommodation can seek the support after the end of the given month via an app or at the Labor Office regional branch.

The request for the contribution must include the refugees' identification data, the length of their accommodation, the address of the property, and whether the house or flat is owned or used based on a lease, along with an affidavit that the housing meets the required conditions and was offered for free. The office will then send money to a Czech bank account or via postal order.

The support for refugee accommodation will not be calculated in the household income for welfare payments. Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura also said it would not be taxed.

State spending on the accommodation of 100,000 people would amount to CZK 300 million a month.

The Labor and Social Affairs Ministry will ask for a budget increase due to the refugee wave. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the number of refugees in the Czech Republic has reached 300,000, Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said.