Starting next year: The EU will stop granting temporary protection to Ukrainian men and women subject to military conscription
13 July 18:11
The European Union intends to change the rules for granting temporary protection to Ukrainian refugees. According to the new proposal, only women and men from Ukraine who are not subject to mobilization and have the appropriate supporting documentation will be eligible for this status, reports the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, as cited by "Komersant Ukrainian".
Polish Deputy Minister of the Interior Maciej Duszczyk stated that the European Commission will submit the relevant amendments to the directive as early as July. If approved, the new rules will take effect in March 2027, after the current temporary protection mechanism expires.
The publication notes that a year ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy eased exit restrictions for some men aged 18–22 to study and work abroad. In the first three months after the changes took effect, more than 121,000 Ukrainian men entered Poland, many of whom then traveled on to Germany. About 50,000 subsequently applied for temporary protection.
According to Eurostat, approximately 4.3 million Ukrainian citizens are currently receiving temporary protection in EU countries. The largest numbers of Ukrainian refugees are in Germany (1.2 million people) and Poland (960,000). Adult men account for about 26.6% of those granted this status—approximately 1.15 million people. In Poland alone, there are over 218,000 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 65 who have been granted temporary protection.
In addition, Poland is preparing to reform its own citizenship laws, which will also affect those who have fled the war. According to Rzeczpospolita, the proposed changes include increasing the minimum residency requirement for obtaining Polish citizenship to eight years, introducing a Polish language exam at the B2 level, testing knowledge of the country’s history and constitution, and requiring the signing of a declaration of loyalty to the Polish state. In addition, the government intends to revoke Polish citizenship in cases of actions against Poland’s national security.
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