The special protection status for Ukrainian refugees will have to be extended for at least a year until March 2024. European Commissioner For Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Monday at the presentation of an online tool that refugees can use to look for a job.

” The temporary protection directive will remain in force at least until March 2024, ” Johansson said. The directive was activated in early March to grant a quasi-automatic right of residence to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. Thanks to this statute, they do not have to go through the traditional asylum procedure and receive immediate support in finding housing and access to education, health care and the labour market.

Currently, 4.2 million refugees enjoy this status. The directive is provisionally valid for one year, until March 2023, and can be extended for a maximum of two years. According to Johansson, it is already clear that the application should already be extended by one year. The new bombing of Kiev and other cities in Ukraine shows ” how important it is that we continue to provide shelter for those who have to flee,” said the Swedish euro commissioner.

Today’s ???? press point ?

➡️Temporary protection prolongation
➡️Helping Ukrainians who plan to go home
➡️’Talent Pool’ to give access to EU jobs market

Thank you Anna from Donbas and Vira from Kyiv, who joined us AND have uploaded their CVs.

? https://t.co/ybI0P8NPih pic.twitter.com/PSLBnUsexc

— Ylva Johansson (@YlvaJohansson) October 10, 2022

Johansson also suggested that Ukrainians who choose to return to their homeland can also keep the status. “Many refugees are afraid to unsubscribe, because they may have to flee again soon,” Johansson explained. Therefore, people with temporary protection status are no longer required to unsubscribe. They only have to notify the local authorities in the host country that they are returning.

Johansson, who will discuss the situation of Ukrainian refugees on Friday with European interior ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg, and her colleague for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit, presented Monday a new online tool that should help Ukrainians to find a job. If you register with the EU Talent Pool, you can immediately share your cv with more than 4,000 employers and employment services.