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Erickson Immigration Group will continue to share updates to this page as more news is available. If you have questions about anything we’re reporting or case-specific questions, please contact your employer or EIG attorney.
On Thursday, March 3, 2022, the EU Commission activated the Temporary Protection Directive, which offers immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from non-EU countries and those unable to return to their country of origin. TPD beneficiaries can enter, reside, and obtain work authorization.
Each Member State determines how to implement TPD within their borders. The operational guidelines, released on March 18, 2022, are intended to be a “living document” and regularly updated to reflect the evolving situation.
Still, Member States may extend temporary protection to additional categories of displaced persons over and above those to whom the Council Decision applies.
Individuals with temporary protection have the right to apply for asylum. However, Member States may determine that temporary protection may not be enjoyed concurrently with an outstanding asylum application. If a person with temporary protection applies for and is denied asylum, they can continue to enjoy temporary protection or adequate protection under national law for the remainder of the protection period.
Resources:
Temporary Protected Status | On April 18, 2022, the DHS posted the Federal Register notice on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine. The date for eligibility for the 18-month designation of Ukraine for TPS is April 11, 2022, for eligible individuals.
Refugee Support | On Thursday, April 21, President Biden announced Uniting for Ukraine, a new initiative streamlining the process of welcoming Ukrainian citizens to the United States.
The EU Member States activated the Temporary Protection Directive, under which Ukrainians will be granted a residence permit and access to education and the labor market. However, it will ultimately be up to each Member State to determine how to implement this within their borders.
Resources:
Comprehensive information regarding who is protected and the procedures is available here.
| Ability to Enter Country | Ability to Reside in Country | Ability to Obtain Work Authorization | TPD or Other Benefits Valid Until | |
| Austria | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; no actions needed to extend |
| Belgium | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; must extend in-person |
| Bulgaria | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; must extend in-person with the Bulgarian Agency of Refugees |
| Croatia | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; must extend at the Croatian Ministry of Interior by April 30, 2023 |
| Cyprus | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; no actions needed to extend |
| Czech Republic | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 31, 2024; individuals must register online to extend by March 31, 2023. |
| Denmark | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not TPS, but similar status available until March 17, 2024 |
| Estonia | Yes | Yes | Yes | Online renewal is available |
| Finland | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; no actions needed to extend |
| France | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Germany | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Greece | Yes | Yes | Yes | September 4, 2023; no actions needed to extend. If the EU continues TPD, it will be renewed to March 4, 2024 |
| Hungary | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Iceland | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 2, 2024; individuals must renew with a new photo within 30 days of expiration |
| Ireland | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; no actions needed to extend |
| Italy | Yes | Yes | Yes | December 31, 2023; the government has not indicated if the extension is automatic |
| Latvia | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024 |
| Lithuania | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; must extend online. |
| Luxembourg | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024 |
| Malta | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024 |
| Netherlands | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; however, non-Ukrainians’ TPS is valid until September 4, 2023 |
| Norway | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024 |
| Poland | Yes | Yes | Yes | August 24, 2023; if not extended, Ukrainian citizens can apply for a temporary stay permit |
| Portugal | Yes | Yes | Yes | September 1, 2023; no actions needed to extend |
| Romania | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Slovakia | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; no actions needed to extend |
| Slovenia | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Spain | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Sweden | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland | Yes | Yes | Yes | March 4, 2024; no actions needed to extend |
The Ukraine Family Scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK. Everyone must make a separate application, even children traveling with a family member.
To apply to the Ukraine Family Scheme, applicants must:
be applying to join or accompany their UK-based family member: a British national, someone settled in the UK, someone from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland who has pre-settled status, or someone with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK. The UK-based family member must be either an immediate family member; extended family member; the spouse or civil partner, unmarried partner, child, parent, or fiancé(e), or the proposed civil partner of the extended family member.
be Ukrainian, or the family member of a Ukrainian national who is applying to the scheme to join a UK-based immediate family member;
have been living in Ukraine on or immediately before 1 January 2022 (even if they have now left Ukraine).
Validity: Visa holders can stay in the UK for up to 3 years.
Fees: It is free to apply. Applicants do not need to pay the immigration health surcharge or biometric enrolment fee.
Ukrainians without familial ties to the UK can utilize the new sponsorship scheme, Homes for Ukraine. Everyone must make a separate application, even children traveling with a family member.
The scheme enables people and organizations in the UK (sponsors) to bring Ukrainians and their family members to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
Sponsors must be either:
To apply to the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, applicants must be Ukrainian, or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national who has been granted permission under, or is applying to, and qualifies for, the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.
They must also:
Validity: Visa holders can stay in the UK for up to 3 years.
Fees: It is free to apply. Applicants do not need to pay the immigration health surcharge or biometric enrolment fee.
Read more information about applying to the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.
Under the Ukraine Extension Scheme, individuals can live, work and study in the UK if you’re Ukrainian or a close family member of a Ukrainian. They can apply for this scheme if one of the following is true:
Subject to the Parliamentary process, the Immigration Rules are expected to change in July 2023 to extend the eligibility for the Ukraine Extension Scheme to include those granted permission after 16 May and by 16 November 2023, with all applications to be made before 16 May 2024.
Individuals who were granted permission after 16 May 2023 can apply to the Ukraine Extension Scheme once the new rules are in force in August. However, they should wait until more information is available before submitting their application.
They should consider whether to keep their current visa or switch to the Ukraine Extension Scheme. This route does not currently lead to settlement – this means that they may not be able to count any time spent in the UK with this visa as part of an application for indefinite leave to remain in the UK in the future.
Validity: Visa holders can stay in the UK for up to 3 years.
Fees: It is free to apply. Applicants do not need to pay the immigration health surcharge or biometric enrolment fee.
On Monday, April 18, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted the Federal Register notice on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine. In March, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the 18-month designation of Ukraine for TPS for eligible individuals. The date for eligibility has been changed to April 11, 2022.
USCIS estimates 59,600 currently in the United States individuals may be eligible for TPS under the designation of Ukraine. However, Ukrainian nationals currently outside the United States do not qualify for TPS under this designation, and they will not become eligible by relocating to the United States in the coming weeks. Ukrainians are encouraged instead to apply for a visa or other legal pathway at a U.S. consulate abroad.
Uniting for Ukraine is a streamlined process for Ukrainian citizens and others displaced by the war in Ukraine to apply for humanitarian parole in the United States.
The United States strongly encourages Ukrainians seeking refuge in the United States who do not have and are not eligible for a visa to seek entry via Uniting for Ukraine from Europe, this will be the safest and most efficient way to pursue temporary refuge in the United States. The U.S. government is working with European partners to ensure Ukrainians can meet the vaccination requirements of Uniting for Ukraine.
Beginning on April 25, 2022, any U.S. citizen or individual, including representatives of non-government organizations, can sponsor Ukrainian applicants. Sponsorship information and the application will be published on the DHS website on April 25. Sponsors must declare their financial support and meet the vaccinations and other public health requirements, and pass the biographic and biometric screening, vetting, and security checks.
The US Government advises Ukrainians to not travel to Mexico to gain entry to the United States. Following the launch of the Uniting for Ukraine program, Ukrainians who present at US ports of entry without a valid visa or pre-authorization via the program will be denied entry and told to apply through this program.
Effective August 10, 2022, the COVID-19 vaccination requirement is now applicable to all Uniting for Ukraine beneficiaries aged six months or older unless they qualify for an exception.
The US Department of State announced new visa restrictions on 511 officers of the Russian Federation military, including officers operating in the Zaporizhzhia and Mariupol areas who are believed to have supported, been actively complicit in, or been responsible for ordering or otherwise directing or authorizing actions that threaten or violate the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of Ukraine. Additionally, DOS imposes visa restrictions on 18 Russian Federation nationals believed to be involved in suppressing dissent in Russia and abroad and their family members.
The Department of State will expand U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) operations in Europe to provide eligible Ukrainians with greater access to refugee resettlement processing under the Lautenberg program and expand referral mechanisms for Ukrainians and others who need permanent resettlement.
The United States is working with European partners, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and NGOs to identify vulnerable Ukrainian citizens and others fleeing the conflict who may warrant permanent resettlement through USRAP. This includes women and girls, children, older persons with special needs, members of ethnic and religious minority groups, LGBTQI+ persons, persons with disabilities, medically fragile individuals, and stateless persons.
European embassies and consulates are increasing the number of nonimmigrant visa appointments and ensuring an expedited visa appointment program for individuals with humanitarian, medical, or other extraordinary circumstances to get priority access.
What is the State Department doing at its Embassies to deal with this situation?
What does the State Department typically do to ensure there is interview capacity for interviewing visa applicants in a place impacted by a crisis?
Roll Call spoke Aaron Karnell, a former U.S. consular chief in Belfast, Ireland & EIG Senior Attorney, Consular Affairs, about how backlogs will force Ukrainians to face long visa waits. Read the article here.
IRCC introduced a Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), available for individuals fleeing Ukraine. This will be the fastest and most efficient way for Ukrainians to come to Canada, eliminating many of the typical visa requirements. In addition, there will be no limit to the number of Ukrainians who can apply.
The CUAET also gives those who are already in Canada the option to extend their visitor status, work permit, or study permit to continue to live and work or study in Canada temporarily.
Application Process
Temporary residents may be able to apply for permanent residency through various programs should they decide to stay in Canada at the end of their temporary stay.
Resources:
IRCC is implementing a special family reunification sponsorship pathway for permanent residence for Ukrainians with immediate or extended family members who are Canadian citizens and permanent residents. This program is in development in partnership with the Ukrainian and Canadian Congress.
Further details about this program will be available in the coming weeks.
From February 22 – March 31, 2022, the Canadian government will waive fees for the following groups:
For the following immigration matters:
Resources
Ukrainian nationals can enter Canada even if they’re not fully vaccinated. This also applies if the vaccine they got is approved by the World Health Organization, but isn’t currently recognized by Canada. When they arrive in Canada, they need to show that they’re a Ukrainian national or a family member of a Ukrainian national to benefit from this exemption.
They must meet all other public health requirements, such as quarantine and testing. With limited exceptions, all travelers to Canada, including anyone arriving under the CUAET, must also use ArriveCAN.
Resources
Updated as of May 26, 2023.
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