Immigration
Netherlands | TPD protection status ends on 4 March 2024 for non-Ukrainian nationals, while the protection status for Ukrainian nationals remains in place
Summary
EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) offers protection to those fleeing the war in Ukraine, providing a legal basis for providing residence rights, shelter, medical care, work rights and education to its beneficiaries until at least 4 March 2025. When implementing the TPD on 4 March 2022, the Dutch government decided that the measures would apply equally to Ukrainian nationals as well as non-Ukrainian nationals who were residing in Ukraine at the time.
However, from July 2022, the Dutch government has been looking to end TPD protection for non-Ukrainian nationals. A ruling by the highest competent court in the Netherlands, handed down on 17 January 2024, has now confirmed that TPD protection for non-Ukrainian nationals will end on 4 March 2024.
The Detail
When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, EU member states decided to activate the TPD to support people who left Ukraine. The TPD entered into force on 4 March 2022 and has been extended until 4 March 2025. This protection status offered immediate protection to Ukrainian nationals and a clear legal status in each Member State of the European Union. In the Netherlands, non-Ukrainian nationals were also covered by the TPD if they resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022.
In July 2022, the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security formally decided to end TPD protection for non-Ukrainian nationals, arguing that non-Ukrainian nationals in most cases are able to return to their country of nationality. The date set by the Dutch government was 4 September 2023, by which time non-Ukrainian holders of TPD protection in the Netherlands would either have to leave the Netherlands or apply for a different residence status. In response to this unilateral decision, several non-Ukrainian TPD status holders filed an appeal to the highest administrative court in the Netherlands, the Dutch Council of State.
On 17 January 2024, the Council of State issued its ruling based on the appeal. While it did not agree with the arbitrary date of 4 September 2023, the court confirmed that the Dutch government has the right to end protection for non-Ukrainian nationals under the TPD from 4 March 2024. This is because the TPD is extended on a yearly basis and the Dutch government communicated in July 2023 its intention to end TPD rights for non-Ukrainian nationals, which is before 19 October 2023, when the EU Council formally decided to extend the TPD until 4 March 2025. The court therefore accepts that the Dutch government was clear and timely in its intention to have the TPD extension after 4 March 2024 apply only to Ukrainian nationals.
What this means
As a result of this ruling, non-Ukrainian nationals will no longer be protected under the TPD as of 4 March 2024. This means that if non-Ukrainian nationals would like to continue to reside in the Netherlands after this date, they have to obtain a different type of Dutch residency status to allow them to continue to live, work, and study in the Netherlands. Alternative options include applying under regular asylum rules or via an employer-sponsored category.
The decision of the Dutch Council of State will not affect the protection status of Ukrainian nationals under the TPD. This means that the rights to reside, including work rights, of Ukrainian nationals based on the TPD will remain in place until 4 March 2025. In this regard, it is relevant to note that Ukrainian nationals are now required to have a residence card or passport sticker as proof of their rights in the Netherlands under the TPD. In addition, employers are also required to notify the Netherlands Employees Insurance Agency (UWV) when hiring Ukrainian nationals who have work rights based on the TPD.
How we can help
Feel free to reach out to your Vialto Partners contact for more information on this change of residency status for non-Ukrainian nationals on the basis of the TPD as of 4 March 2024. In the meantime, Vialto will continue to monitor developments and the possible impact for businesses and employees.
Contact us
For further details on the above, please reach out to your usual Vialto Partners contact or alternatively contact:
Hugo Vijge
Director
Nini Braken-Zheng
Senior Associate Immigration
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Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
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Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com
Vialto Partners (“Vialto”) refers to wholly owned subsidiaries of CD&R Galaxy UK OpCo Limited as well as the other members of the Vialto Partners global network. The information contained in this document is for general guidance on matters of interest only. Vialto is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will Vialto, its related entities, or the agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
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