Copyright kyivpost
The number of Ukrainians applying for asylum in the Czech Republic has risen sharply since Kyiv eased travel restrictions on young men, according to media reports. While the Czech Republic approved 1,500 Ukrainian asylum applications per week on average before September, that figure more than doubled to 3,100 that month and in early October, news website Expats.cz reported, citing numbers from Czech authorities. The rise is due in large part to Kyiv relaxing wartime travel restrictions for Ukrainian men aged 18-22 from August onwards. Czech Interior Ministry spokesperson Hana Malá, cited by Expats.cz, said: “This increase was practically immediate… The policy change [in Kyiv] affects young men who previously could not leave Ukraine freely due to military service restrictions.” The outlet reported that the country’s interior ministry has dedicated additional resources to help manage the increase in asylum applications, with Interior Minister Vít Rakušan calling for cooperation between EU member states if numbers continue to rise. Other countries in Europe have reported similar trends. Some border checkpoints in Poland saw crossings by Ukrainians aged 18-22 grow twelvefold last month. Germany recorded a tenfold increase in the number of Ukrainian asylum claimants from this age group in the weeks following Kyiv’s easing of travel restrictions. Opportunity for young Ukrainians Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv barred most men aged 18-60 from leaving the country, with those aged 25 or older currently subject to military conscription. On August 26, Ukrainian authorities relaxed the restrictions, framing the change as an opportunity for young men to pursue education or work abroad. The Czech Republic, like Poland, allows Ukrainian refugees access to its labor market, according to Czech news site Novinky, with the total number of Ukrainian refugees in the country nearing 400,000. Last month, Warsaw passed a law that limits financial support for Ukrainian citizens in Poland by making payouts dependent on recipients being in work, amid growing skepticism among Poles towards the use of state money to help the large Ukrainian population. However, a UN report published in June showed that Ukrainians have contributed more to the Polish economy than they have taken out, while a separate report released this month revealed that Ukrainians living in Poland also put more money into the Polish healthcare system than they take out of it.
