Court allows EU to deny temporary protection to several Ukrainian refugees

The EU Court in Luxembourg has allowed EU countries to deny temporary protection and residence rights to certain categories of refugees from Ukraine, according to the court's decision, Report informs via foreign media.

Under EU legislation, temporary protection rights are granted to Ukrainian citizens, holders of permanent residence permits in Ukraine, those who received international protection status in Ukraine, and family members of these categories. The document states that decisions to expel such refugees from the country are only possible after the official termination of temporary protection status. The Dutch authorities sought clarification from the court.

In 2022, they began granting temporary protection status to all categories of refugees from Ukraine, including third-country nationals who had received temporary residence permits in Ukraine. However, later it was decided to withdraw temporary protection status and residence rights from this category of refugees in the Netherlands.

Holders of temporary Ukrainian residence permits appealed to courts, while authorities sought consultation from the EU court. According to the European Commission's estimates, around 4.5 million Ukrainian refugees are currently in EU countries. They enjoy temporary protection status, which was recently extended until March 2026.