The Czech Republic is at the very limit of the number of refugees it is able to absorb without major problems. During the three weeks of the Russian invasion, 270,000 war refugees from Ukraine came to the Czech Republic. This was stated by Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) at a press conference after the extraordinary tripartite meeting. According to him, the Czech Republic is one of the countries that manages the influx of newcomers best.
“Currently, there are 270,000 people in the Czech Republic who have fled the war. We must admit that we are at the very limit of what we can absorb without major problems,” said the Prime Minister. According to him, the Czech Republic must continue to take steps that will help manage any further high numbers of arrivals. He mentioned the forthcoming changes to the laws governing visas, security, education and employment of refugees. The government has also agreed on contributions for accommodation, the Ministry of Regional Development is preparing subsidies for municipalities for the acquisition and reconstruction of apartments.
According to previous models from previous migration waves, the Czech Republic was able to receive such a number of refugees, which corresponds to two percent of the population. It’s just over 200,000 people. Fiala stated that the Czech Republic belongs to the target countries of the arrivals and also to the countries that manage the migration wave the best. He added that the Czechia has the largest number of registered inhabitants. The Ministry of the Interior has so far issued around 180,000 visas to endure.
More than half of the newcomers are children, four-fifths of adults are women. On the contrary, many men who worked in the Czech Republic returned to their homeland to fight. Many companies provide support to the families of their Ukrainian employees. Employers offer vacancies. Refugees with a toleration visa will have free access to the Czech labor market after the adoption of the discussed law, they will not need a work permit. According to integration experts, the Czechia should use the education and qualifications of the newcomers.
Source: CTK
