Author
Asylum seekers are eligible for very limited reception conditions at every stage of their application. An asylum-seeker can apply for accommodation in one of the three State accommodation centres for asylum seekers, refugees and persons in need of complementary protection named Temporary Accommodation Centres (TAC). Control over the activities of the centre is exercised by the structural units of the SMS.[1]
Asylum seekers are eligible to be settled at TAC only if their application passes the preliminary examination stage. The SMS is not obliged to accommodate persons to TAC and may refuse. The Centre may refuse to accommodate an asylum seeker under the following grounds:
- in the absence of free places;
- in the absence of MSID or if the MSID of application for protection in Ukraine has expired;
- in the absence of a copy of the certificate with information about the person who has undergone a medical examination;
- in case of detection of infectious diseases and diseases incompatible with cohabitation;
- in case of complications of the sanitary and epidemiological situation at the point.
R2P had a case when an asylum seeker with two wives was refused to be accommodated because of his plural marriage.
The stay in the TAC is not limited by the legislation. Asylum seekers as well as beneficiaries of international protection with valid documents can prolong their stay in TAC every six months.[2] TAC residents are provided with a food package on a regular basis. The three existing TACs in Ukraine offer reception spaces for 421 persons in total which do not cover the existing needs for housing. Moreover, after the full-scale invasion, TACs have also been used to accommodate internally displaced persons.
In addition, asylum seekers are allowed to stay with relatives, in a hotel, renting a flat with their own means.[3]
No other living subsidies are made available to asylum-seekers by the state during the course of the whole asylum procedure. Asylum-seekers not accommodated in a TAC are not provided with any assistance by the State and the national social protection system. Humanitarian organisations like UNHCR and its NGO partners therefore provide cash and in-kind assistance to cover the most basic needs, though these programs are often insufficient.[4]
[1] Section I(6) Regulations on Temporary Accommodation Centres for Refugees.
[2] Part III(17) Regulations on Temporary Accommodation Centres for Refugees.
[3] Article 13(1) Law on Refugees.
[4] UNCHR, Refugees and asylum seekers, available in Ukrainian here.