Author
There is no definition or procedural guarantees for applicants with specific needs. In the legal instructions regulating the process of accommodation in the TACs, some reference is made to the prioritization of vulnerable persons in the process of accommodation (families with children, single women, and elderly persons). The legislation foresees that rooms for persons with disabilities accommodated in the TACs, as well as residential buildings and other premises used by them, are equipped according to the needs of persons.
The involvement of the psychologist during the RSD process to support very vulnerable applicants (SGBV survivors, for instance) is resolved on an ad hoc basis through the assistance of the UNHCR social partner NGOs.
Asylum applicants may benefit from certain social services which are targeted at preventing difficult life circumstances such as disability, childbirth, illness etc. Obstacles to receiving certain social services may arise if an asylum applicant cannot obtain a TIN. Quite often, asylum applicants are unable to obtain a TIN due to the absence of an ID or the expiration of such a document. Accordingly, asylum applicants without an ID, consequently without a TIN cannot have access to certain social services in Ukraine.
Among the range of social services, asylum applicants have stable access to assistance related to childbirth. A TIN is not required among the documents submitted to receive this assistance.[1]
In other cases, asylum applicants have received state social assistance with the aid of UNHCR executive partners.[2] For instance, ROKADA reported that they experienced precedents in issuing assistance due to low income for asylum applicants, although they explained that in those cases the authorities accepted the MSID as an identity document.[3] The Tenth of April has also assisted with burial arrangements, as governmental support is not available to asylum applicants. In case asylum applicants need support in applying for social services, relevant NGOs may assist with translation and legal information.
[1] Para.11, Procedure for Granting and Paying State Assistance to Families with Children.
[2] Testimony of the ROKADA dated 01 May 2024, testimony of the Tenth of April dated 14 May 2024.
[3] Testimony of the ROKADA dated 01 May 2024.