Ukrainians in the Czech Republic losing temporary protection due to Canadian visas
Temporary protection is provided to foreigners who left Ukraine after 24 February 2022 in connection with Russian aggression and meet certain specified conditions. This type of residence permit allows free access to the labour market and offers other social and health benefits in the Czech Republic. However, many temporary protection holders are unaware that they can easily lose this status, for instance by obtaining a foreign long-term visa. The trend of applying for Canadian visas, which are very easy to get, is particularly unfortunate in this respect.
Especially before the entry into force of the amendment to the Lex Ukraine extending the validity of temporary protection, there was much nervousness in the Ukrainian community. One option that seemed easy and quick and thus began to spread rapidly, was to obtain a Canadian visa. However, this step taken just in case has a serious and unwanted effect: under the law, once a foreign visa with a validity of more than 90 days is granted, the holder of temporary protection automatically loses this status.
Obstacle to access to labour market
This makes life complicated not only for Ukrainians but also for their employers: once the temporary protection holder loses this status, they also lose free access to the Czech labour market. With immediate effect, they may no longer be employed; if they continue to work, it is illegal employment, for which employers face fines of up to CZK 10 million, plus they are labelled ‘unreliable employers’, which temporarily significantly limits their possibility to employ foreigners; for many companies this can be a serious complication. In these situations, employees must urgently deal with administrative issues relating to the shortage of labour and must communicate about the situation with the authorities. The illegally working foreigner may also be fined up to CZK 100,000.
Exemption for visas issued before 10 February
Some hope was brought to the situation by the Ministry of the Interior, which announced on its website that Canadian visas issued before 10 February 2023 and marked as "V1" or "W1" shall not be viewed as an obstacle to extending temporary protection. The ministry justified this step by the understandable nervousness of temporary protection holders before changes to the applicable legislation. However, for visas issued after that date, the exception does not apply, and the temporary protection expires and cannot be extended. However, if the Canadian visa is revoked, it is possible to again apply for new temporary protection.
We emphasise that the ministry has only applied this lenient approach to Canadian visas, not to all foreign residence titles in general. We therefore recommend that Ukrainian citizens with temporary protection be cautious and always find out in advance whether their actions, especially applications for foreign residence permits and visas, may have negative consequences for their residence status in the Czech Republic.