Ukrainian refugee
My name is Val, I am a Ukrainian citizen.
On November 2021, I travelled to Poland for tourism. Later, when there were clear signs of the possible war, I did not dare to return home to Ukraine. Unfortunately, the fears came true and the war started on 24 February 2022.
Because of war I moved to the Netherlands, where I received temporary protection status for Ukrainian refugees. However, my current situation is very difficult: I am a young pregnant woman without a husband (he left me), and in the Netherlands it is extremely hard to raise a child alone due to housing shortage and high inflation.
My aunt lives in Wiesbaden under temporary protection as well, and she will soon receive an apartment. She is inviting me to the city and ready to support me.
I am fluent in English, I speak Dutch, and I studied German at school and am ready to improve it further. This will make integration much easier for me.
Could you please clarify:
- Is it possible for me to obtain temporary protection (§ 24 AufenthG) in Germany, even though I already hold protection in the Netherlands?
- If necessary, could I travel to Ukraine and then re-enter Germany in order to apply for protection here?
- Which documents will be required from me?
Dear Val,
I am not a legal expert, just here to help with my personal experience.
Your wish to stay with family during pregnancy is completely understandable. It’s best to discuss your case personally with the Ausländerbehörde Wiesbaden — they can give you clear guidance on whether they can take over your case from the Netherlands. You can also ask for help from Caritas-Ukraine-Hilfe-Zentrum (I also found out they have a supportive programme for future mothers Соціальна служба католицьких жінок e.V. - Супровідь і консультації для жінок до та після народження дитини (до 3-х років), групові пропозиції для жінок -мігрантів і біженців) or Diakonie Wiesbaden, who regularly support Ukrainian refugees with similar transitions.
Unfortunately, you cannot hold temporary protection in two EU countries at the same time. According to EU rules, protection is valid only in the first EU country that granted it — in your case, the Netherlands. This means Germany would normally not issue new protection while your status in the Netherlands is still active. You would likely need to deregister your protection in the Netherlands first. After that, you can apply for temporary protection (§24 AufenthG) in Germany. This process can be difficult now, though. Still, it is possible! But there is no guarantee that you will be approved for the German temporary protection.
Documents you will need are
Hope this helps somehow.
BTW you can look through the Ukrainian version of Handbook Germany platform, if you speak Ukrainain. Similar questions have already been answered there, like this one Тимчасовий захист, Тимчасовий захист
Anna,volunteer