Czech Interior Minister: No Mass Influx of Ukrainian Veterans Expected After the War

Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan — wait, let me correct: Lubomír Metnar — said in an interview that his ministry has no data pointing to a looming mass wave of Ukrainian migration to the Czech Republic once the war ends, despite fears that combat veterans could relocate to join family members already living in the country.

According to him, temporary protection status will expire once the war is over, and Ukrainians will shift to the standard residency regime, which includes mandatory security checks. Those who fail these checks will not be granted residence permits. The minister also noted that some laws are already being tightened, and that Ukraine itself has an interest in seeing its citizens return home to help rebuild the armed forces.

Return and Support Programmes

Kyiv, together with its European partners, is preparing a so-called "return programme" for men, women and children to come back home, and the Czech Republic is already getting involved, offering help with housing, jobs and school placement. At the same time, the Czech national programmes "Help on the Spot" (for internally displaced people inside Ukraine) and "Medevac" (medical assistance for civilians) remain in place — both aimed at Ukrainians who have no intention of settling permanently in the Czech Republic.

The minister stressed that he is particularly interested in retaining Ukrainians who don't rely on benefits, who work, and whose children attend Czech schools — such people, he said, will be given every opportunity to keep working in the country.

Crime Statistics Involving Ukrainians

According to the ministry, overall crime in the Czech Republic fell by roughly two percent last year compared to 2024, although violent crime and cybercrime both rose. Among Ukrainians, however, crime figures increased by more than five percent — a trend the minister attributes to more active detection and enforcement rather than a genuine surge in offences.

Temporary Protection and Conditions for Men

From the outset, the Czech Republic has pushed for a narrower EU temporary protection regime, raising the issue of age limits and the concept of "safe regions" within Ukraine, whose citizens would not automatically qualify for protection. So far, Czech officials have only managed to win EU-wide backing for the age criterion: men aged 23 to 60, who are subject to Ukrainian military conscription, now fall under restrictions. The idea of designating "safe regions" — already applied by Norway and Switzerland, and under discussion in Denmark — has yet to gain support from the rest of the EU.

The Czech Republic also runs a special long-term residence programme for employed Ukrainians earning at least 440,000 crowns a year (plus 110,000 crowns for each additional family member). Authorities have no plans to lower this threshold: of the 80,000 applicants in the first round, only 17,000 met the requirements; of the current 56,000 applications, around 14,000 have been approved.

Budget, Salaries and Drone Defence

The Interior Ministry is requesting 125 billion crowns for next year, excluding EU funding, and is pushing for an additional two billion crowns for vehicle fleet renewal, ballistic protection for patrol officers, IT projects and prevention programmes. By comparison, the 2026 budget totalled 122.1 billion crowns including EU money. The ministry has already agreed with the Finance Ministry on pay rises for police officers and firefighters, along with the creation of more than 1,500 new police positions and around a hundred new firefighter posts.

Separately, a new law on drone defence is in the works. It would give the police and owners of critical infrastructure the legal right to shoot down drones and stop violations of airspace perimeters — something current legislation barely allows. The minister described the overall security situation in the country as stable, noting that the terrorist threat level remains at B.

Read also: Insurance for Renewing Your Czech Residence Permit: The Complete 2026 Guide

Source: novinky.cz