Ukrainians who have been granted refugee status in the Netherlands and are already working will have to contribute around €350 a month to their care costs, Minister of State for Justice and Home Security Eric van der Burg announced in a note to the House of Commons.
Since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees have been able to live and work in the Netherlands without a visa and are exempt from paying utility costs, health insurance fees, and municipal taxes. They also receive between €280 and €380 a month from the local municipality to cover living costs, but this support stops as soon as they start working.
In the short term, the secretary of state would introduce a contribution of €105 per person for all adults to cover electricity, gas and water costs. In addition, Ukrainians living in accommodation where meals are provided will have to pay €242.48 per person.
Several Dutch parties have called for a means-tested system to determine the amount to be paid according to income, but van der Burg said this would be too complicated, partly because many Ukrainians have a variable monthly income.
The minister also decided that Ukrainian refugees should continue to be exempt from paying accommodation costs, as many of them live in temporary reception centers. He added that this was also not possible because the contribution to accommodation could be interpreted as rent, which would give Ukrainian refugees more rights as tenants and impose greater responsibility on the hosts.
According to the latest available data from May 2023, there were 94,415 Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands.
