The Czech Republic stopped providing temporary protection to some Ukrainians: what has changed since August 5

From August 5, 2026, the Czech Republic will no longer provide temporary protection to Ukrainian citizens of conscription age who cannot prove their military service in Ukraine. The new rules will apply only to those applying for the status for the first time.

The relevant changes came into force after the publication of the decision of the Council of the European Union in the Official Journal of the EU.

Who the new restrictions apply to

According to the decision of the Council of the EU, the right to temporary protection will no longer be granted to persons of conscription age who cannot prove their military service in Ukraine.

At the same time, the innovations do not apply to Ukrainians who are already enjoying temporary protection in the countries of the European Union. The restrictions apply exclusively to new applicants.

What was stated in the Czech Republic

The Minister of the Interior of the Czech Republic, Lyubomir Metnár, noted that Prague has supported the introduction of such a restriction at the European Union level from the very beginning.

According to him, the new rules will significantly reduce the number of newly arrived Ukrainian citizens and reduce the burden on the country’s healthcare and social security systems.

The Czech Ministry of Internal Affairs also predicts that the number of new arrivals may decrease by tens of percent.

Why was such a decision made

According to official Czech data, in 2025, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war, the number of Ukrainian men who arrived in the country exceeded the number of women.

During the year, the number of working-age men from Ukraine in the Czech Republic increased by more than 20 thousand people and reached 132 thousand.

Temporary protection extended until 2028

Despite the new restrictions, the European Union extended the temporary protection mechanism for Ukrainians until March 4, 2028.

The EU member states agreed on the corresponding decision back on July 15, 2026.

According to the European Union, since March 2022, more than 4 million Ukrainian citizens who were forced to leave the country due to a full-scale war have used the temporary protection mechanism.