The Ministry of Labor of the Czech Republic has submitted to the government for consideration new rules concerning cash assistance to immigrants. In this regard, the amount of financial assistance received by Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic will be reduced. The refugees' income will be taken into account when calculating the aid.

It is also noted that the first payment will not be automatic. The application for assistance will need to be made online.

Updated amounts of financial assistance: who will receive and how much

From now on, the amount of financial assistance to Ukrainians will correspond to the subsistence minimum of the country.

• For displaced people, the amount will be smaller: instead of 5,000 kroner, they will receive 4,860 kroner per adult and 3,490 kroner per child;
• For pensioners and people with disabilities, the financial assistance will be increased by 1.5 times the subsistence minimum: the payment will be 7,290 kroner per adult and 5,235 kroner per child.

How will the payment depend on the amount of income?

Only those refugees whose income does not exceed the amount of the fixed payment will be able to apply for financial assistance in the Czech Republic. Czech incomes and money transfers from abroad, in particular from Ukraine, will be taken into account. Only payments to households in the Czech Republic and aid for children from UNICEF will not be considered income.

When deciding on the payment of child support, the joint income of a minor and an adult immigrant will be taken into account.

Support from the state can also be received by refugees whose income does not even reach the amount of humanitarian aid. Thus, to receive aid, an adult refugee without children must earn (or receive a pension) less than 4,860 kroner per month, and a mother with two children less than 11,840 kroner, i.e. less than the amount of humanitarian aid for her and her children.

At the same time, after six months, the authorities will check whether the applicant has obstacles to entering the labor market: for example, taking care of a small child, pension or studies.

On July 1, there were changes related to humanitarian aid,, housing, solidarity payments and vulnerable persons. The changes are due to amendments to the law Lex Ukraine V.

Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian assistance will include assistance for living needs and assistance for housing. All incomes of immigrants will be taken into account. Humanitarian aid will depend on the living wage and the minimum necessary for existence. Vulnerable persons will receive higher assistance.

In the first 150 days after receiving temporary protection, the amount of payments will be:

• 4,860 kroner for an adult, 7,290 kroner for a person with a disability;
• 3,490 kroner per child, 5,235 kroner if it is a person with a disability, 4,188 kroner per child aged 6 to 10 years.

After 150 days from receiving temporary protection, the amount of payments will be:

• 3,130 kroner per adult in cases where the person is not trying to earn money on his own and is not a vulnerable person;
• 4,860 kroner per adult who belongs to the category of vulnerable persons, 7,290 kroner per person with a disability;
• 3,490 kroner per child, 5,235 kroner per person with disabilities, 4,188 kroner per child aged 6 to 10).

Vulnerable persons

The category of vulnerable persons includes:

• children under 18 years old;
• persons who take care of a child under the age of 6;
• persons older than 65 years;
• persons who care for persons with disabilities;
• students;
• pregnant women;
• persons with disabilities.

From July 1, the Czech Republic will cancel payments to Czechs who sheltered Ukrainians in their homes. Instead, Ukrainians will receive money for renting accommodation directly:

• 3,000 Czech crowns per person in an apartment entered in the register;
• 2,400 kroner - in an unregistered residential premises.

This step will allow not only to reduce expenses. The Czech authorities seek to stimulate Ukrainians to find employment and, accordingly, to have the ability to pay for housing.

Please note that the refugee financial assessment amount may vary. The reason is the assessment of the refugee's earnings and savings, which will be carried out after the refugee applies for a new benefit.

Calculator of humanitarian aid for Ukrainians in the Czech Republic

An approximate humanitarian aid calculator for Ukrainians in the Czech Republic has been posted on the website of the Ministry of Labor. Now Ukrainians who have temporary protection in the country can calculate the approximate amount of payments from July 1.

Calculator.

Financial assistance for Ukrainian children with disabilities in the Czech Republic

Ukrainian children with disabilities who have temporary protection in the Czech Republic can receive financial assistance from UNICEF in partnership with the Czech Red Cross and in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MPSV).

The program aims to help families who face additional costs related to a child's disability, which are not covered by the Czech state health insurance, and greater difficulties in accessing the labor market.

The amount of monetary support is 6,600 Czech crowns per month. The allowance is paid to the legal representative of the child who takes care of the child. The financial support program is expected to continue for the duration of the temporary protection under "Lex Ukraine V" (ie until March 2024).

To be eligible for the program, you must:

• be the legal guardian of a child who:

1. has a disability;
2. received temporary protection issued by the Czech authorities;

• currently live in the Czech Republic with a child with a disability;
• take care of a child with a disability.

How to get help?

1. register online at the link;
2. receive an SMS confirmation of admission (within 3 weeks);
3. register in the program.

You can find more detailed information about the program, criteria for participation, registration, and necessary documents in the UNICEF brochure.

If you are eligible for this program and would like to request an appointment to enroll, please complete and submit the form here.

You can open a free bank account with:

• ČSOB;
• Česká Spořitelna;
• Raiffeisenbank .

Documents. Passport with a visa of tolerance (must be 18+ years old), or any identity card.

Ukrainians with a residence permit in the Czech Republic can receive bonuses when opening an account in two Czech banks: Raiffeisenbank and ČSOB.

When opening an account at Raiffeisenbank, the client will receive bonuses in the amount of 500 crowns every month for 6 months, if he pays with the card at least 3 times a month. In total, you can get up to 3,000 kroner.

ČSOB Bank offers a bonus of 1,000 crowns when opening an account, which must be spent by April 30, 2023. To do this, you need to insure your payment card and log into the ČSOB Smart mobile application within 30 days.

Like anywhere in the EU, you can withdraw cash from any ATM (some may charge a fee).

Unfortunately, if you have Ukrainian Hryvnia cash you cannot change those at the moment. The EU countries currently working on a solution. We recommend you to withdraw the money from the ATM.

If you are officially employed in Czech Republic, your employer pays taxes on your behalf (there are deductions from your monthly wages i.e. for social security). Detailed info at taxsummaries.pwc.com.

If your remote job is within Czech Republic, your employer will take care of taxes.

If your remote job is outside of Czech Republic or you are a freelancer, please talk to a tax expert. There is a double taxation agreement in place between Ukraine and Czech Republic to avoid double taxation. For more information please visit www.expats.cz.

In the Czech Republic, Ukrainian refugees automatically become tax residents if they have housing (including rented housing) and live there for more than 6 months a year.

There is an ingenious, but not perfect, solution — to prove to the tax authority of the state in which the citizen does not plan to pay taxes that he is a resident of another country where he fulfils this duty.

A natural person has such a right, as Ukraine has valid conventions and treaties on the avoidance of double taxation with 73 countries of the world. Among them are almost all European countries, as well as the USA and Canada. According to these conventions, Ukrainians who pay taxes in Ukraine have the right to avoid taxation in the country of residence.

If such a situation arises in which a citizen falls under the criteria of a tax resident of Ukraine and at the same time another state defines him as its resident, he has the right to contact the tax authorities of the country of residence and make a request to the Ukrainian tax authorities to confirm that he pays taxes.

That is, in order to prevent double taxation, it is necessary to determine the resident status of an individual and, if necessary, obtain a document that will confirm it. But this may require the help of specialists - tax consultants or lawyers. Specialists advise in advance to collect evidence of the presence of a center of economic interests in Ukraine (if you plan to pay taxes only in Ukraine).

Among them may be:

• certificate of payment of taxes in Ukraine;
• certificate of tax resident of Ukraine (soon to be available in electronic form);
• actual place of registration in Ukraine;
• evidence of the presence of an individual entrepreneur registered in Ukraine (registration documents and tax declarations);
• certificates of current accounts in Ukrainian banks;
• certificates about the child's attendance at educational institutions in Ukraine;
• receipts for the payment of utility bills.

If a citizen of Ukraine is recognized as a resident of Ukraine, but paid taxes in another country, the taxes paid can be credited in Ukraine. But if a person does not meet the criteria of a resident of Ukraine, it allows to change the tax resident status and consider another country as the place of tax payment.

It is important to check the registration of a natural person as a subject of entrepreneurial activity in the Unified State Register. Even if the activity has not been carried out for a long time, but the registration has not been terminated, this is a criterion for recognizing a person as a resident of Ukraine, which is accompanied by the obligation to pay taxes on income received abroad in Ukraine.

Being a citizen of Ukraine, but a tax NON-resident, you will still have to pay taxes in Ukraine for some types of income:

• when receiving inheritance and gifts from persons who are not relatives of the 1st and 2nd degrees of kinship;
• when receiving an investment profit;
• when selling/leasing immovable and movable property to a natural person.

Source.

You can transfer money from Czech Republic to Ukraine via an international transfer or money transfer at a corresponding provider or a bank.

For an international transfer at the bank you have to fill out a special form and usually pay fees. Other special money transfer providers (e.g. Western Union, Moneygram, Wise, Revolut, Paypal) are often a cheaper and faster alternative.