Temporary protection for Ukrainians in the EU until 2028: EU regions call for preparing the switch to ordinary permits

In brief

• By a decision of 30 July 2026 the Council of the EU extended temporary protection for people who fled Ukraine until 4 March 2028.
• Since 5 August 2026 new applicants receive protection only if they satisfy their military obligations to Ukraine. The condition does not apply to those already under protection on or before 4 August 2026.
• The Council Recommendation of 16 September 2025 asks countries to open ordinary residence permits to Ukrainians: for work, study, business and family. It creates no new EU-wide status for Ukrainians.
• On 13 October 2026 the Committee of the Regions called for a gradual and coordinated transition without gaps in protection and with acquired rights safeguarded.
• Under the Council Recommendation, a permit on another basis cannot be held together with temporary protection. Switching is a choice and should be weighed in advance.

EU regions were the first to address life after March 2028

The European Committee of the Regions is an EU advisory body made up of representatives of cities and regions. Its opinions are not binding on member states, but they are read by the European Commission and the Council of the EU. The committee adopted the opinion "From Temporary Protection to Sustainable Solutions for Displaced Ukrainians in the EU: the role of cities and regions" at its plenary session on 13 October 2026. The rapporteur is Antje Grotheer, chair of the committee's working group on Ukraine.

The committee asks for three things. First, the transition should be gradual and coordinated, reflect individual circumstances, safeguard acquired rights and leave nobody without status between the two regimes. Second, cities and regions should take part in preparing it, because housing, schools, hospitals and employment services operate locally. Third, predictable funding from EU and national budgets.

The committee also addresses return. Any return to Ukraine, in its view, must be voluntary, informed, safe and sustainable. According to the UN refugee agency, cited by the committee, 49% of Ukrainian refugees hope or intend to return. That means the other half do not link their future to return or have not yet decided.

What this means for you. The opinion itself changes none of your rights. But it is a signal: at EU level the discussion is no longer about another extension but about how people will live after protection. It makes sense to prepare now.

Protection runs to 2028, but no longer for everyone

The EU introduced temporary protection in March 2022 and has extended it every year. The latest Council act is Implementing Decision 2026/1912 of 30 July 2026. It extends protection for another year, until 4 March 2028. The decision applies from 5 March 2027, when the previous extension expires.

The main novelty is a condition for new applicants. Article 2 states that protection is granted only to those who satisfy their military obligations to Ukraine. In practice a man of conscription age may need to prove that he left Ukraine lawfully. This rule has applied since 5 August 2026.

For those already living in the EU under protection, one exception matters. The new condition does not apply to people who enjoyed temporary protection in a given EU country on or before 4 August 2026. But the wording is tied to the country. If you move from one EU country to another and apply there anew, your position needs to be checked separately.

Eurostat figures show the scale. At the end of July 2026, 4.43 million people were under temporary protection. Germany, Poland and Czechia host the most. For these countries the transition after 2028 means hundreds of thousands of applications. Queues at migration offices in the last months before protection ends are easy to foresee.

What this means for you. If you have been under protection since 2022-2025, the military obligations condition does not affect you as long as you stay in the same country. Check a move to another EU country with a lawyer first.

No new status: the transition runs through ordinary permits

The main document on the transition is the Council Recommendation of 16 September 2025 on a coordinated approach to the transition out of temporary protection. A recommendation is not law, but it is the shared position of EU countries. It shows how Brussels sees the way out of protection.

The recommendation creates no new EU-wide status for Ukrainians. Instead, countries are asked to make it easier to get national residence permits based on employment, self-employment, vocational training or education for those who meet national conditions. Family-based permits and dedicated national statuses are also listed as options.

Where no suitable national path exists, the recommendation suggests letting protection holders apply for EU authorisations: for researchers and students, for highly qualified workers, that is the EU Blue Card, and for the single work and residence permit. There is an important condition: temporary protection and such an authorisation cannot be held at the same time. A person must be told in advance, at the latest when applying, how their rights differ under the new status.

The recommendation also covers those who will return. Countries may run voluntary return programmes, allow self-funded visits to Ukraine to check on homes and family, and give participants in such programmes a departure period of, in principle, up to one year after protection ends. Schoolchildren should be allowed to finish the school year. People with special needs that Ukraine cannot yet meet should get separate residence conditions.

What this means for you. There is no point waiting for a special "Ukrainian permit". The switch will be to ordinary grounds, with the same requirements as for other foreigners, sometimes with relief decided by a particular country.

Which residence permits are already open to Ukrainians

Below are the grounds the recommendation names directly, plus two paths that do not depend on temporary protection at all. Specific requirements, amounts and timing are set by each country, so the table shows only the logic of the choice.

Employment and the Blue Card are the most common path for those already working in an EU country. The employer usually knows the person; what remains is to move the relationship onto a work permit. If your profession requires a recognised diploma, start early: recognition takes months. How it works is described on the page on diploma recognition. Programmes for specialists are collected in the section talent residence permits.

For entrepreneurs and the self-employed, several countries offer permits through one's own company or activity. The requirements differ: the business plan, money in the account and real activity are examined. The options are in the section residence permits for entrepreneurs. Those with capital can consider residence by investment, for example the Greek golden visa. It is not tied to an employer but requires proof of the source of funds.

A separate path is citizenship by descent. For some Ukrainians, above all from the western regions, it is a real option: Hungary, for example, grants citizenship under a simplified procedure to those whose ancestors were Hungarian citizens, subject to knowledge of Hungarian. This is not a residence permit but an EU passport, and also the longest path: archives, documents on ancestors, an exam. Details are in our review of Hungarian citizenship by descent.

What this means for you. The right basis depends on what you already have: a job, a diploma, a business, capital, family or ancestors. Start with the strongest basis, not the fastest one.

Why switching costs rights, not just paperwork

Temporary protection gives a lot: the right to live, work, receive medical care and school children without separate permits. An ordinary permit often gives less. A work permit is tied to the employer, a student permit limits work, a family permit depends on the relative's status. That is why the Council Recommendation specifically requires the differences in rights to be explained before applying.

The second point is residence time for permanent residence and citizenship. The EU directive on long-term resident status does not apply to people living in a country on the basis of temporary protection. How national laws on permanent residence and citizenship treat the years under protection depends on the country. So the years since 2022 may not count, and the clock may restart with the new permit. Check this before switching, not after.

The third point is timing. A work permit or Blue Card takes from several weeks to several months, diploma recognition longer. If hundreds of thousands of people apply at once by March 2028, processing times will grow. Switching early means going through the process without a deadline pressing.

What this means for you. Switching means trading the broad rights of temporary protection for a status that leads to permanent residence. Sometimes it pays to switch earlier, sometimes later. Decide on the numbers, not on the news.

When there is no need to hurry

Not everyone should change status right now. In some situations it is wiser to wait and prepare documents.

• You firmly plan to return to Ukraine within a year or two. Voluntary return programmes and the right to visits, mentioned in the recommendation, matter more to you.
• There is no suitable basis yet: no job at the required salary, no diploma that can be recognised, no capital. Switching to "anything" with fewer rights than temporary protection is a bad deal.
• Your family depends on your status, and the new permit does not let you bring or keep relatives straight away. First understand what will happen to everyone.
• Your children are at school. The recommendation suggests letting pupils finish the school year. Plan the switch around the school calendar.

Waiting does not mean doing nothing. The time until 2028 can be used for documents: apostilles, translations, diploma recognition, proof of work experience. They will be needed on any basis.

What to do before 2028

What has not been decided

• Whether protection will be extended beyond 4 March 2028. There is no decision, and the Council of the EU has made no promises.
• What relief individual countries will introduce. The recommendation only suggests easier access to permits; each country chooses its own measures.
• How years under protection will count for permanent residence and citizenship. Practice varies, and there is no common EU rule yet.
• How the Commission and member states will take the Committee of the Regions' opinion into account. It is advisory; the next step is for the Commission and the Council.

Two things are worth tracking: Commission proposals on the future of temporary protection for 2028, and national decisions on transitional permits in the country where you live.

How this piece was prepared

This piece is based on Council Implementing Decision 2026/1912 of 30 July 2026 extending temporary protection until 4 March 2028, the Council Recommendation of 16 September 2025 on a coordinated approach to the transition out of temporary protection, the European Committee of the Regions press release of 13 October 2026 on the adoption of its opinion on displaced Ukrainians, and Eurostat data of 10 September 2026 on the number of temporary protection beneficiaries as of 31 July 2026. The 49% figure on intentions to return is from the UN refugee agency as cited by the Committee of the Regions. It is not a legal opinion on your situation.