More and more citizens do not plan to return to Ukraine.
More than two years after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, more and more Ukrainians refugees plan to stay abroad forever.
This is evidenced by the results of the latest Voice of Ukraine study, which constantly involves Ukrainian refugees living in several EU countries, reports pap.pl.
The share of people with such intentions depends on the country of residence.
In 2024, a quarter of refugees want to stay outside of Ukraine – 26% of respondents, while in 2022 only 10% of Ukrainian refugees declared their intention.
“In 2022, a few months after Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, 58% of Ukrainian refugees living in Germany declared their readiness to return to their country. In 2024, this figure fell to 38%,” noted Director of the Center for International Institutional. comparisons and studies of migration ifo Panu Putvaara.
The latest data for February 2024 has not yet been officially published. According to the researcher, in the 2024 survey, the proportion of people wishing to settle outside of Ukraine increased.
“In the latest Voice of Ukraine study, there are striking differences in the speech of Ukrainians living in Germany and other EU countries, for example, in Poland,” notes Professor Putvaara.
In Poland, the intention of refugees who want to return to Ukraine was and remains higher.
So, in 2022, about two-thirds of respondents in Poland said that they would like to return to Ukraine. In February 2024, this figure was 44%.
According to the expert, Ukrainians who plan to permanently live outside their homeland predominantly choose Western European countries due to higher salaries and social payments.
“Previous studies have already shown that Ukrainians value the financial support they receive in Germany. About 84% of them were satisfied with the support in Germany. In Poland, this percentage was only 54%,” Putvaara noted.
It is noted that Ukrainians are slowly entering the German labor market. In April 2024, out of 862 thousand Ukrainians of working age, only 192 thousand were employed in Germany.
According to statistics from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, about 188 thousand Ukrainian refugees completed integration courses in 2022 and 2023, of which about 150 thousand passed language exams at level A2 or B1, which allows basic communication level.
Remember, Poland is changing the rules for refugees from Ukraine from July 1 – details.
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