Temporary Protection is designed to provide immediate protection to refugees, including those who have fled areas of armed conflict. While temporary protection doesn’t obstruct the right to apply for international protection, it may reduce the need to apply immediately as you will receive a residence permit as well as associated rights. The duration of temporary protection is defined by EU law.

Asylum is an individual right, granted following a specific administrative and legal process that will determine whether you have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Once granted, asylum can be withdrawn whenever new elements or findings arise indicating that there are reasons to reconsider its validity.

The right to temporary protection is in addition to the right to apply for international protection (asylum status).

You should enquire at the national authorities of the Member State where you are present for more details regarding specific rights, such as access to medical care, housing and the labour market, education for children and detention, under each regime. For general information about fundamental rights during the asylum procedure, please see here.

Within the 90-day period, you will be granted a one (1)-year temporary protection by the Asylum Service of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. This gives you the right of access to residence, labour market and to medical care, in accordance with Directive 2001/55 of the Council of the European Union and Presidential Decree 80/2006 (Greek National Legislation). https://migration.gov.gr/en/ukraine/.

Attention! Residence Permits of Temporary Protection that expire by March 4, 2023 are automatically renewed for an additional period of six (6) months- that is, until September 4, 2023. If during the above period the European Commission does not decide to terminate temporary protection as a residence status, temporary protection residence permits will be further renewed for an additional six (6) months (until March 4, 2024).Given the above extension, residence permits will not be further renewed and permit holders do not need to proceed to any additional actions. New Residence Permits of Temporary Protection will continue to be issued to displaced people from Ukraine who enter Greece for the first time (and within the above time framework). Temporary Protection Residence Permits act as proof of Temporary Protection Status, provide Ukrainian refugees with the right to work and protect their rights as specified in Articles 128 and 131 of Law 4939/2022.

About the procedure for granting temporary protection, please contact us via email at tp-support@migration.gov.gr

Important: The procedure for granting temporary protection is provided free of charge by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. In particular, free interpretation assistance is provided in the helpdesk and during the full registration, in order to assign the Temporary Protection Residence Permit [ADPP] to the beneficiary, who simultaneously lists / provides a VAT number and an AMKA.

You may enter Greece as described below:

1. Holders of a Ukrainian biometric passport may enter through all entry points (ports, land borders, airports) with a maximum stay of 90 days.
2. Holders of a Ukrainian passport without biometric features (old type) may enter from all entry points; a transit visa is required with a maximum stay of 90 days.

Attention: for the above cases, the National Police will stamp your passport with the date of entry.

1. Ukrainian citizens without travel documents may enter only from the Passport Control Department in Promachonas, where you will be issued a document by Ukrainian Embassy staff. This procedure allows you to stay for a maximum of 90 days.
2. In case your children do not have travel documents, National Police officials will note under the entry stamp on your own passport the number of minors you are accompanying.

Attention: In this case, you will have to show a certificate of marital status or a birth certificate of your children. If you do not have either of these documents, you must complete and submit a solemn declaration stating:

1. the number of children
2. their first name
3. surname
4. gender
5. date of birth.

If you have not received an entry stamp, your air tickets are also considered proof of entry.

Source: https://migration.gov.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Info-for-Displaced-People-from-Ukraine-Final-2-3-22.pdf

When travelling to and around the EU, please be aware of the risk of trafficking and exploitation. Only accept transport and accommodation from people you know, authorities and civil society organizations. Do not give your identification documents, personal information and belongings to anyone other than government or border officials and always inform your relatives or friends about your whereabouts. In case you are offered employment, research the company and if you have doubts, you can ask national police authorities or civil society organizations for more information.

For more information about national authorities that deal with human trafficking and organizations that can help depending on your location, please see here.

Please consult Re-open EU for information on travel and health measures in EU and Schengen Associated countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yes. Police and other administrative checks are always possible, including within the territory and at internal borders for security and migration purposes. It is important to cooperate and provide the required documents and information to police or border guards. In certain circumstances you may be required to remain available to the authorities during these checks in designated facilities.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/eu-solidarity-ukraine/eu-assistance-ukraine/information-people-fleeing-war-ukraine_en

Yes. Once you enter a country that is part of the Schengen area, you can in principle travel without border checks, to other countries of the Schengen area. However, you can only do so for 90 days within a 180-day period.

Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein are not EU countries, but they are Schengen countries. You can travel to those countries once you have entered the Schengen area, but your rights related to international or temporary protection may differ.

While Denmark is an EU and a Schengen country, it does not take part in the temporary protection scheme and does not apply the EU rules on Asylum. Therefore, your rights related to international or temporary protection in Denmark may differ from those you have in other EU countries

Since the beginning of the war, several European transport companies have been offering free transport, including rail, bus, ferry, and air travel. A list of the carriers involved is available here.

As far as Greece is concerned, from May 18th, transportation to Athens and Thessaloniki is free of charge for 90 days with the following procedures:

Athens:

The OASA Group from the 18^th of May 2022, announced that war refugees from Ukraine residing in the Region of Attica, acquire the right of full exemption from the payment of a fare in public transport under the responsibility of the Group with a validity of 90 days.

Beneficiaries can issue personalized ATH.ENA card electronic mobility cards from the OASA Group ticket offices that have a special device for issuing personalized cards.

In order to to get the right to a free fare you will need:

1. TaxisNet codes for accreditation /entry into the application
2. the personalized ATH.ENA card
3. the 8-digit Pin code of ATH.ENA card

If you have not purchased a personalized card, you must do so beforehand, otherwise you will not be able to continue the procedure.

The 8-digit Pin code won’t be saved, but will simply only be used to verify your card.

After entering the app with your TaxisNet credentials, the free fare request process is summarized in the following 4 simple steps:

1. register your card
2. verify your card
3. choose the free fare category you apply for from the available ones: Unemployed OAED or Unemployed GEN or Disabled or Refugees from Ukraine
4. activate the free fare by stating your consent

Regarding minors up to 6 years old transportation is free of charge. For children from 7 years old you can also issue a card in the same way as yours. The ‘issuance/possession of a VAT number’ has nothing to do with it.

Thessaloniki: OASTH provides free quarterly travel passes for travel for Ukrainian war refugees, for transportation by bus.

A stand was installed at Pavilion 2 at the TIF (Thessaloniki International Fair), where basic necessities are collected and then applications for the granting of the cards are made available to the displaced Ukrainian refugees, as well as their issue.

In order to submit the application and then receive the card, Ukrainian refugees must have with them the Temporary Protection Residence Permit or, alternatively, the passport with which they entered Greece after 24 February.

From June 1st, the relevant procedure will take place at the offices of OASTH, at 90 Alexandrou Papanastasiou Street, on the ground floor.

In addition, OASTH gives the opportunity for the electronic submission of the application, at the address cards.oasth.gr.

As a supporting document you will need to have with you your Temporary Protection Residence Permit or, alternatively, the passport with which you entered Greece after February 24^th of 2022.

Yes, Ukrainians or nationals from other visa free countries can continue and travel to other EU/Schengen countries. However, if you crossed the EU border for the first time through a country that is not part of the EU area without internal border control (Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Ireland) your documents will be checked again at the border crossing point of the next Schengen country.

If you have fled the war in Ukraine, you will be able to travel to other EU countries. For Ukrainians, this right comes from the visa free regime in place between the EU and Ukraine. If you come from a third country, you need to check whether your country of origin is on the list of countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement.