130,000 Ukrainians allowed to stay until 2027, Dutch aid groups warn of youth struggles

Nearly 130,000 displaced Ukrainians will be allowed to stay in the Netherlands until March 2027 under an expected extension of the Temporary Protection Directive (RTB), but aid organizations and the Advisory Council on Migration warn that thousands of children and young people face mounting psychological and practical problems due to prolonged uncertainty, NOS reported.

According to the independent migration advisory council, almost 21,000 Ukrainian minors in the Netherlands frequently have to move between shelters, where special spaces meant for them are often closed. Children and teenagers between ages 4 and 18 lack stability and safety, while many young adults are effectively excluded from higher education because they must pay far higher tuition fees than Dutch students and cannot receive student grants.

“The prolonged uncertainty about their residence status and worries about family left behind are causing stress, anxiety and depression,” the Advisory Council on Migration wrote last week. “Specific, culturally sensitive youth care is scarce, and psychological issues are not always recognized in time.”

Maarten Dekker, policy adviser at Desk for Displaced Ukrainians Psychosocial Support (Loket Ontheemden Oekraïne Psychosociale hulp, LOOP), said signals have been growing that the situation for Ukrainian youth is deteriorating. “They are in an identity crisis because they are no longer at home in Ukraine but also cannot connect in the Netherlands,” Dekker told NOS.

In shelters, children miss privacy and social support. Parents are often unable to help because they, too, experience prolonged stress and uncertainty. “The initial euphoria when they found safety in the Netherlands has been replaced by a sense of hopelessness. Each time, there is a temporary extension, but it offers no long-term perspective,” Dekker told NOS.

VluchtelingenWerk Nederland welcomed the expected extension of protection. “But it does not offer a long-term future perspective. This causes uncertainty in this group,” spokesperson Lolkje de Vries said. Among Ukrainians aged 17 to 23, 80 percent are not enrolled in any education program, making it hard to monitor their well-being.

Anna Bieliaieva, who has lived for three years with her 7-year-old son in municipal shelter in Utrecht, told NOS that the problems are widespread. She organizes activities for Ukrainian teenagers at Vital’ya, a community space whose name means “living room” in Ukrainian. “Their parents cannot afford higher education,” she said. Although Bieliaieva is grateful for the shelter—“It is a safe place, nothing like the war in Ukraine”—she emphasized that stability is still lacking. “I hope that someday we will have stability.”

The Advisory Council on Migration urged the government to ensure that Ukrainian children and young people can stay in safe, calm housing locations, have someone they can approach with questions and problems, and get help learning Dutch. The council also said universities and colleges should not charge them higher tuition than Dutch students.

Next Tuesday, EU ministers are expected to formally approve the extension of the Temporary Protection Directive until March 4, 2027. Under this directive, displaced Ukrainians have access to health care, housing and education and may work in the Netherlands without employers needing a work permit.

The Advisory Council on Migration is an independent advisory body that provides the Dutch cabinet and parliament with recommendations on migration law and policy, both at their request and on its own initiative.