68,000 refugees from Ukraine given a residence endorsement sticker

n recent weeks, additional staff were deployed and the opening hours were extended to give as many people as possible the opportunity to make an appointment. Local councils and employers could bring groups so that as many refugees as possible could be assisted at once.

Great achievement

‘Many IND staff made a considerable effort to give everyone a sticker if they were entitled to one,’ says IND Director-General Rhodia Maas. ‘This is a great achievement, especially now the IND is also under so much pressure in other areas. I am proud that we’ve produced such results together.’

Sticker as proof to be allowed to work in the Netherlands

Refugees from Ukraine need a residence sticker to prove that they are allowed to work in the Netherlands without a work permit. Hence, locations where stickers are being issued have been busy for quite a while. In September, the issuance of stickers was paused temporarily because of a raw materials shortage, but since early October, the IND has resumed it on a large scale. In recent weeks, around 30,000 appointment slots were made available, where, unfortunately, almost half of the people did not show up for their appointment. This is probably because group appointments were made for people who had already collected a sticker themselves. 

Largest portion now has a sticker

By far, most refugees from Ukraine have a residence endorsement sticker if they are entitled to one. It is expected that a small group still needs to be given a sticker, but the exact number of people is unknown. This is mostly because children below 14 years old do not need a sticker but are included in the total number of refugees from Ukraine in the Netherlands. Neither is a tally kept of how many people have returned. From 1 November, the IND will continue to issue stickers to people who still do not have one, who have just arrived in the Netherlands, or to children who are turning 14. For this, they can go to Amsterdam by appointment.

Return to another country

In recent weeks, a couple of hundreds of Ukrainians have also reported for proof of residency while they were not entitled to it. They do not fall under the Temporary Protection Directive because they already had a residence permit in another European country before the war broke out. They are requested to return to the country where they were staying or to apply for protection via the asylum procedure.