The refugees from Donbas are now required to obtain a special mark on the migrant registration certificates. This way the Ukrainian cabinet will be able to reduce the number of persons receiving compensation for housing rents from the state. The new policy creates added difficulty for the citizens who arrive from Eastern Ukraine.
Henceforth, the registration certificate of a person who moves from the occupied territory is not valid without a stamp of the State Migration Service – such a stamp must now be present on the back of each certificate for it to be considered valid. But before putting such a stamp, migration officers together with the police actually pay a visit to the provided address to check whether the refugees live there.
Without the stamp from the state there will be no housing compensation provided by the Ukrainian authorities.
Possibly the prime minister is trying to fight corruption or save the budget. But for the refugees who may have moved from the previous location and do not receive the stamp on time there will be no compensation.
This policy violates the principle of freedom of movement. The person is tied to one location and cannot freely choose his or her place of residence without involuntarily violating the policy.
According to Tatyana, a migrant from Eastern Ukraine, “It feels like a 'prisoner'. One should be ready for the fact that law enforcement services will come for monthly inspection to check if the person lives at the specified address […] In short, it's all pretty humiliating,” media reports.
