The Cabinet of Ministers supported for further progress to the Saeima the amendments to the Law on the Support for Civilians of Ukraine, which stipulates the conditions for providing accommodation and food for the provision of support to Ukrainian war refugees until the end of this year. The relevant amendments were achieved in political discussions chaired by the Minister of the Interior.
Minister of the Interior K. Eklons: “We cannot remain indifferent to the people of Ukraine who are forced to flee the horrors of war. We take care of and will continue to take care of the Ukrainian war refugees, providing them with the necessary support and giving them the opportunity to live and work during their stay in Latvia. Together, we have streamlined the admission mechanism, making it more efficient and understandable to all parties.”
Parliamentary Secretary M. Šteins: "We are all working together - state institutions, municipalities, NGOs and civil society - to provide support for refugees from Ukraine and will continue to do so. This has been the case since the first day of the war, and nothing has changed in this regard. Only by working together will we be able to provide effective help and support. We are grateful to everyone who cares and works tirelessly to support the people of Ukraine.”
Amendments to the Law on the Support of Civilians of Ukraine stipulate that in the future accommodation for all civilians in Ukraine will be provided for up to 120 days, instead of the previous 90 days, but the term for providing food remains 30 days, as before.
At the same time, those civilians of Ukraine who, for objective reasons, are unable to provide for themselves accommodation will be able to receive accommodation support after a period of 120 days, but not later than 31 December 2022. This support will be available to persons with disabilities; those who take care for persons with disabilities; persons who are of retirement age in accordance with the retirement age specified in Latvia; persons who acquire full-time education at a pre-primary, primary, general secondary or vocational secondary education institution or are full-time students at a higher education institution; persons who are women during maternity leave; those who are one of the child's parents during the childcare period; persons who provide care and nursing for a pre-school child and the child does not have the opportunity to attend a pre-school educational institution.
Similarly, natural and legal persons accommodating Ukrainian civilians free of charge will be able to receive compensation for the accommodation of Ukrainian civilians for a period exceeding 120 days, but not later than 31 December 2022, if the accommodated person meets the above-mentioned exceptional criteria.
The Cabinet of Ministers also adopted new regulations on the provision of primary support to the civilian population of Ukraine, which have been redrafted, replacing the current wording. The regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers will enter into force on July 1 this year.
The changes to the new legislation concern: accommodation costs, which are covered up to € 300 per month for all accommodation (rental apartments, municipal premises, etc.), but not more than € 100 per person per month. There are also limits on the cost of provision of food, depending on the type of provision of food: for catering services, they are set at up to € 10 per person per day, and for food products, at up to € 5 per person per day.