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EU Extends Temporary Protection for Ukrainian Refugees Until 2025
Decision (EU) 2023/2409 extended temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until March 2025, granting residence rights, healthcare, education and employment access across the EU.
On 19 October 2023, the Council of the European Union adopted Decision (EU) 2023/2409, published in the Official Journal of the EU, extending temporary protection for those fleeing the war in Ukraine until March 2025. Portugal, like all EU member states, applies this regime directly.
The temporary protection directive grants beneficiaries residence rights, access to healthcare, education, employment and social assistance. The extension ensures continuity of legal status for tens of thousands of Ukrainian nationals living in Portugal.
For other third-country nationals observing the system—such as Americans, British, Brazilians, Canadians and Israelis—the extension provides insight into how the EU responds to large-scale humanitarian crises. While this protection does not apply to non-Ukrainians, it demonstrates Portugal’s administrative capacity to integrate rapidly arriving populations.
The decision underscores the EU’s long-term commitment to supporting displaced persons affected by the conflict.
Official source: Official Journal of the European Union, Decision (EU) 2023/2409, 19 October 2023 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu)