The General Inspectorate for Migration calls upon the Ukrainian citizens who found refuge in Moldova to legalize their stay by applying for temporary protection, a residence permit or asylum. The legalization is necessary as, following a decision taken by the Commission for Exceptional Situations, since May the Ukrainian refugees can stay in Moldova for 90 calendar days within 180 calendar days prior to each day of stay, the Inspectorate’s head Mihail Vodă told a news conference.
According to Mihail Vodă, there are over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in the Republic of Moldova and 65,000 of them have stayed here for over 90 days. More than half of them are minors.
The obtaining of a legal status offers the person such advantages as access to different types of health services, education, social assistance and access to the labor force market. The Ukrainian citizens can choose any of the available stay legalization options. Temporary protection is the simplest mechanism, but they can also apply for a residence permit or for asylum in Moldova.
The residence permit is granted for the reunification of the family, for study or work, investment, religious or voluntary activities. The granting of asylum lasts longer as it consists of several stages. That’s why temporary protection is the most viable and swift stay legalization method, said Mihail Vodă.
He noted that the General Inspectorate for Migration has the capacity to process the applications of all the persons at the 12 local offices situated all over Moldova. There were also created five mobile teams for persons with special needs.
The persons eligible for temporary protection need to only register on protecțietemporara.gov.md by loading all the required documents.
Apeoximately 15,000 applications for asylum have been received from February 24 until present. The asylum system now covers about 700 persons who benefit from a protection form. Over 7,000 Ukrainian citizens possess residence permits. Over 16,500 Ukrainian refugees applied for temporary protection and more than 10,300 persons benefits from temporary protection, with 3,400 of these being minors.