Information for Ukrainian refugees

Go to Інформація для українських вимушених переселенців to read this information in Ukrainian.

If you think any essential information is missing, please send an email to info@haarlemmermeer.nl (team Asiel).

We have several locations available where we house Ukrainian refugees like yourself. Get in touch with someone who can help you via phone number +31 23 511 5550. You can also send an e-mail to info@haarlemmermeer.nl (team Asiel). Due to high demand, the location where you will be staying will be allocated to you. Therefore, you cannot choose.

If you happen to know someone in our municipality or elsewhere in the Netherlands, you're also allowed to stay with them.

Are you looking for a new host family? Then please contact Takecarebnb.  You need to arrange your own transport to your new shelter. The municipality does not provide this.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to transfer to a  rental home through the municipality. Ukrainians currently have no status as residents of the Netherlands. For that reason, you cannot register for permanent housing through the regular routes unless this is decided at a national level. However, that is arranged via an asylum procedure.

The municipality will not automatically arrange for you to be transferred from a host family to a municipal shelter. Or vice versa. 

Would you like to make use of a shelter offered by the municipality? Then call the regional phonenumber +31 23 511 5550. You can also send an e-mail to rcvs-crk@haarlemmermeer.nl. The municipality will arrange a shelter for you. Shelters are spread across the Kennemerland region. Therefore, it's possible that you will be accommodated outside the municipality of Haarlemmermeer.

You need to arrange your own transport to your new shelter. The municipality does not provide this.

Not immediately. It is within European Union regulation to travel and stay in European countries without a visa for a period of 90 days. You can apply for a short-stay visa, which allows you to stay for a 180-day period. However, this will not enable you to get work in the Netherlands.

Better option: registration

In order to find work, get health assurance and open a Dutch bank account, you can best apply for registration in the Personal Records Database of our municipality.

You can register yourself (and your family) in the Personal Records Database. Through this process you receive a citizen service number (BSN). This will enable you to get work, health insurance or a Dutch bank account.

Make an appointment

If you are staying with a (Dutch) family, you can make a registration appointment. Call: 0900 1852 and ask for 'registration BRP'. We are open Monday to Friday 8.30AM to 5PM.  

Are you receiving temporary shelter in a hotel? Then please reach out to your local contact to apply for registration.

Important documents

Please bring the following documents to your appointment:

1. A valid international passport. If you do not have a valid international passport, a proof of identity from the Ukrainian embassy will suffice.
2. A filled out Personal Records Database form (pdf). This document is not required but will significantly speed up your registration process.
3. Your birth certificate, if you are able.
4. Your marriage certificate, if you are married and if you are able.
5. A Ukrainian residence permit, if you are a third-country national who lived in Ukraine.

Safe handling of information

Rest assured, we handle your personal information with the utmost care. Your information will be reviewed by municipality employees only and will not be shared with third parties.

Moving within Haarlemmermeer or moving abroad

Are you Ukrainian and moving? It is important to let the municipality know. You can notify us in the following ways:

• You move within Haarlemmermeer. Go to the page Verhuizen in of naar Haarlemmermeer. Log in with DigiD. Or at the municipal office. Call 0900 1852 to make an appointment.
• You move to another country. Go to the page Verhuizen naar het buitenland. Here you will find the online form for moving. Or at the municipal office. Call 0900 1852 to make an appointment.
• You move to another municipality in the Netherlands. In this case the deregistration with Haarlemmermeer municipality will be arranged automatically. You only have to register with your new municipality. 

Under normal circumstances you would need a valid passport to register in Haarlemmermeer municipality. However, given the current situation you can contact the Ukrainian Embassy in the Hague to receive a proof of identity. There are multiple ways to get in touch with the embassy:

• Visit the embassy, which is located at Zeestraat 78 in the Hague. From Monday to Friday you can visit from 9.00 AM to 1.00 PM. Please use this form to inform the embassy of your proof of identity application.
• Give them a call on +31 70 362 6095.
• Send an email to emb_nl@mfa.gov.ua.

You are entitled to medical care when required. This applies to both physical and mental care. You can contact any healthcare provider. Even if you do not have a citizen service number. The healthcare provider reclaims the costs for the care provided to you. You don't need to arrange anything  to ensure payment. If you have a citizen service number, you will fall under the Medical Care Scheme for Displaced Persons (RMO) from 1 July 2022. You do not have to pay a premium or deductible.

Under the RMO you are also entitled to reimbursement of dental care for acute complaints of pain (up to €250), contraception, abortion care, prescription glasses and hearing aids (with permission), and certain medicines. More information can be found on the Health Insurance for Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands page.

If you have a citizen service number (BSN) and health insurance, you can apply for a job in the Netherlands. You receive your citizen service number after registration in the Personal Records Database.

The municipality can help you find work. To use this service, you can contact the Employer Service Point Haarlemmermeer (WSP) by sending an e-mail to WSP@haarlemmermeer.nl. Please include your contact details.

In addition, you can visit the WSP every Wednesday afternoon. WSP-staff is present on Wednesdays between 2 and 5 pm at the municipal location Beukenhorst on the Taurusavenue 100 in tower A, room A014.

Consultation hours:

• Monday 13.00 to 16.00h
• Wednesday 10.00 - 13.00h.

Please note that the staff use translation apps. Communication is in English whenever possible. There is no interpreter present.

Visit Werk.nl to read more about working and living in the Netherlands.

You will no longer receive a living allowance when you have a paid job. 

Do you have a paid job and do you have 1 or more children? This results in ending the living allowance for the whole family. Adult children and grandparents are seen as individuals or separate families. They are excluded from this measure. Their living allowance will be maintained if they do not have a paid job.

When you or your family member have a job, you are obliged to report this to the municipality by e-mailing: leefgeldoekrainers@haarlemmermeer.nl. This applies to everyone whether they live in a hotel, a temporary municipal shelter or with a host family.

Gehighlighte tekst: In case of failing to report the above this will result in a reclaim of your living allowance by the municipality. 

Voluntary work

Are you interested in volunteering? You can apply for this at your municipal shelter. For volunteering in and around the location of your municipal shelter, you will be compensated with € 14 per week. This compensation has no effect on the amount of your living allowance.

The Dutch government offers an arrangement to make sure you and other refugees receive a fixed amount of money to purchase food, clothing and other necessities for yourself and your family. This is called a living allowance (in Dutch 'leefgeld'; in English 'living money'). 

The living allowance is not automatically paid out to you. After registration at the municipality, you can apply for a living allowance by sending an email to leefgeldoekrainers@haarlemmermeer.nl. No living allowance will be paid if you have a job. 

You are only entitled to a living allowance if you are unemployed. If you have 1 or more children and a paid job, the living allowance for the whole family will stop. Adult children and grandparents are seen as individuals or separate families. They are excluded from this measure. Their living allowance will be maintained if they do not have a paid job.

The amount of living allowance you receive depends on the number of family members and on where you (and your family) reside.

You will only receive a living allowance if you are unemployed. The amount of living allowance you receive depends on the place where you are staying.

Living allowance is paid from the date of registration in the Personal Records Database. Are you registered mid-month? Then you will receive a living allowance for the days from which you are registered.

As from 1 February 2023, the amount of living allowance has been changed. As from this date it is similar to living allowances other groups in the Netherlands receive. Such as asylum seekers, status holders and people on social assistance benefits.

If you are not present in the hotel for over 28 days, the municipality can stop your shelter and living allowance. In case you return after 28 days, you are still entitled to a shelter. However, this might be a shelter at a different location.

Shelter in a hotel

If you are staying in a hotel, you will receive € 56,12 per month, per family member. You can use this amount to buy things you need. Because the hotel offers you meals, your living allowance doesn’t include money for food.

You will receive the living allowance at the beginning of the month. The municipality does not pay living allowance in the hotels with a retroactive effect. Therefore, you will not receive a living allowance for the month in which you registered. This is also the case for the month in which the registration in the Personal Records Database was completed by the municipality.

Municipal shelter

You will receive an amount for food, clothing and personal expenses. You will receive more allowance than when you are accommodated in a hotel. This is because you will need to provide for your own food in this temporary home. There are no rental and energy costs. 

The money you receive for food depends on the number of family members. The more family members, the lower the amount of money per person:

• If your family consists of 1 or 2 people, you will receive monthly € 215.06 per adult or single minor and € 178.36 per person per minor.
• If your family consists of 3 people, you will receive monthly € 171.99 per adult and € 142.57 per minor. 
• If your family consists of 4 people or more, you will receive monthly € 150.45 per adult and € 124.97 per minor.

The amount for clothing and personal expenses are € 56.12 per person per month.

Living allowance while you are hosted by a family 

If you are taken care of privately, for example hosted by a family, you will receive extra living allowance. This is monthly € 93 per person.

Refugees in need of long-term care

Refugees in need of long-term care, for example in a clinic or hospital, will receive living allowance for clothing and personal expenses as well. This is set at € 56.12 monthly.

Do I need a Dutch bank account?

Your living allowance can only be transferred to a Dutch bank account. After your registration in the Personal Records Database, you are able to open a Dutch bank account with your BSN-number (social security number). 

Opening a bank account in the Netherlands will make it easier for you to arrange various matters and help you participate in everyday life.

Getting started

Opening of a payment account is subject to various rules and regulations. Banks are obliged to check your data and ID. In some cases, this can result in delays before the payment account is assigned to you and ready for use. You can find general information on the website of the Dutch Banking Association.

Various options

Online

Open a bank account through the website of the following banks:

• ABNAMRO.
• Bitsafe.
• Bunq.
• Rabobank.

Visit

Open your account at a local bank branch of:

• ING.
• SNS.

Mail

Fill out and mail in an application form for a bank account with:

• Triodos.

Unable to open a bank account

Are you unable to open a bank account? Then please send an email to leefgeldoekrainers@haarlemmermeer.nl and the state the reasons why you can't open a Dutch bank account.

After we have received this information, we will help you find an alternative way to receive your living allowance.

You should only make use of this option if you can prove that you cannot open a bank account. It does not function as an interim solution if you are still waiting for documents to open a bank account.

Your children have the right to go to school as long as you are staying in the Netherlands. The education system in the Netherlands is different from that in Ukraine. In the Netherlands, children from the age of 4 are allowed to go to school. Education is compulsory from 5 years old. Education is organized for children from 4 to 12 years and for young people from 13 to 18 years. Education and childcare are arranged by Stichting Kinderopvang Haarlemmermeer (SKH), Stichting Meer Primary and Internationale Schakelklas (ISK).

The Haarlemmermeer Childcare Foundation (SKH) offers educational childcare where toddlers from 2 to 4 years old learn the Dutch language in a playful way. This is not free. Childcare is also available for babies aged 0-2 years. For more information, please contact SKH's Customer Care department at 023 - 567 2020.

Stichting Meer Primary welcomes 4 to 12 year olds to the international language classes of the Wereldwijs Child Center. At Wereldwijs children gradually learn the Dutch language and are offered all kinds of challenging subjects such as maths, reading, world orientation, music and gymnastics. Locations: IKC Wereldwijs (Graan voor Visch 14.402, Hoofddorp) and In de Breedte (Dussenstraat 34, Hoofddorp).

12 to 18 year olds can attend the International Transition Class (ISK) at the Hoofdvaart College. Here, young people learn Dutch and are being taught subjects such as English, citizenship, sports and art. Location: ISK Haarlemmermeer (Hammarskjöldstraat 226, Hoofddorp).

Yes, once you have a citizen service number (BSN). Read more about registration in the Personal Records Database. Find more information about health insurance and medical care for refugees from Ukraine in The Netherlands on zorgverzekeringslijn.nl/english.

You can receive urgent medical care without health insurance.

Yes, but this is a paid service. You need a charged OV chip card. In the bus you can also buy a ticket directly from the driver with a debit card. Cash payment is not possible.

You can find a lot of practical information on the website of RefugeeHelp. The information is available in Ukrainian, English or Russian.

You also can contact the Dutch branch of the Red Cross by sending a WhatsApp (voice) message to +31 6 48 15 8053. You can leave a message in Ukrainian, English or Russian. Someone will then contact you in your preferred language.