On September 15th, 2023 the Agency of Legislative Initiatives (ALI), presented results of the study “The situation of Ukrainian refugees abroad and their plans to return to Ukraine”. The paper was prepared within the framework of the “Civil Society for Ukraine’s Post-War Reconstruction and EU Readiness” project funded by the European Union.
Concept of study. From December 2022 to July 2023, a comprehensive study of refugees was conducted. In July 2023, 1,032 refugees over the age of 18 were interviewed – 910 of them fled abroad after February 24, 2022 due to the start of a full-scale war, and 122 – from January to February 23, 2022. The field research was conducted in 3 steps: the first and second included in-depth interviews with refugees, and the third – a survey of refugees in Europe, which was carried out by the sociological company InfoSapiens.
Context. As of now, we have to admit: with the passage of time, the probability of returning of forced migrants is gradually decreasing, and the share of those who can remain abroad even after the end of the war is increasing. According to a study conducted by the Agency of Legislative Initiatives, every fifth respondent went abroad alone. The rest are with children (47.3%), with husbands or wives (22.0%), with their parents (15.5%) or other relatives. Today, on a 100-point scale, the probability of return of Ukrainian refugees before the end of the war is 33 out of 100 (about 70% of respondents said that they would definitely or rather not return to Ukraine before the end of the war), while after the end of the war, it is 66 out of 100 (about 67% of respondents indicated that they would rather or definitely return to Ukraine). However, these indicators will change because Ukrainian refugees are increasingly taking root abroad.
What reasons do refugees find important for returning? The top ones are:
- cessation of hostilities, shelling of the entire territory of Ukraine / end of the war – 34%;
- work and wages (jobs, decent pay, work by profession) – 32%;
- overcoming corruption / punishing corrupt officials – 20%
Notably, if the respondent has parents, husbands, or wives / children left in Ukraine, then they have a greater desire to return to Ukraine.
During the presentation, the participants discussed the motives described in the study and the situation of forced migrants in different countries, as well as the prerequisites for their potential return to Ukraine. In particular, recommendations for creating policies and comprehensive measures for the return of refugees.
The discussion was moderated by Svitlana Matviienko, executive director of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives. She emphasized the importance of such research:
Volodymyr Skrypets, an analyst at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, spoke about the stages of the research, its main results, as well as potential clues that can be used for the development of a refugee return policy:
Head of the sector of the M.V. Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Oleksiy Pozniak shared his thoughts on the presented results:
The study titled “The situation of Ukrainian refugees abroad and their plans to return to Ukraine” will be published on the website of the Agency of Legislative Initiatives. It will also be sent to government agencies for further review and consideration in the development of relevant state policies and measures.
Additional information:
The project Civil society for the post-war recovery of Ukraine and readiness for the EU is implemented with the support of the European Union. It is aimed at increasing the ability of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada in the process of overcoming the consequences of the war and on the way to Ukraine’s membership in the EU. The project plans to achieve this by providing expert and communication support from public organizations regarding the development and implementation of relevant laws and policies.
For additional information, contact Maria Hereles, Director of the Communications Department of the Agency of Legislative Initiatives, at mg@parliament.org.ua.
