Ukraine Temporary Protection Extended to 2028

Millions of Ukrainians living in the European Union can plan at least one more year ahead. On July 15, EU member states approved a one-year extension of Ukraine temporary protection, keeping the special legal status in place until March 4, 2028. For the roughly 1.27 million Ukrainians registered in Germany, the decision means their right to live, work and receive support here continues without a new application. At the same time, the EU attached a condition that marks a clear shift: men of military age who arrive from now on will no longer receive the status automatically.

What the Ukraine temporary protection extension covers

Temporary protection is the emergency mechanism the EU activated in March 2022, days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. It gives people fleeing Ukraine a residence right, access to the labour market, housing support, healthcare and schooling in every member state, without going through a regular asylum procedure. The status has been renewed several times since then and was previously set to run out on March 4, 2027.

The new decision, approved by the ambassadors of the member states in Brussels, adds a further year. According to the Council of the EU, more than 4 million displaced people from Ukraine have benefited from the scheme since 2022. Eurostat put the exact figure at 4.37 million people holding the status across the EU at the end of April 2026, with Germany hosting by far the largest group, ahead of Poland with about 961,000 and Czechia with almost 380,000.

New limits for men of military age

The politically sensitive part of the package concerns Ukrainian men who are subject to the draft at home. The Council stated that, taking into account Ukraine’s evolving defence needs, temporary protection will in future be granted only to people who satisfy their military obligations in Ukraine. In practice, as The Local Germany reported, this excludes men covered by Ukraine’s wartime exit ban, roughly those aged 23 to 60, if they apply for the status after arriving in the EU from now on.

Crucially, the restriction applies only to new applications. Men who already hold temporary protection anywhere in the EU keep their status and are covered by the extension to 2028 like everyone else. New arrivals in the affected age group can still qualify if they show that they left Ukraine legally, for example with an exit stamp in their passport, or present a document proving they are exempt from service. According to Euronews, exemptions include men declared unfit for service, fathers of three or more minor children and full-time carers of sick relatives. Men who cannot provide such proof are not left without options entirely: they can still file a regular asylum application, which is examined case by case under the rules described in our overview of the new EU asylum rules that took effect this summer.

Ukraine temporary protection in Germany: Section 24 permits

In Germany, the EU scheme is implemented through Section 24 of the Residence Act, the Aufenthaltsgesetz. Ukrainians here hold a residence permit under this provision, often simply called the Paragraf 24 permit. When the EU extended the scheme in the past, Germany passed an ordinance that automatically prolonged existing Section 24 permits, so holders did not need to visit the Ausländerbehörde, the local immigration office, to apply again.

The same pattern is expected now. Permits that were valid at the start of 2026 already run until March 4, 2027 under the current German ordinance, and a follow-up regulation aligning them with the new 2028 deadline is the routine next step once the EU decision is formally adopted. Anyone whose permit card shows an earlier expiry date should still check with their local immigration office, because the plastic card and the underlying legal status can carry different dates.

What families and new arrivals should know

For families already settled in Germany, the Ukraine temporary protection extension mainly buys time and stability: jobs, school places, health insurance and benefit claims tied to the Section 24 status continue as before. The more difficult questions arise for split families. A husband or adult son who is still in Ukraine and falls into the 23 to 60 age group can no longer count on receiving automatic protection if he reaches Germany after the new rules apply, unless he qualifies for one of the exemptions or left the country legally.

Relatives outside the temporary protection system face the usual immigration routes instead, which are slower and have stricter requirements. Demand for those routes is already high, as our report on family reunification visas nearing record levels shows. Ukrainian families planning a reunion in Germany should get advice early, document how the male family member left Ukraine, and keep any exemption certificates safe.

What this means for Ukrainians and their employers

If you already hold a Section 24 permit, you do not need to do anything right now. Your Ukraine temporary protection status continues, your work permission continues, and the extension to March 2028 will be reflected automatically once Germany updates its ordinance. Employers of Ukrainian staff can plan with the same certainty; there is no gap in the right to work.

The larger open question is what happens after 2028. Temporary protection was never designed to run indefinitely, and EU governments have started discussing pathways into regular residence titles, such as work-based permits or long-term residence, for people who have built lives here. Berlin has not announced a final model yet. Until it does, the safest course for Ukrainians in Germany is to collect everything that strengthens a future application: employment contracts, payslips, German language certificates and proof of continuous residence. The extension gives everyone almost two more years, and that time is best used to prepare.