Refugee Women from Ukraine: Between Return and Arrival

Migration Department

Project head: Dr. Ramona Rischke ,  Dr. Zeynep Yanaşmayan

Project team members: Dr. Jonna Rock

After the Russian attacks on Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, countless civilians left the country at an almost unprecedented rate. As of April 2022, more than 5 million people had already fled Ukraine, according to UNHCR. An estimated 7.7 million have been displaced within the country. While more than 3 million refugees from Ukraine were hosted in Poland, the number of registered refugees in Germany was around 600,000.

The legal situation of Ukrainian refugees is regulated by the EU Mass influx Directive, which was transposed into German law in § 24 of the Residence Act. Among other things, this legal framework allows refugees immediate access to the labour market and social benefits without overburdening the asylum system. Nevertheless, representatives from practice and academia have criticised the directive precisely because it represents a transitional solution. Therefore, they would only delay asylum applications and delay longer-term social integration processes.

Against the backdrop of these debates, in this short study we want to shed light on the current decision-making processes of Ukrainian refugees with regard to their (import) mobility and their wishes to return. Due to the dynamic nature of these recent movements, we know little about them so far. In May 2022, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser spoke of around 20,000 Ukrainians a day returning to their home country from Poland alone. Although such figures provide important indications, they are neither representative nor do they say much about how complex the considerations and decision-making processes of (potential) returnees are and how they relate to integration measures and support needs.

In this study, we will use 40 qualitative biographical interviews with refugees from Ukraine in Berlin and a second city to try to understand how the time of arrival, different family constellations, reception conditions and socio-economic background affect (im)mobility, return aspirations and current support needs. By focusing on two cities of different sizes, we aim to address both an academic and a policy need. Academia tends to focus on experiences in large cities, neglecting medium-sized cities, leaving their support structures and local integration needs unexplored. It is also often more difficult at the policy level to offer sustainable "distribution policies" for small and medium-sized cities. By focusing on cities where Ukrainian-descended communities are well established, we will also develop an understanding of the support systems and local networks that can potentially compensate for state structures.

Funding: Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Third-party funding)