Support and integration of refugees from Ukraine: Perspectives of those concerned

Integration Department

Project head: Dr. Niklas Harder ,  Prof. Dr. Magdalena Nowicka

Project coordination: Dr. Nora Ratzmann

Project team members: Mathis Herpell ,  Dr. Katarina Mozetič ,  Alexandra Orlova

The Russian invasion in Ukraine has led to the destruction of its civil infrastructure and to casualties among the civilian population. This has forced more than 6 million people to leave their homes and their country in search of safety, protection and help. More than 900,000 of them have arrived in Germany, mainly women and children. Germany coped with providing initial care for them after they arrived with great support from the public, especially thanks to private individuals providing accommodation. The situation was controlled legally by means of the first-ever activation of the EU “mass influx Directive”, which enabled clarity to be achieved rapidly in terms of these refugees’ right to stay in Germany, but the implications for other legal areas and other types of care remain less clear. New questions and challenges have been arising since February 2022 in respect of access by refugees from Ukraine to basic social security benefits, medical care, accommodation, personal care and organised education.

This project examines whether the existing regulations in areas such as the right to stay, the right of asylum, a place of residence, the health system, the labour market, childcare, schooling and basic social security sufficiently meet the actual needs of people who have fled from Ukraine, and looks at how the regulations intermesh so that the support provided is effective and as seamless as possible. In order to record the needs of those affected as accurately as possible from their perspective, the research project is divided into two subprojects, a qualitative and a quantitative module.

Module 1 – Qualitative Module:

This module focusses on the interactions at national, Land (regional) and municipal level between persons from Ukraine and the various authorities and other government institutions, such as schools. Our interest here lies in the opportunities open to people who have come to Germany from Ukraine since 24 February 2022 that enable them to lead an independent and self-determined life.

We are paying particular attention to the experiences of families with infants and young children (0 to 6 years), as well as members of the LGBTQ community. Specific questions on their needs from the perspective of those concerned comprise:

1. What are the needs and expectations of persons who have fled from Ukraine in terms of the provision of home care and childcare, attendance at nursery and school, continuing education, or the recognition of qualifications (particularly in the caring professions and education); which needs have so far remained unmet; what are the consequences of this for the refugees’ decisions on whether to remain in a particular town/city, or even in Germany as a whole?
2. What form of support do persons from Ukraine receive and/or request; what is the application process; how easy is it to understand the regulations; which information channels do people who have fled from Ukraine use to find out about their rights; where do they look for the support they need (e.g. the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), municipal advisory services, diaspora organisations; host families/their own social networks; other civic organisations, internet forums); who assists them in interacting with the authorities and dealing with the formalities, such as applying for services, and how?
3. What options for action do persons who have fled from Ukraine have and/or how independently do they act, for example when looking for housing and work, or making decisions about their children’s schooling; what challenges are experienced by those who have arrived accompanied by minors, but are not their parent or legal guardian?
4. What effects does the refugee situation have on the way the family is organised, for example in terms of gender roles or the provision of home care; what care responsibilities do the refugee families take on for minors who are not related to them, but travelled with them; which other persons who travelled with them do families care for or look after, and what support do families receive for this from the authorities and other state actors?

Here we are adopting a multimethodological approach, by carrying out repeated, qualitative interviews in Berlin and Munich, and providing the opportunity to record experiences and feelings in digital diaries.

Module 2 – Quantitative Module:

Many people from Ukraine arriving in Germany were able to be placed quickly in private accommodation, and this noticeably relieved the strain on the government reception structures. Whether private accommodation provision should supplement the public structures in future too, or whether private accommodation might even be further funded and expanded, will depend partly on the privately housed refugees’ experiences of their accommodation, and on any connection between the type of accommodation and their further integration in Germany.

In this module, in conjunction with the platform #UnterkunftUkraine, which connects people seeking accommodation with those offering it, we are developing an online survey of those people arriving from Ukraine who looked for private accommodation. The project objective is to compare the routes towards integration followed by people from Ukraine who were privately or publicly housed, and to develop approaches for improving the placement of refugees in private accommodation. In several survey waves we will supplement the findings from the qualitative survey by also questioning the persons concerned about their needs in terms of the provision of home care and childcare, attendance at nursery and school, continuing education, and the recognition of qualifications.

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

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