How will UDI process applications for individual protection?
Most of those fleeing from Ukraine are granted collective protection. The ones who fall outside the scope of the collective protection scheme generally do so because they were not in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 for one reason or another. They are then assessed on an individual basis.
UDI has guidelines for assessing applications for protection from Ukrainians on an individual basis. These guidelines are to ensure that all applications for individual protection are processed according to the same criteria and in the same way as for other countries. The guidelines are published on UDI Regulations:
As with all ordinary applications for asylum, when we assess your application for individual protection we will determine whether the authorities in your home country can protect you. We will also evaluate whether there are accessible areas in your home country where it may be safe for you to go. This is the case whether you come from one of these areas or not.
UDI receives updates on the situation in the various parts of Ukraine on an ongoing basis. In the guidelines, we set out which areas of Ukraine we deem to be safe. Our assessment of which areas can be considered safe can change.
Under the collective protection scheme, we make no individual assessment of applicants’ needs for protection or of how returning to their home country would affect them. The requirements for being granted protection on an individual basis, however, are significantly more stringent than for collective beskyttelse.
When will I receive an answer?
Even if UDI starts processing applications, and even if you have had an interview with UDI, it may still take some time before you receive a response to your application. UDI is not able to provide any further information about when you will receive a response to your application if you call us on the phone.