Prague - 69% of respondents in the second wave of the survey (1.8. - 30.9.) declared their intention to return to Ukraine as soon as it is safe to do so. In the previous period (15.6.-29.8.) the figure was 47%. The main reason cited for returning is clearly to be reunited with family (82%). Finding a job remains difficult for many respondents. Often because of the need to care for young children or for health reasons. This is the result of a questionnaire survey the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been conducting in Czechia since June this year.

For the majority of respondents among Ukrainian refugees and other TCNs, financial support remains one of their main needs. Of the 1,312 adults who took part in the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) survey from 1 August to 30 September, 79% indicated this need. As in the previous period (15 June - 29 August), employment (60%), language courses (53%) and health care and medicine (49% and 48%) are also among the main needs. In this survey, respondents were more likely to indicate a need for general information (48% versus 28%).

The majority of respondents of economically active age were employed in Ukraine before leaving for Czechia. For many of the respondents, finding a job is still difficult. Thus, at the time of the survey only 29% of them were employed, of which 10% in the form of part-time jobs, etc. Around 44% were in the process of looking for a job and 8% were not looking for work, most often because of the need to care for small children or because of health complications.

In this survey period, more people expressed an interest in returning to Ukraine as soon as it was safe to do so (69% compared to 47% in the first wave). Approximately 82% of respondents said they intended to return to reunite with their family members and 8% expressed a desire to return due to lack of funds to cover expenses. At the same time, 45% of the 1,312 people who participated in this survey declared a lack of funds to cover their needs.

"The results of our second questionnaire survey indicate a high interest of people from Ukraine to return home. On the contrary, the development of the conflict with the approaching winter period, to which the Ukrainian government's recommendation to stay abroad over the winter is also related, indicates the need to prepare for the additional income of people from Ukraine. We will focus on these developments in the next DTM survey period," comments Andrea Svobodova from IOM involved in the data processing.

DTM survey

The data reported are characteristic of the people interviewed in the included locations and timeframe. Most of the questionnaires were collected during the day at government offices, transit and registration centres or in accommodation facilities. Thus, the percentage of working people from Ukraine with temporary protection will generally be higher, as indicated by data from, for example, the Labour Office.

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Enumerators' notes from interviews with respondents:

• The respondent stated that she was from Starobilsk in Luhansk Oblast. Now this territory is occupied by Russian troops. The woman came to Prague with her son, who is just over a year old. As she has no one to leave the child with, the woman cannot go to work. She also has a problem attending free Czech language courses.
• The respondent stated that she left the country with her three children immediately after the start of the large-scale military invasion. She herself has a thirteen-year-old child, a one-and-a-half-year-old girl and a seventeen-year-old daughter with disabilities. She is struggling because she has no one to leave her children with. The eldest daughter needs a new wheelchair. The woman does not have the time or opportunity to attend language classes or look for a job.
• "You know, we had a good time. We worked hard and we didn't lack anything. We had a dacha on the seashore that the Russians bombed. He's going to have to earn that again. But you can't bring people's lives back," says the woman with tears in her eyes. Her family rented an apartment in Prague. Her husband found work in a factory outside the city. Her eldest son is looking for ways to go to college. And the youngest, meanwhile, is in an adaptive Ukrainian class. But the respondent is looking to send him to a Czech school. So far they learn that there are no vacancies in the school. Despite all the experiences, the family plans to return to Ukraine later. "There is our home. We had a good life there. And when there is an opportunity, we will return to Ukraine.

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The data is based on the report of a survey on displacement patterns, needs and intentions of refugees launched by IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) programme in the Czech Republic on 15 June 2022. All interviews were conducted in person by IOM's trained DTM fieldworkers with adult refugees and other third country nationals (TCNs) who left Ukraine due to the war. Interviews were conducted at selected entry and transit points, registration and reception centres identified as the most frequently used by refugees and other third country nationals arriving from Ukraine. The current report presents an analysis based on 1,312 questionnaire surveys conducted between 1 August and 30 September 2022. The sample is not representative of all displaced persons from Ukraine to the Czech Republic and should be considered indicative.

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For more information, please contact: prague@iom.int