Mainly women and children from Ukraine registered

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Netherlands has received a large influx of refugees. Those coming from Ukraine may immediately register at a municipality provided they have Ukrainian nationality. People with other nationalities are also allowed to register if they are able to prove they were holders of a valid residence permit for Ukraine directly before the invasion. Per week over the period 21 March to 3 April inclusive, nearly 10 thousand people from Ukraine registered as new residents. In the same period, approximately 4 thousand immigrants per week registered who came from other countries.

Many minors and women aged between 25 and 45

Over one third (37 percent) of the people from Ukraine who have registered since 24 February are minors; 33 percent are adults between the ages of 25 and 45. These are predominantly women. They make up nearly 80 percent of the adult immigrants. Among the minors, boys and girls hold virtually equal shares. Women are also in the majority among the group aged 60 and over, but are not as overrepresented there (70 percent).

Most registrations in cities

In absolute terms, the number of registrations by people fleeing Ukraine is largest in the major Dutch cities. Rotterdam has the most registrations to date, at over 1,500. Next are Amsterdam (nearly 1,000), Groningen and Eindhoven (both more than 500). Over 400 people from Ukraine have registered in each of the municipalities of Westland, Hilversum and The Hague.

The highest share relative to the number of inhabitants is found in Renswoude: 14 per thousand inhabitants. The next highest shares are found in Noord-Beveland and Montfoort (around 6 per thousand inhabitants), and in Westerwolde and Oldebroek (5 per thousand). This is often related to local initiatives to accommodate large groups of refugees in, for example, an empty office building.

Other nationalities

Approximately 5 percent of the new residents coming from Ukraine are people not holding Ukrainian nationality. The nationality is still unknown for nearly one quarter. These are mostly minors. Minors usually do not have their own passports yet, but are registered as Ukrainians on the condition that the accompanying parents declare under oath that the children are theirs.
Relatively many arrivals from Ukraine with other nationalities are adult males. They represent various nationalities: Nigerian (9 percent), Syrian (8 percent), but also Dutch (6 percent).