What is an alternative to reception centres?

An alternative to reception centres means that you can live in a standard home, instead of in a reception centre or an emergency accommodation offered by UDI.  

UDI has expanded the scheme for an alternative to reception centres for Ukrainians in the target group for temporary collective protection who live privately or in other temporary places until they are settled.

To apply for an alternative to reception centres, you must have registered with the police and received a DUF number and D number. You also must have found a place to live in a municipality. Examples of different housing solutions can be 

  • living with family members in a municipality 
  • other people who have offered housing provided by voluntary organisations, or  
  • the municipality, which is not a part of the reception system.  

Unaccompanied minors are not covered by the extended scheme for an alternative to reception centres. If you are an unaccompanied minor asylum seeker, you can apply for an alternative to a reception centre according to the usual (ordinary) scheme. 

How to apply for the extended scheme of an alternative to reception centres 

Here you can find information on how to apply for an alternative to receptions centres.

The municipality must agree that you settle there. When UDI has received the application, we will contact the municipality and ask if they will accept the application for an alternative to reception centres. If you already have contacted the municipality in advance and the municipality has approved and signed the application form, UDI will approve the application immediately.  

The municipalities choose whether they give people permission to live in an alternative to a  reception centre or not. If the municipality does not accept the inquiry, you will have your application rejected. You will still have the right to stay in an emergency accommodation or an asylum reception centre. If you are granted an alternative to a reception centre by UDI and the municipality, you can receive money for housing expenses and subsistence from the municipality.