EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - State integration program for asylum seekers in Prague

State integration program for asylum seekers in Prague

Introduction

As asylum seekers often face a lot of difficulties on the housing market, the Czech Government decided to help with a specialized housing integration program for this group.

Description

There are three variants of this measure:

the city authorities offer vacant apartments to asylum seekers;
the immigrants search for an apartment themselves get some funding;
the asylum seekers can choose a flat from a special offer of newly erected housing projects.

As a matter of fact only a limited number of flats (since 1994: 343) were provided on the basis of this program. The measure is dedicated to recognized refugees only, this means that not each immigrant can be involved in this programme.

The programme aims to help asylum seekers to assist in solving their problems with access to the local housing market. There are 3 variants:

The municipalities offer, free, vacant apartments to asylum seekers
The asylum seekers search by themselves for a vacant apartment and the government provides funding to an NGO to assist in finding housing or it pays financial contribution directly to the owner of the chosen apartment
The asylum seekers can also choose a flat from an offer of newly built housing projects which requires that one out of every twenty newly built apaprtments has to be rent to asylum seekers.

This Program covers only a modest number of migrant housing. From 1994 until the end of September 1997, for example, 98 families comprising 302 persons had found accomodation under this measure.
Since 1994 343 apartments were provided.

Target group

Only recognized refugees can benefit. The total number of asylum seekers involved was 899.

Results

Since 1994 343 apartments were provided.

Financing

Funding for the programme is provided by the Czech Ministry of Work and Social Affairs. The whole budget was 110 millions of CZK (approx. 4 million EUR)

Contact info

City of Prague
Zuzana Kalna (specialist for social affairs), tel. +420-221 419 840

Project start date

//1994

Download a case study about housing in Prague of the CLIP Network (PDF, Eng, 346 kB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Integration of social groups

Keywords

Asylum seekers