KarunaNews Story

Ukrainians in the Netherlands contributed €3.5 billion to the economy last year. SEO Economic Research found that two-thirds of adult Ukrainians were working, amounting to 50,000 workers contributing €280 million in income tax and €85 million in VAT. Under the special rules that apply across the EU following the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukrainians can live and work in the Netherlands without a visa or work permit. Bart Dikkeschei of social staffing agency Heroyam said Ukrainians were making a “significant” contribution. “The Ukrainians are a kind of experiment: what happens when you let new arrivals go straight into the labor market with no restrictions? And it turns out that these people integrate relatively well and are far more involved in society than people living in asylum centers.” SEO said it expected the contribution to increase to €5 billion in 2027. If Ukrainians go back home en masse when the war ends, the loss of their labor could be felt, Dikkeschei said.