Ukraine

Before leaving
It is important to bring valid travel documents (a valid biometric Ukrainian passport, Ukrainian residence permit if you are a non-EU citizen living in Ukraine and a birth certificate and/or marriage certificate) if possible. These will be helpful when travelling, but also when temporarily settling in one of the EU countries. However, the lack of these documents should not be an obstacle to enter the EU. You can find additional information about travelling to the Netherlands here: Arrival, registration and stay of refugees from Ukraine | Reception of refugees from Ukraine | Government.nl

EU Temporary Protection Directive
Refugees from Ukraine can receive temporary protection in the Netherlands under the EU Temporary Protection Directive. The Temporary directive for Ukraine entitles you to shelter, health care, education for minor children in the Netherlands as well as the possibility to work. Find out here whether this scheme covers you and whether you are entitled to temporary protection.

Work
Everyone who comes under the Temporary Protection Directive for Ukraine can work in the Netherlands without a work permit (in Dutch: tewerkstellingsvergunning or twv). This means that an employer does not have to request a work permit for you, and that you can look for a job. The work permit exemption applies to all work in employment. However, you will need an employment contract with an employer. You must also meet certain requirements. Please note that employers must notify the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV in Dutch) when they employ someone.
Please note that this exemption does not apply to self-employment; refugees wishing to work as self-employed individuals must obtain the appropriate permits.

Useful Links
RefugeeHelp to help Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands.
Ukraine: War in Ukraine | Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)
Temporary Protection Directive Ukraine | Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)
The Hague - Answers to questions frequently asked by Ukrainian refugees (denhaag.nl)

Worldwide there are numerous funding programmes supporting the Ukrainian cultural and heritage field and collaboration with Ukrainian partners. We list a few programmes below. You can also consult our Mapping of organizations supporting cultural initiatives in Ukraine and the Netherlands here.

On The Move
On the Move provides information on cultural mobility that is clear, up-to-date, and always free to use.
 

House of Europe
House of Europe is an EU-funded programme fostering professional and creative exchange between Ukrainians and their colleagues in EU countries and the UK. The programme focuses on different professional fields: culture and creative industries, education and youth work, social entrepreneurship, and media. House of Europe collects and lists open calls for collaborative cultural projects.


Cultural Emergency Response
Cultural Emergency Response (CER) coordinates and supports the locally-led protection of heritage under threat. Beyond emergency response, CER’s wider purpose is to make global heritage protection more inclusive, sustainable and locally-led. It does so by training heritage experts, sharing expertise and experience, and advocating the recognition of cultural heritage rescue as a crucial aspect of humanitarian relief, recovery, development and peacebuilding.

Furthermore, immediate emergency response in the country is provided by the Agency for Cultural Resilience, HeMo: Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, and Museum for Change. Together, these organisations also form the CER Regional Hub in the Black Sea, a collaboration with the Amsterdam-based Cultural Emergency Response (CER), which coordinates efforts, maps heritage risks, and fosters knowledge sharing on heritage protection in Ukraine and the wider Black Sea region. You can read more about it here.

University of New Europe - UNE mentor programme
The UNE mentor programme was launched by a collective of scholars and activists advocating for a new European university - the University of New Europe - with a fixed set of places for Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian students, scholars and cultural professionals at risk. They connect them to high-profile experts elsewhere, among others in the Netherlands. To participate as a mentor or mentee, you can send an email with the following details: name; disciplinary expertise (in 3-4 keywords); participating as mentor/mentee; if mentee: seeking short-term or long-term advice. As a mentor you can make a difference by offering emotional support and relevant information to your mentee, based on their needs.

NEMO, Museums support Ukraine
NEMO collects and monitors support activities and initiatives organised by museums for Ukrainian colleagues and citizens. This page lists support actions relating to storage and housing, donations, education and exhibitions as well as statements issued by European museum organisations. You can use this site for inspiration and information. Museums are furthermore encouraged to join the initiative.

Creative Europe programme
The European Commission publishes special calls to support Ukrainian artists through the Creative Europe programme. The call supports artists outside their country, cultural organisations in Ukraine, and preparation for the post-war recovery of the Ukrainian cultural and creative sector in the medium term.
More information on the Ukrainian site: https://creativeeurope.in.ua/en/

Explore how Creative Europe initiatives are helping Ukraine’s cultural and creative sectors’ recovery and resilience: Supporting Ukraine’s arts and culture - Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu)

Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund
UEAF is a local, Ukrainian network supporting Ukrainian artists. The goal of the Fund is to ensure the continuity and development of the Ukrainian cultural sector during the war. The UEAF was established by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), in partnership with Zaborona, The Naked Room and Mystetskyi Arsenal.

Are you looking for (international) funding? Check our general funding page for different funding guides, grants and open calls, or the digital Cultural Mobility Funding Guide for the Netherlands for regional, private and international (mobility) funding.

In the Netherlands the means for international cultural cooperation are delegated to the national funds. The fund that works for your art form or discipline, has one or several subsidy schemes for internationalisation. To make sure the program fits your project, contact the advisors of the fund before starting the process of application. These are the national funds:

Design, Creative Industries, Architecture, Digital Culture

Creative Industries Fund NL
> International Vouchers

Visual Arts, Heritage

Mondriaan Fund
> Subsidy for International Art Presentation to present work by living artists based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Theater, Dance, Music

Performing Arts Fund
> Grants for foreign organisations to invite artists based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
> Internationalisation grants for artists based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Audiovisual media, Film, Documentary

Dutch Film Fund
>The Film Fund has several subsidy schemes to support co-productions and distribution (film & documentary).

Literature

Dutch Foundation for Literature
> Translation grants for foreign publishers
> Travel grants

Participation, Education, Communal arts, Cooperations, Projects with non-professionals

Cultural Participation Fund
> Fundings

Heritage

International Heritage Cooperation is part of the Netherlands’ international cultural policy. The embassies of the Netherlands in the partner countries have a budget for supporting local cultural heritage projects. DutchCulture manages a Matching Fund. Dutch legal entities (companies and registered freelancers) are able to apply for partial funding for an international heritage cooperation project.

DutchCulture supports international heritage cooperation between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Europe. The Europe + Heritage programme offers advice, a Travel Scheme (vouchers of €350-€1000) and a General Support Scheme (maximum €5.000) for heritage professionals and heritage organisations based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands who wish to visit a European partner, invite a European partner or set up a cooperation with a European partner. Heritage can be both tangible and intangible.

More funds

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency is not a national fund but also offers on behalf of various ministries and the European Union subsidies for companies in the creative industries.