Integration at first hand: Reception, adaptation and integration in the Czech Republic from the perspective of refugees themselves

NIEM In-Depth Analysis

This study analyses the reception, adaptation, and integration of refugees in the Czech Republic. It focuses on applicants for international protection and people who have already been granted one of the forms of international protection, i.e., asylum or subsidiary protection. The report was compiled under the international NIEM (National Integration Evaluation Mechanism) project which monitors and evaluates the integration process of beneficiaries of international protection in 14 EU member states. The text focuses on eight selected areas of integration: housing, employment, re‐qualification, health, social security and economic status, education, language training and socio‐political participation. The report does not aim to capture the integration process in all its complexity – such is the ambition of other publications within the NIEM project1 – but rather to complement such a comprehensive picture with the experiences of individuals. In contrast to texts based primarily on analyses of legislation, strategic documents, or ministerial statistics, this study seeks primarily to convey the perspective of the refugees themselves. It captures their impressions of the first days after their arrival in the Czech Republic, looks at their involvement in the State Integration Programme2, and describes the most important challenges that both applicants and holders face in the later stages of their integration into local society.