August 2026

Published August 22, 2026

The 60-day decision date for Ukraine TPS in the US passed with no notice, temporary protection in the EU is extended to March 2028, Ukraine loosens the currency limits that matter most to people abroad, and online orders into the EU under €150 stop being duty-free.

• Papers

  Ukraine TPS in the US: the 60-day decision date passed with no notice

  The current TPS designation for Ukraine is shown by USCIS as running through 19 October 2026. The statute provides that if the Secretary of Homeland Security makes no determination at least 60 days before a designation ends, the designation is extended by six months. That point fell on 20 August 2026. We searched the Federal Register on 22 August 2026: it carries 2026 TPS determinations for Lebanon, Yemen and Somalia, and none for Ukraine.

  Why it matters: How those facts apply to any one person's status or work permit is a legal question, and not one we can answer. Before any decision that depends on the date, check the USCIS page and ask an immigration lawyer or a Justice Department–recognised organisation. CORRECTED 18 September 2026: this item first said the 19 October date was out of date, that the designation runs to 19 April 2027, and that nothing needs re-filing. That was our reading of the law presented as the answer; the facts stand, the conclusion is withdrawn. See the corrected protection-status guide.

  Source: 8 U.S.C. §1254a(b)(3) — automatic extension provision →
• Papers

  Consulates: the "three-day" Reserve+ rule is gone — the document must be valid on the day

  Cabinet resolution No. 981 of 29 July 2026 approved a new procedure for how Ukrainian missions check the military-registration documents of men aged 18–60. The electronic document from Reserve+ (or a printout with a readable QR code) must be valid at the moment of the consular act and carry confirmation that personal data are current; the consular officer checks it against the state register through е-Консул in real time. The three exceptions are the identity certificate for return, acts concerning children whose other parent is a foreigner or stateless, and applicants under arrest or detained abroad.

  Why it matters: The old habit of generating the document within 72 hours of the visit no longer helps and no longer hurts — what matters is that Reserve+ shows the data as confirmed and the document valid on the day. A mission will refuse if the document is invalid, missing, or lacks the data-actuality confirmation, so fix registration data before booking, not at the counter.

  Source: Cabinet of Ministers resolution No. 981 of 29 July 2026 →
• Papers

  EU temporary protection extended to 4 March 2028

  The Council adopted an implementing decision on 30 July 2026 extending temporary protection for people displaced from Ukraine by a further year, to 4 March 2028. It applies from 5 March 2027, which is when the previous period would have run out. The decision also sets conditions, with a carve-out for people who already held temporary protection in a member state on or before 30 July 2026 and have kept it continuously since.

  Why it matters: This is the framework date, not your date. Member states still issue and renew permits on their own cycles, so your own renewal can fall due long before 2028 — check the expiry printed on your permit rather than the headline.

  Source: Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1912 →
• Money

  Ukraine loosened the currency limits that matter most from abroad

  From 11 August 2026 the National Bank raised the monthly limit on buying non-cash foreign currency to ₴200,000 (from ₴50,000), raised the daily cash withdrawal limit from foreign currency accounts to ₴200,000 (from ₴100,000) both in Ukraine and abroad, and raised the monthly limit for paying for goods and services abroad from hryvnia accounts to the equivalent of ₴200,000 (from ₴100,000). Within that last limit, rent paid abroad now counts, and payments can be made by transfer rather than only by card.

  Why it matters: The National Bank says the package is aimed first at making life easier for Ukrainians abroad, and these three are the restrictions people actually hit — paying rent from a Ukrainian account, drawing cash abroad, and moving money into currency. If a transfer was refused for exceeding a limit earlier this year, it is worth trying again.

  Source: National Bank of Ukraine →
• Life abroad

  Online orders into the EU under €150 are no longer duty-free

  From 1 July 2026 the EU applies a temporary €3 customs duty to consignments worth up to €150 sold by distance sale — online purchases from sellers outside the EU — replacing the old duty exemption. It is charged per item by tariff classification, not per parcel and not per piece: the Commission's own example is five T-shirts costing €3 and a T-shirt plus a watch costing €6. It is normally paid by the seller or importer, not the buyer. The flat duty runs until 1 July 2028, after which normal duties by type of goods apply.

  Why it matters: It matters if you order from shops outside the EU: the duty is usually built into the seller's price or collected by the seller, and goods that qualify for preferential treatment under a trade agreement can be excluded. A parcel sent to you by family is not a distance sale, so this measure is not the rule for it — gifts between private people are handled under separate customs rules, and your destination country's customs service or the carrier is the place to check before sending. CORRECTED 18 September 2026: this item first said a parcel from family "now attracts the charge". That was wrong — the Commission's guidance applies the €3 duty to distance sales. We are grateful to the reviewer who caught it.

  Source: European Commission — Taxation and Customs Union →