Czech Republic to tighten passport control of refugees coming from Ukraine - minister

KYIV. May 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The Czech Republic will tighten passport control procedures for refugees coming from Ukraine, Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said.

"We have made another systemic decision. It implies tighter measures. To be eligible for our benefits, a person must have an actual stamp in their passport indicating that they have crossed Ukraine's border. This must start being applied from next Monday," Blesk.cz quoted Rakusan as saying in an interview on Wednesday.

Some of the refugees are coming to the Czech Republic from Hungary rather than from Ukraine, and the Czech Republic has to check whether they have another passport, he said.

If these people are Ukrainians and have a stamp indicating that they have crossed a Ukrainian border, they would be eligible for the Czech benefits system and would be provided with housing, just as other refugees, he said.