- I understood from the first day that I get the right to work, which is great.
I didn't know then that we wouldn't have the right to learn Swedish.
And I don't know anyone who found a job without knowing the language, says Nataliia Volkova.
Refugees who come here according to the mass migration directive do not have the right to education in Swedish for immigrants (SFI).
Nataliia reads Swedish in a study circle, but considers it too little.
“Could be useful”
She has applied for a job but to no avail.
She has two university degrees with her from home but is looking for work where she believes that the language is not that important.
The few Ukrainians she knows who have been able to get jobs speak English.
Natalia's language skills in Ukrainian, Russian, Polish and Serbian have proved more difficult to use.
- I'm ready to clean staircases and floors but I can't find such a job because no one wants me without the Swedish language.
And among us who moved there are many interesting people.
There are artists, journalists, doctors and teachers who could be useful in Sweden, says Nataliia Volkova.
More and more are leaving
According to Nataliia, many Ukrainians have started to return home despite the ongoing war.
She also knows people who flee to other countries such as Germany, Ireland and Canada where, according to her, refugees are offered language lessons and thus given a chance to find work and integrate.
The Migration Agency's figures show that nearly 45,000 people have applied for protection in Sweden since the outbreak of war and so far almost 4,000 of them have left Sweden to travel to another country or back to Ukraine.
- This shows that there are movements of Ukrainians out of Sweden, either back to Ukraine or to another country.
The trend has been increasing over time, writes Didriz Melbiksis, press communicator at the Swedish Migration Agency, in an email to SVT Nyheter Sörmland.