Applying for a Schengen visa after going back to Pakistan from the Netherlands voluntarily

Question

I was in the Netherlands from 01 January 2022 until 19 December 2022, then left the Netherlands on 19 December 2022 voluntarily as I was there because of the war in the Ukraine.
I was in the Ukraine for studies but due to the war with Russia all the people in Ukraine moved towards Europe. I also moved and in the process the Netherlands gave me a temporary resident permit with work allowed.

But as I said, I left the Netherlands voluntarily and they bought me a ticket to Pakistan and also gave me 5,000 euros in cash for rehabilitation.

Can I apply for a Schengen visa, and if I apply would the embassy reject me on the above issue? Keep in mind that the authorities in the Netherlands only took my record but I never gave my fingerprints in any of the Schengen countries throughout my stay.

Answer 1

As I understand it, the following did happen:

1. You became a legal resident of Ukraine while being a citizen of Pakistan.
2. When the war intensified in 2022, you fled from Ukraine to the EU. (Did you really enter the Netherlands before before February 24th, 2022? On what visa?)
3. Because of the Russian aggression, the EU granted Ukrainian citizens and Ukrainian residents a status under the Temporary Protection Directive. You did stay in the Netherlands with that status.
4. After almost a year in the EU, the Netherlands subsidized your return to your homeland and you left.

I do not think you are banned from getting a Schengen visa now, but it will be much more difficult. The outcome depends on your situation in your homeland, and on the kind of visa you are asking for. You are neither a resident in Ukranie nor covered by the TPD now. The TPD meant you got a blanket permission to stay without a check of your individual circumstances.

Answer 2

I think your question has an answer embedded in it but there are a couple of things that are ambiguous such as duration of your temporary visa, its nature (single entry, multiple entry), etc. You mentioned you were given temporary residence permit NOT Schengen visa. They are two entirely separate things.

I assume when you were given temporary residence permit in 2022, you should have got a letter from the Dutch authorities mentioning the T&Cs and other legalities mentioning the scenarios when/where your visa could be regarded as a valid one. One of the most important points should be the duration of your visa.

If you have a confirmed job and can show a source of income in Netherlands while fulfilling all other requirements, you can apply for standard work visa. And there is no reason your visa could be rejected.

As a side note regarding your fingerprints: did you provide one when applying for Ukrainian visa? I think during the process of issuing you a temporary Dutch residence permit, your details would also have been transferred to Dutch authorities.