The Polish Sejm voted for changes to the special law on assistance to refugees from Ukraine.
The Polish side envisages the participation of Ukrainians in paying for accommodation, as well as the limitation of social security payments in the event of departure of Ukrainians from Poland.
According to the document, now Ukrainians will be able to live for free in places of temporary accommodation only in the first 120 days from the moment of their first arrival in Poland. After that, refugees from Ukraine will pay for accommodation. From March 2023, citizens of Ukraine who live in Poland for more than 120 days will have to pay 50% of their own maintenance, but no more than 40 zlotys per day (over 300 UAH).
From May 2023, Ukrainians will need to cover 75% of living costs, but no more than 60 zlotys per day (500 UAH).
The changes will not apply to vulnerable categories: the disabled, people of retirement age, pregnant women, women with children under one year old, women with three or more children, and people in difficult situations. They will continue to live in such places for free.
In addition, the provision on the simplified procedure for obtaining a temporary residence permit in Poland (up to three years) has been removed from the special law.
However, a special law guarantees a legal stay in Poland for 1.5 years, starting from February 24 of this year and ending on August 24, 2023.
Ukrainians will have only 30 days, not 90 as before, to obtain a Polish identification code (PESEL).
Social benefits to Ukrainian citizens at the time of departure from Poland will also be frozen. If the stay outside of Poland will be more than 30 days, the citizen of Ukraine will lose the granted status, thus losing the right to social assistance.
The changes in the law provide for the recognition in Poland of the electronic document available in the Diia.pl application (equivalent to the Polish mObywatel document) as a document for legal stay in the Republic of Poland for refugees from the war in Ukraine. This document, together with a travel document, will give a citizen of Ukraine the right to cross the border multiple times without the need to obtain a visa.
From April 1, 2023, Ukrainians will still be able to apply for a temporary residence permit in Poland if they have found employment or opened their own business here.
Changes to the special law on aid to Ukrainians will be sent to the Senate of Poland for consideration. It is expected to enter into force on January 1, 2023.