The President of Poland signed the prepared amendments to the Special Law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine on the territory of Poland.
On the government website of the Republic of Poland, a message appeared that on Monday, January 23, 2023, the country's president Andrzej Duda signed the amendments to the Law "On providing assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine", adopted by the Seimas December 13, 2022 The draft law with the proposed changes was prepared by the relevant government bodies for more than one month, and only at the end of October last year was it made public on the website of the Center for Government Legislation (RCL).
The signing of the document by the President of Poland was the last step before the new law came into force. According to the procedure, the resolution, with the exception of its individual provisions, becomes effective the day after its publication in the Legislative Gazette (Dziennik Ustaw).
What exactly are the changes for Ukrainians provided by the new version of the law.
In its original form, this law was adopted on March 12 and regulates the status of refugees in Poland since the beginning of the war, including the legality of their stay, the right to education and work, and access to health care. This time, the innovations concern the general conditions of stay of Ukrainian refugees on the territory of Poland and the establishment of new obligations for forced migrants.
The main part of the changes and clarifications of the current provisions of the Special Law specified in the draft mainly concerns such issues as:
- legalization of Ukrainians on the territory of Poland, terms of stay and border crossing by Ukrainians;
- regulation of the procedure for assistance to refugees in places of collective residence;
- expansion and diversification of the system of benefits for Ukrainians.
Settlement for Ukrainians who arrived after and before February 24, 2022
The draft law on amendments to the Special Law stipulates that Ukrainians who are in the territory of the Republic of Poland under conditions of temporary protection should not apply for a residence permit (karta pobytu) in order to extend their legal stay in the country. Even if their stay in Poland has already exceeded nine months. The current rejection of this procedure by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration argues that it could lead to an organizational collapse in the relevant state institutions. In addition, there is no objective need for this today. After all, according to the Special Law, Ukrainian refugees have the right to stay in Poland for 18 months from February 24, 2022 (until August 24, 2023) on completely legal grounds.
Therefore, in the updated version of the law, the clause that gives Ukrainian refugees the right to obtain a regular temporary residence permit after nine months of stay in Poland was excluded. However, Ukrainians who came to Poland after the start of the war will still be able to apply for a residence card from April 1 - but only those who have an official job here or are engaged in other registered economic activities.
As for citizens of Ukraine who crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border before February 24, 2022, the amendments to the Law also provide for the extension of their legal stay in Poland. While the previous version of the Special Law allowed such persons to legally stay in the country until the end of 2022, the corresponding amendment extended this period until August 24, 2023.
Ukrainians were obliged to receive PESEL
The updated Special Law stipulates a requirement for Ukrainian refugees who arrive in Poland and plan to stay here under the status of temporary European protection to issue a PESEL number without fail. Migrants have 30 days to do this (until now, the registration period in the PESEL system was 90 days after entering Poland). This applies both to those Ukrainians who are just coming to Poland, and to those who have already spent a certain amount of time on Polish territory. For the latter category, the thirty-day countdown will begin from the moment the amendments to the law enter into force. Until now, obtaining a PESEL opened the way for Ukrainians to many opportunities in Poland, but it was not mandatory. Also, one of the innovations to the law introduces simplification for citizens of Ukraine.
Recognition of electronic residence permit for Ukrainians in Poland Diia.pl.
The next important amendment to the Special Law is the official authorization of an electronic document available in the Diia.pl application as a certificate for citizens of Ukraine. The legalization of this electronic document should close all issues and eliminate any problems related to border crossing by Ukrainians. After all, the amendment to the Special Law at the legislative level will establish the fact that the installed Diia.pl module together with the travel document will give a citizen of Ukraine the right to repeatedly cross the border for a short period of time - for example, for family reasons, to obtain documents or solve professional issues - without the need to obtain a visa .
In addition, Poland has officially informed EU and Schengen countries that Diia.pl is a sufficient document to confirm the legal stay of Ukrainian military migrants in Poland. Therefore, this electronic document allows citizens of Ukraine to travel freely to the countries of the European Union and even beyond their borders.
Strengthening control over Ukrainian refugees who are recipients of social benefits.
An innovation in the Special Law is also the introduction of a provision on the termination of all financial payments for Ukrainian refugees who cross the Polish border and leave Poland. If the refugee returns to Poland within 30 days, social benefits are renewed (the mechanism of this process has not yet been explained in detail). If a refugee stays outside Poland for more than 30 days, he loses his special status and all related privileges, including the right to assistance and social benefits. Although the special status can be restored if the person is again forced to seek asylum from the war and leaves for Poland. To implement the strengthening of control over citizens of Ukraine - recipients of social benefits who leave Poland.
Changes in the organization of assistance in places of collective residence of refugees.
In accordance with the amendments to the Special Law, the conditions for providing assistance to Ukrainians living in collective housing will also change. The innovations provide that citizens of Ukraine who came to Poland fleeing the war and settled in mass accommodation centers will be able to stay there free of charge for 120 days. More precisely, from March 1, 2023, refugees who will stay in Poland for more than 120 days at that time must compensate for 50% of the cost of the assistance they receive in places of collective accommodation (but not more than PLN 40 per day). And from May 1, 2023, citizens of Ukraine who will stay in Poland for more than 180 days with the rights of refugees will be obliged to cover 75% of the costs associated with their maintenance in mass accommodation centers (but no more than PLN 60 per day). It is worth noting
Nevertheless, from the obligation to pay for accommodation even after 120 days, the most vulnerable categories of citizens of Ukraine are:
- persons with disabilities and their guardians;
- people of retirement age;
- minors;
- pregnant women;
- persons raising a child under the age of 1;
- parents/guardians of three or more children.
Additional assistance to Ukrainians
The amendments to the Special Law and the expansion and diversification of benefits for Ukrainian refugees, ratified by the Seimas, apply. Yes, according to the innovations:
- Poland's local self-government bodies will receive further funding (over 2 billion zlotys), intended primarily for the implementation of educational tasks related to the education, upbringing and care of children and students from Ukraine in 2023;
- funds will be allocated from the Aid Fund for the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Ukraine;
- companies and organizations that help Ukraine throughout the next year will be able to continue using tax benefits.
