Citizens of Ukraine

LEGAL RESIDENCE OF CITIZENS OF UKRAINE WHO ARRIVED IN POLAND AS OF FEBRUARY 24, 2022.

On the basis of the “specustava” (Law of March 12, 2022 on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine), the legal stay of citizens of Ukraine (and certain members of their families) who arrived in Poland from February 24, 2022 in connection with the hostilities conducted on the territory of Ukraine has been extended until March 4, 2024, and in some cases until August 31, 2024 or September 30, 2024.

Recent statutory amendments have further extended the period of recognized legal residence:

  • until August 31 , 2024 in the case of:
    • persons who, on March 4, 2024, will benefit from pre-school education, will perform compulsory education or will perform compulsory education, and if these persons are minors – also their parents or guardians;
    • persons who, on March 4, 2024, will receive pre-school education in a kindergarten or school operating in the Ukrainian educational system using distance education methods and techniques, and if these persons are minors – also their parents or guardians;
    • persons who, no later than in the school year 2022/2023, began studying at an industry secondary school, post-secondary school or school for adults, and if these persons are minors – also their parents or guardians.
  • until September 30, 2024 in the case of:
    • persons who are taking the matriculation exam on a revision date, and if these persons are minors – also their parents and guardians.

Changes have also been made to the provisions preventing Ukrainian citizens from falling into illegal residence and supporting the legalization of their stay on Polish territory.

Analogous extensions to March 4, 2024 will be made to the periods in which:

  • residence periods and validity periods of national visas of citizens of Ukraine are extended by law;
  • the periods of validity of temporary residence permits of citizens of Ukraine are extended by operation of law;
  • the time limits for citizens of Ukraine to leave the territory of Poland are extended by operation of law (pursuant to Article 299(6) of the Law on Foreigners of December 12, 2013);
  • the deadlines for voluntary return (now the deadlines for voluntary departure) set forth in decisions on the obligation of the foreigner to return issued to citizens of Ukraine are extended by law (pursuant to Article 315(1) of the Law on Foreigners);
  • the validity periods of residence cards, Polish identity documents of foreigners and “consent for tolerated stay” documents issued to citizens of Ukraine are extended by law;
  • the stay of citizens of Ukraine on the territory of Poland is considered legal in connection with the end of the period of permissible short-term stay (on the basis of a Schengen visa issued by a Polish authority, on the basis of a visa issued by another Schengen area country, on the basis of a residence permit issued by a competent authority of another Schengen area country or within the framework of visa-free traffic);
  • with regard to citizens of Ukraine, the requirement specified in Article 142(1)(3) of the Law on Foreigners relating to the size and quality of business activity is not applied in proceedings on the granting of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of carrying out economic activity, if they carry out economic activity on the basis of an entry in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity;
  • the provision of Article 42a (1) of the Special Law establishing a subsidiary substantive legal basis for granting temporary residence permits to citizens of Ukraine is applicable;
  • it is possible not to initiate or discontinue initiated proceedings on the obligation of a foreigner to return against citizens of Ukraine.

In addition, the wording of Article 100d, paragraph 1, which establishes the legal basis for resting the deadlines for governors to handle certain types of cases of foreigners, has been amended – in the direction of analogous extension of this period until March 4, 2024.

On the basis of the aforementioned Article 100d (1) of the Special Law, in the period until March 4, 2024, the running of deadlines for handling cases concerning:

  • granting a foreigner:
    • temporary residence permit,
    • permanent residence permit,
    • residence permit for a long-term resident of the European Union;
  • changes:
    • temporary residence and work permits,
    • temporary residence permit for the purpose of working in a highly skilled occupation;
  • revocation of a foreigner:
    • temporary residence permit,
    • permanent residence permit,
    • a residence permit for a long-term resident of the European Union

In proceedings, pertaining to all foreigners, conducted by the provincial governor does not start, and the one started is suspended for this period. The suspension/non-starting period for the above-mentioned cases lasts continuously from April 15, 2022 to March 4, 2024.

First steps after entering Poland

If you belong to one of the following categories of persons:

  • you are a citizen of Ukraine and came to Poland legally from the territory of Ukraine in the period from February 24, 2022, in connection with the armed conflict (regardless of whether you came directly from the territory of Ukraine or through the territory of another country), and declare your intention to stay in the territory of Poland, or
  • you are the husband/wife of a citizen of Ukraine, and you entered Poland under the above conditions (even if you do not hold Ukrainian citizenship)

You qualify for temporary protection in Poland, based on the so-called “speculative law”. In order to obtain protection, within a maximum of 30 days after crossing the border, you must go to any municipal authority and apply for a UKR PESEL number.

Based on the UKR PESEL number, you will be given access to a trusted profile, which will facilitate much of the subsequent paperwork. In the future, the PESEL number and trusted profile are also expected to give you access to an electronic document confirming your identity and residency status.

If you already have a PESEL number, you are still required to report to a municipal authority within 30 days of crossing the border to have your UKR PESEL status recorded in the registry.

An application for a PESEL number for a minor is submitted by his or her parent, guardian, custodian, temporary guardian or person with actual custody of the child. If, due to your health condition or disability, you are unable to submit the application in person at the municipal authority, you can submit this application at your place of residence. NOTE: Departure of a citizen of Ukraine from Poland for more than a month deprives him of the right to legal residence in Poland on the basis of the “speculative law”.

CONSEQUENCES OF LEAVING POLAND FOR MORE THAN 1 MONTH – UKR STATUS

Once the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard provides information on the departure of a foreigner covered by the Act for more than 1 month, the “UKR” status assigned to the assigned PESEL number is automatically changed to “NUE” status, i.e. the status of a foreigner who is neither a citizen of a European Union member state nor a family member of an EU citizen. Thus, the change of status will formally make visible the practical loss of entitlements resulting from the inclusion in the special law.

The change will also be made after the transmission of information about the possession by a Ukrainian citizen of exclusionary documents from the scope of the law (residence permit, international protection, etc.) or the submission of an application for international protection.

However, the UKR status can be restored if the person who has been assigned a PESEL number confirms that his/her stay outside Poland did not last longer than 1 month.

If the departure of the foreigner takes place within the Schengen area then the change of status can take place on the basis of a statement after departure for more than 1 month, submitted by the person who was assigned a PESEL number or a person representing him. This solution seems to make it possible to practically resign from temporary protection in Poland for those who, having received a PESEL number in Poland (with the UKR designation), would like to use this protection in another EU country.

The above statement should include: name, surname, PESEL number, country and date of departure, type of departure, and a statement of the veracity of the data contained in the application, as well as a clause that reads: “I am aware of the criminal liability for making a false statement”.

In the case of departure from Poland through the external borders of the Schengen zone, the change of UKR status can also be made on the basis of the above statement. Then the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard provides for verification of the date of departure.

The regulations also provide for the possibility of re-establishing the status of UKR as a result of arrival on the territory of the Republic of Poland from the territory of Ukraine in connection with military operations conducted on the territory of that country. Then this entry should be documented or registered in the register of citizens of Ukraine who arrived on the territory of the Republic of Poland from the territory of Ukraine in connection with hostilities conducted on the territory of Ukraine, kept by the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard.

If this entry took place through the Polish border, which is the external border of the Schengen area, the re-granting of UKR status is automatic.

Re-granting of the status may also take place as a result of resubmission of an application for PESEL number.

The authority competent to register the above data is any municipality’s executive body.

With regard to the loss of entitlements under the Act as a result of departure from Poland for a period of more than 1 month, it was also specified that this provision will not apply to persons directed to perform work or services outside the Republic of Poland by entities operating in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

In addition, it was noted that data on the departure of a person covered by the law for a period of more than 1 month will be provided by the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard to the Social Insurance Institution determining the foreigner’s entitlement to benefits. ( Article 1, point 13(b) of the amending law)

Performance of work

All citizens of Ukraine whose stay on the territory of Poland is legal – i.e., both those whose stay is considered legal due to entry after February 24, 2022 and those whose stay in Poland is considered legal on other grounds (e.g., have a temporary residence permit, visa, etc.) – are entitled to legal work.

An employer who employs a citizen of Ukraine is obliged to notify the district labor office competent for the seat or place of residence of the entity, within 14 days from the date of employment of the foreigner. The obligation to notify does not apply to the employment of a citizen of Ukraine who legally performs work in Poland, e.g., on the basis of a work permit or an appropriate temporary residence permit, and when he/she has the right to work in Poland in connection with his/her residence status (e.g., has been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, has been granted permanent residence, long-term resident’s residence, a permit to stay for humanitarian reasons or a permit for tolerated stay).

Notification is to take place via a teleinformatics system – praca.gov.pl

To ensure the legality of the employment of a Ukrainian citizen, two more requirements must be met:

  1. The work must be performed at a work volume not lower than that indicated in the notification and at a remuneration not lower than that determined according to the rate specified in the notification.
  2. This information, i.e. remuneration determined at a monthly or hourly rate and the working hours or the number of working hours per week or per month should be included in the aforementioned notification.

In addition, a citizen of Ukraine legally residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland may register with the Labor Office until as an unemployed person. This also applies to Ukrainian citizens of retirement age, i.e. 65 years (men) and 60 years (women).

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY – citizens of Ukraine, whose residence is considered legal under the “special law” or under the Law on Foreigners (i.e., with a visa, temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit, etc.), are entitled to conduct business on the same basis as citizens of the Republic of Poland. The condition is to obtain a PESEL number.

Other forms of support

If you are a citizen of Ukraine who has arrived in Poland from the territory of Ukraine since February 24, you can receive assistance such as accommodation, food or free psychological assistance.

For more information, contact the Project Partner – Family Service Center

FAMILY SERVICE CENTER
93-162 Lodz
broniewskiego 1a street
tel. 42 682-20-22, 684-14-60;
fax 42 682-20-22 ext. 36
e-mail: csr@csr.org.pl

The Center, within the framework of cooperation with project 6/14-2022/OG-FAMI, offers assistance within the :

  1. Information and counseling point for people from Ukraine. It is located in Piotrkow Trybunalski at 47 Dmowskiego St

Within its framework, those in need can benefit from:

  • legal assistance
  • psychological assistance
  • counseling on social assistance
  • counseling on assistance to persons from Ukraine

The information and counseling center is open during the hours:

  • monday: 11:00-19:00
  • tuesday-Friday: 09:00-15:00

Information and counseling point in Lodz providing free assistance to people from Ukraine.

The point is open from Monday to Friday from 11:00-19:00

As part of it, people in need can take advantage of:

  • Legal assistance (Mondays and Thursdays – from 15:00 to 17:00)
  • Professional counseling ( Wednesdays from 17:30 to 19:30)
  • Psychological and therapeutic assistance (including trauma therapy and crisis intervention, including for children and adolescents) Monday-Friday – from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m
  • Free Polish language courses for people from Ukraine
    Classes are held Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Center for Family Service at 1a Broniewskiego Street in Lodz, Poland
  • Enrollment is possible at 797 899 194, as well as at e-mail: tatiana@csr.org.pl

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