The Polish government has announced amendments to the special law on temporary protection of Ukrainians in Poland, which are to enter into force on July 1, 2024. Find out more about the innovations in obtaining and using PESEL UKR for refugees from Ukraine

Legal assistance on migration issues for Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad

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On April 2, the website of the Office of the President of the Council of Ministers published information on planned amendments to the Special Act on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine. According to preliminary data, the validity of this law (and, accordingly, the period of legal stay of Ukrainians in Poland) will be extended until September 30, 2025, and the proposed amendments will come into force on July 1, 2024. It should be noted that the status of the project is currently marked as "open" and the Sejm is expected to consider the amendments to the special law this month.

Earlier it became known that Poland plans to cancel the one-time cash assistance of PLN 300 and the "40 zlotys per day" program. Today, we will elaborate on the proposed changes related to obtaining and using the PESEL UKR status. 

The main changes regarding PESEL UKR from July 2024

❗️ The application for PESEL UKR will be submitted immediately upon arrival in Poland (previously, Ukrainians were given 30 days to submit documents).

❗️Identity verification for assigning a PESEL UKR number will be possible only on the basis of a foreign passport. Poland explained this measure by the fact that Ukrainians currently have no problems with obtaining documents both in Ukraine and abroad. We have described in detail how to obtain a foreign passport outside Ukraine in 2024 in this article.

❗️Ukrainians who already have a PESEL UKR number will have to update their data in the register and confirm their identity on the basis of a foreign passport in any city/gmina office. This applies primarily to those who received the number on the basis of a Ukrainian passport or an expired passport. Note that you can update your data until July 1, 2024.

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❗️A new PESEL status will appear in the register - CUKR, which will be assigned to persons with UKR status who have received a residence card under a simplified procedure. At the same time, Ukrainian citizens with PESEL UKR status who receive a temporary residence card will be required to notify their employer of this fact.

❗️All Ukrainians over the age of 6 who seek temporary protection in Poland or already have the appropriate status will have to be fingerprinted. This procedure will be applied to all newly arrived Ukrainians, and a separate mechanism for submitting data will be launched for those who already have temporary protection but for some reason have not submitted their fingerprints. It should be noted that previously, fingerprints had to be submitted from the age of 12.

❗️Children from 6 years old will be required to be present when applying for PESEL UKR.

In addition, the services of free photography during the assignment of PESEL UKR will become unavailable.

If you need legal assistance on migration issues, please contact Visit Ukraine lawyers. Our experts will answer your questions, help you solve urgent problems with submitting or obtaining the necessary documents, and advise you on the current rules for leaving Ukraine, changing the country of temporary protection or other migration issues.

You can order a specialist consultation on our website at this link.

We remind you! Migration trends among Ukrainians, in particular with the aim of changing the country of temporary protection, are increasing, as the conditions of stay and financial assistance are changing. Read about which countries will provide repeated temporary protection in 2024 and what is needed to move in our previous article.