Poland has officially updated the rules for Ukrainian refugees: what is known

The Polish Sejm has passed a bill extending the legal stay of Ukrainian refugees until September 30, 2025, and introducing stricter conditions for receiving social support, requiring a passport to receive certain benefits. These changes are aimed at ensuring legal status and social guarantees for Ukrainian refugees. The changes will come into force on July 1, 2024.

This was reported by RMF24 radio station. The amendments to the law were voted in favor by 381 MPs, 19 were against, and 20 abstained.

The document includes stricter conditions for providing social support to Ukrainian refugees. In particular, some benefits will be available only upon presentation of a passport. Among the approved changes:

• Ukrainians who have received PESEL UKR will be able to legally stay in Poland until September 30, 2025;
• the payment of 800 zlotys per child will depend on whether the child is attending school;
• financing of accommodation and meals for refugees in difficulty will be possible only if there is an agreement with local authorities;
• compensation to owners of private housing for accommodation of refugees is canceled;
• the payment of a one-time allowance of 300 PLN is terminated;
• access to medical, family, and social benefits paid by ZUS is expanded;
• introduces new rules for confirming the identity of a Ukrainian citizen in order to obtain a PESEL number, which requires the provision of a valid travel document.

These measures are intended to streamline procedures and provide Ukrainian refugees with the necessary conditions for residence and social support in Poland for the period up to 2025. The bill will now be submitted to the Senate for consideration, after which it must be signed by the President. If approved, the law will come into force on July 1, 2024.

Amendments proposed by the former ruling Law and Justice party and the far-right Confederation group were not included in the final text of the document. They proposed to deprive Ukrainians of military age of the right to social assistance in Poland.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Ireland is considering reducing state support for asylum seekers and refugees, including those from Ukraine, even those who have long been in the country. The main goal is to bring Irish payments in line with other European countries, as more and more Ukrainian refugees are moving to Ireland from other EU countries due to the large financial support.

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