#ALERT: Special Bill on help to Ukrainian citizens – electronic document will allow travel

Ukrainian citizens who came to Poland in connection with the war often do not have possibility of traveling. They do not receive documents (such as a residence card) that are necessary to cross the Polish border. This is about to change soon. The government is working on making travel possible on the basis of an electronic document.

Ukrainian citizens who have registered with the municipal administration as refugees (covered by the so-called Special Bill) have the option of using an electronic identity document on their phone. It is an additional service available in the Polish mObywatel application. The planned change consists in extending the scope of functions of this document to the possibility of using it when crossing the border.

It is also planned that Poland will notify usage of this document to the European Commission. In this way, an electronic document (shown on the phone) will replace e.g. Polish visa for refugees from Ukraine. The electronic document itself will then enable them to travel to other countries of the Schengen area.

Ukrainian citizens who stay in Poland on the basis of the Special Bill should create an ePUAP profile. The ePUAP profile is required to log in to the mObywatel application and to start the electronic identity document service.

For persons who have not yet registered as refugees at the municipal administration, it is possible to create a profile during the registration procedure. For this purpose, the registration form contains additional fields to be completed. Refugees from Ukraine who did not set up an ePUAP profile beforehand can do it separately. To do this, you will need to visit the municipal administration again.

The new solution has no official date of entry into force. It is planned to proceed with the new solution quickly, therefore it may be introduced in the coming days.