GMI Legal Update: Details of Draft Amendment to Special Act Regarding Ukrainian Citizens in Poland

A draft amendment to the so-called Ukrainian Special Bill has been published on the website of the Government Legislation Center. Adoption of the new law is planned for the second quarter of 2024.

The key changes introduced by the draft amendment are:

• extension of the automatic right of residence of Ukrainian citizens in Poland until September 30, 2025;
• shortening from 14 to 7 calendar days the deadline for the employer to submit to the PUP a notification about the start of work of a Ukrainian citizen;
• introducing for Ukrainian citizens who have UKR status (and had it as of March 4, 2024) the possibility of submitting special electronic applications for a temporary residence permit for a period of 3 years.

We have discussed the initial assumptions made available by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration before the draft was published here.

A draft sheds light on further details regarding special temporary residence permits introduced by the proposed amendment – most importantly:

• submitting an application for this permit will only be possible electronically via the so-called case management module;
• an application for a permit will be able to be submitted by any citizen of Ukraine who has UKR status and had it as of March 4, 2024, regardless of whether he works, runs a business, stays with a family member or has another purpose of staying in Poland;
• the permit will authorize you to run a business and to perform work without the obligation to submit a notification to the PUP;
• the permit holder will be obliged to notify the office of any change of place of residence in Poland within 15 days;
• the permit will be subject to withdrawal if the foreigner leaves Poland for more than 6 months.