The law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine to be amended

by Laura Sopata

21 March 2022  ​

The Special Act has already been in force retrospectively since 24 February 2022. To find out what it is about, go to our previous article.

The Polish Sejm's Administration and Internal Affairs Committee submitted a motion to amend this law.

The Act on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in connection with an armed conflict in that state currently offers assistance only to the citizens of Ukraine who:

• have arrived in Poland directly from Ukraine in connection with the war in that state;
• hold a Pole's Card but have not arrived in Poland directly.

Assumptions of the amended act

The amended act provides for assistance to all citizens of Ukraine who have left their country due to the war, regardless of the border crossing which they used to arrive in Poland. May Ukrainian citizens used other border crossings due to long queues on the Polish-Ukrainian border. Therefore, they have not arrived in Poland directly from Ukraine and thus they are not covered by the above-mentioned act in its current wording.

For the time being, the situation of Ukrainian citizens who arrive in Poland through other countries or those who do not hold a Pole's Card is governed by the Act on Providing Protection to Foreigners in the Republic of Poland in the form of temporary protection. In that case, they can legally stay in Poland for 12 months.

The amended Special Act has been referred for opinion to self-government organisations.

Rödl & Partner experts will keep you updated on the progress of the legislative work.