The President of the Republic of Poland has last signed a law regarding special assistance to Ukrainian citizens – said the head of the presidential office Zbigniew Bogucki on Friday. He announced that Monday two projects will go to the Sejm: on the extension of the period of applying for Polish citizenship and prosecution of flags.
On Friday, the president signed a law on helping citizens of Ukraine, which seals the system of receiving benefits for family by foreigners. The right to these benefits was associated with the parent's professional activity and the education of children at a Polish school, with the exceptions about, for example, people with disabilities. In addition, the right to benefits will be related to foreigners obtaining at least 50 percent. minimum remuneration for work, which means that in 2025 it will be PLN 2333 gross.
– The solutions contained in this Act “This is actually the end of tourism from Ukraine at the expense of the Polish taxpayer,” said the head of the presidential office Zbigniew Bogucki during the Friday press conference. As he noted, “This is the end of the 800+ benefit, for Ukrainian citizens who do not work here in Poland, do not stay in Poland, do not pay contributions, do not pay taxes, their children do not go to school”. “The previous situation was” completely incomprehensible, unacceptable, so it is interrupted, “he said.
He admitted that “the law is not perfect” and the presidential project proposed better, “even more sealing this system” solutions.
He pointed out that the new law “sealing 800+ benefit for those who do not work in Poland, not only Ukrainian citizens, but also all other countries, causes forecasted saving in 2026 at the level of PLN 270 million. (…) In turn, when it comes to limiting health services for non -working Ukrainian citizens, it is an estimated saving for the budget of the state budget around PLN 75 million in 2026, although it Immediately, so we are dealing with specific savings, “Bogucki pointed out.
He emphasized that the new solutions are “fair primarily to Poles, but just to those Ukrainians who work, who are our guests understood the need to participate in the Polish socio-economic system.”
He stated that “the previous veto of the President of the Republic of Poland forced the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk to work and to present not perfect but definitely better solutions.” He also reported that the president would withdraw his project, which went to the Sejm after the August veta.
“There is no reason to continue this kind of action”
He stated that this is “the last law, which was signed by the president by the president in this assistance formula (…), because today there is no reason and there is no reason to continue this type of action.”
– no other act (in this case – PAP), the president will sign anymore. We must go to normal conditions, i.e. treating Ukrainian citizens staying on the territory of the Commonwealth in the same way as all other foreigners – he noted.
He pointed out that in this act there is no “issue of extending the time after which you can apply for citizenship from three to ten years of permanent stay, and there are also no solutions regarding the increase in penalties and more severe response to crimes on the border.” – Why doesn't the government don't want to do it? This is a question that we ask publicly – added Bogucki, reminding that these solutions “were in the presidential project and were reported both at the stage of parliamentary and sentences.”
There will be 2 new projects of the president
He announced that two presidential legislative proposals would be submitted to the Speaker of the Sejm on Monday. One regarding the “extension of the period after which foreigners, including Ukrainian citizens, will be able to apply for Polish citizenshipwhich – as he noted – is something absolutely unique. “
The second draft will concern “amendment to the Penal Code and the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance, so as to chase everyone who will try, whether they want to spread flagship on the territory of the Commonwealth, or will want to make the Volhynia lie,” said Bogucki.
He emphasized that “the President of the Republic of Poland will not be blackmailed and will not allow Poles to blackmail.”
ZUS will check every month if foreigners were professionally active
The Government Act on Aid to Ukrainian citizens in connection with armed conflict in the territory of this state from the Senate came out on Wednesday, September 17. Earlier, on September 12, MPs adopted it with 227 votes for 194 against and seven abstaining.
The regulation seals the system of obtaining benefits for the family by foreigners. The right to these benefits will be associated with the parent's professional activity and the education of children at a Polish school, with the exceptions about, for example, people with disabilities. In addition, the right to benefits will be related to foreigners obtaining at least 50 percent. minimum remuneration for work, which means that in 2025 it will be PLN 2333 gross.
ZUS will check every month if foreigners were professionally active. If this was not the case in a given month, the benefit will be suspended and the transfer will not be sent. ZUS will also verify in the register of the Chief Commander of the Border Guard, or a given foreigner has not left Poland.
To allow better identification of foreigners applying for benefits and their children, the obligation to have a PESEL number will be introduced. When broadcasting PESEL, children's stay in Poland will also be verified. The new regulations also provide for the integration of databases of various institutions, which is to allow more effective monitoring of the rights of foreigners and eliminate attempts to extort benefits.
Extends the period of temporary protection in Poland until March 4, 2026.
A spokesman for the Office for Foreigners (UDSC) Jakub Dudziak, when asked by PAP about the number of Ukrainian citizens legally staying in Poland, explained that a total of 1.58 million Ukrainian citizens have important permits. Most of them are in Poland, using temporary protection, which is confirmed by receiving a PESEL number in accordance with the Act on the help of Ukrainian citizens. There are currently 992 thousand registered on this basis. people.
The Act also provides for the termination of some aid activities for Ukrainian citizens who are legally in Poland. It assumes the exclusion of the possibility of granting the rights to Ukrainian citizens who shortly cross the border on the basis of a permit to cross the border within a small border traffic.
In relation to the register kept by the Commander -in -Chief of the Border Guard, it introduces changes to the removal of his own signature, clarifying the obligation to enter data from documents constituting the basis for crossing the border, and adding fingerprint prints to identify persons.
According to its provisions, the required minimum number of inhabitants is raised to consider the center as a collective accommodation object, from 10 to 20. The deadline for the completion of the reception of war refugees from Ukraine to collective accommodation centers for October 31, 2025, except for sensitive groups, was also specified. There have also been clarified cases in which a voivode may check a Ukrainian citizen from the center.
The catalog of premises to repeal the temporary residence permit issued for a year, when a Ukrainian citizen: submitted an application containing false personal data or false information, testified untruth or concealed the truth or forged or converted the document in the event that the marriage was concluded to circumvent the regulations, is also extended.
The government act limits access to healthcare services by limiting the catalog of services that uninsured adult citizens of Ukraine will be able to use. It comes, among others for health programs, healing rehabilitation, dental treatment or drug programs.
The act was prepared in connection with the veto at the end of August by President Karol Nawrocki amendment to the Act on the aid of Ukrainian citizens. The president motivated his decision, among others The fact that the 800 plus benefit should only be given to Ukrainians who work in Poland.
At the same time, after vetoing the act, the president presented his draft and directed it to the Sejm and was in social consultations by September 25.
He contained proposals that Nawrocki mentioned when informing about the veto of the amendment to the Act: dependence of the payment of Ukrainian citizens of the 800 plus benefits on their professional activity; increasing the penalty for illegal crossing the Polish border to five years imprisonment and increasing the fork of punishment for organizing illegal crossing of the border – from 2 to 12 years imprisonment; Introducing a penalty for propagating flags and OUN-UPA activities on the same terms as for propagating Nazism, communism or fascism, and the minimum period of uninterrupted stay in Poland is to be extended from 3 to 10 years required to recognize a foreigner as a Polish citizen.
The head of the presidential office Zbigniew Bogucki also reported that the president would withdraw his project, which went to the Sejm after August. (PAP)
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