This page helps you find out which assistance may suit you and who grants it. The detailed conditions of each program are on separate pages.
What assistance can you get, and where do you apply?
Both the program and the place to apply depend on your situation: see the table.
| Situation | Assistance | Who grants it |
|---|---|---|
| You have children under 18 and are professionally active in Poland | 800+ (child-raising benefit): 800 zł per child per month | ZUS (Social Insurance Institution), online only |
| Your child goes to school | Dobry Start (“Good Start”): 300 zł once a year | ZUS, online only |
| Low family income, birth of a child, care | Family allowance (zasiłek rodzinny), one-off childbirth grant (“becikowe”) and other family benefits | The gmina office where you live |
| No money for housing, food or clothing | Shelter, meals, necessary clothing, special-purpose assistance (zasiłek celowy) | The social assistance center (OPS, MOPS) of the gmina where you are actually staying |
| Illness without health insurance | Free only for a few groups; emergency care for others; voluntary insurance | National Health Fund (NFZ) |
| You have lost your job | Unemployment benefit, health insurance | District labor office (powiatowy urząd pracy, PUP) |
| Retirement age (women from 60, men from 65) | Polish pension; payment of a Ukrainian pension | ZUS; Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) |
| You need advice on documents | Consultation, no cash benefits | National Integration Offices (Krajowe Biura Integracji) |
Does UKR status give you the right to benefits?
Not by itself. Since 5 March 2026, holders of UKR status have a separate category in the laws on 800+ and on family benefits, and extra conditions apply to it that do not apply to Polish citizens. You need a PESEL number with UKR status and must live in Poland together with your family, and the payment is suspended if you or your child have left the country. For 800+, the parents’ professional activity and the child’s schooling in a Polish school are also checked. For family allowance, which depends on income, the income of the whole family is counted.
Some benefits are not available to holders of UKR status at all. They do not receive permanent (zasiłek stały) or periodic (zasiłek okresowy) social assistance, only shelter, meals, clothing and special-purpose assistance. Since 5 March 2026, women aged 60 and over and men aged 65 and over can no longer register as unemployed.
What changed in 2025–2026?
- 1 June 2025: 800+ became linked to the child’s schooling in a Polish school.
- 30 September 2025: adult holders of UKR status lost some free medical services, including reimbursed medicines.
- 31 January 2026: 800+ under the old rules ended; from 1 February, a new application and the parents’ professional activity are required.
- 5 March 2026: the special act was phased out. Free treatment without insurance remained only for a few groups, social assistance was limited, and for family benefits the income of the whole family is now counted.
- From 1 July 2026: applications for Dobry Start for the 2026/2027 school year are checked for professional activity.
Decisions on family benefits that were granted earlier only until 4 March 2027 are changed by the gmina on its own initiative, without an application from you. According to the Family Ministry’s material on gov.pl, benefits for a benefit period are extended to the end of that period, that is, to 31 October 2027, and other benefits, including care benefits, are extended no longer than until 4 March 2028. A benefit is extended only if you and your family members still have UKR status and meet the new conditions.
For work, which gives the right to most benefits, read the article Work in Poland for Ukrainians (in Ukrainian).