This page helps you understand on what basis you can stay in Poland and where to go next. It compares the main grounds and lists the changes and the disputed dates. Step-by-step instructions are on separate pages about temporary protection and the CUKR residence card (karta pobytu CUKR).
What changed on 5 March 2026?
The 2022 special act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens no longer determines the status of Ukrainians. The act of 23 January 2026 phasing out the special act came into force on 5 March 2026 and repealed its Articles 1–13a. Since then, temporary protection for everyone who holds it has been governed by the chapter of the Act on Granting Protection to Foreigners that begins with Article 106.
People who already had a PESEL (a personal number in the Polish population register) with UKR status did not need to file anything: on 5 March 2026 their stay automatically became legal under Article 106 of the new act. What remains of the special act are the rules on the CUKR card, several deadline extensions with fixed dates, and provisions on funding and education.
So publications that contrast the “special act” with “EU temporary protection” are out of date: since 5 March 2026 there is a single regime.
Until what date is temporary protection valid?
Under the law, protection is valid while the EU Council decision is in force, that is, until 4 March 2028. Article 106 of the Act on Granting Protection to Foreigners treats as legal the stay of a person who arrived in Poland legally to benefit from protection, from the day of entry for as long as the EU decision on the mass influx of displaced persons remains in force, unless the act provides otherwise. EU Decision 2026/1912 of 30 July 2026 extended protection until 4 March 2028. The Office for Foreigners (UdSC) announced this extension on 6 August 2026, and the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, in an information material on gov.pl, directly links the date 4 March 2028 to Article 106.
At the same time, the date 4 March 2027 still appears in official sources, for different reasons:
- Outdated texts on how long the status lasts. The UdSC pages on the CUKR card say that UKR status is valid “only until 04.03.2027”. The ministry’s explanation of 26 March 2026 says the same. These texts were prepared before the EU extension decision, so they are out of date on how long UKR status lasts. Other UdSC explanations on the same pages, including the one on the deadline for applying for the CUKR card, remain valid.
- Fixed dates in the 2022 special act. They do not depend on the EU decision and are still tied to 4 March 2027. The law extends, until that date, the national visas, temporary residence permits and residence cards of Ukrainian citizens whose last day of validity fell in the period from 24 February 2022. An extended card or visa does not give you the right to cross the border. The time limits for voivodes to decide permit cases are also suspended until 4 March 2027.
- The CUKR card. UdSC says that the application for the CUKR residence card can be filed until 4 March 2027, and the law links the applicant’s legal stay during the procedure to this date. File your application by that day.
As of 12 October 2026, it is not known whether Poland will move these fixed dates: we have not found a bill on this in the Sejm. After protection ends, the law gives you 30 days to leave; during this time your stay is legal.
How do the grounds for staying differ?
The grounds differ in who can apply, which conditions you must meet and who decides: the gmina office (the gmina is the smallest administrative unit, similar to a municipality or a Ukrainian hromada) or the voivode (the government’s representative in the voivodeship, or province).
| Basis | Who it is for | Key conditions | Who decides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary protection (UKR status) | People who left Ukraine because of the war, and their family members | An application for a PESEL number with UKR status at a gmina within 30 days of entry; from 5 August 2026, protection is granted only to those who have fulfilled their military obligations in Ukraine, if they did not yet have protection in Poland on 4 August 2026 | The gmina office (assigns PESEL UKR) |
| CUKR residence card | Ukrainian citizens with UKR status | All three conditions together: UKR status on 4 June 2025, on the day of the application and without a break for at least 365 days; online application only, by 4 March 2027 according to UdSC; fees of 440 zł | The voivode; a refusal is appealed to the Head of the UdSC |
| Temporary residence and work permit | People who work in Poland under a contract | Health insurance; pay of at least the minimum wage and at least what workers in similar jobs earn; an occupation not on the restricted list; up to 3 years; fee of 440 zł | The voivode |
| Permanent residence | For example, holders of the Pole's Card (Karta Polaka) who want to settle permanently; spouses of Polish citizens; children of Polish citizens; persons of Polish origin | For marriage: at least 3 years of marriage and 2 years of continuous temporary residence on that basis; fee of 640 zł, holders of the Pole's Card are exempt | The voivode |
| EU long-term resident | People who have lived in Poland legally and continuously for at least 5 years | Stable income, health insurance, Polish at level B1 or higher (children under 16 do not need it); fee of 640 zł | The voivode |
| Family reunification | The husband or wife and minor children of a foreigner who lives in Poland legally | The foreigner has, for example, a permanent residence permit or at least 2 years of consecutive temporary residence permits; insurance, income and housing | The voivode |
| Study | Students of Polish universities | Admission to a university that meets the requirements of the Act on Foreigners | The voivode |
The stamp duty for a temporary residence permit is generally 340 zł; for a permit granted for work, it is 440 zł. According to UdSC, you also pay 100 zł for issuing the residence card itself. The Stamp Duty Act exempts from the 340 zł fee a temporary residence permit granted to a person with temporary protection. According to UdSC, there is no exemption for the CUKR card, and we have not found an official explanation of how voivodes apply this rule to other permits, for example for family reunification; check with the voivodeship office (urząd wojewódzki).
Since 27 April 2026, applications for temporary and permanent residence permits and for the EU resident permit are filed only electronically through the MOS system (Moduł Obsługi Spraw); a paper application is not examined.
There are other grounds for permanent residence too, including 4 years of work under a permit in an occupation on the list of occupations in demand, if you have a stable income. Breaks in your stay must not exceed 6 months in a row and 10 months in total.
How does your status affect work and family?
Your right to work depends on your basis for staying, not on your PESEL number.
| Basis | Work | What the employer does |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary protection (UKR) | Free access to the labor market | Notifies the district labor office (powiatowy urząd pracy, PUP) within 7 days of the start of work; the fine for a breach is from 1,000 to 3,000 zł |
| Legal stay of a Ukrainian citizen without protection who needs a work permit | For 3 years from 5 March 2026, the employer may choose the same notification instead of a work permit or an employment declaration; the government information line Zielona Linia gives the end date as 5 March 2029 | Notifies the PUP, or obtains a permit or a declaration on general terms |
| CUKR residence card | No work permit needed | According to UdSC and Zielona Linia, there is no need to notify the PUP |
| Temporary residence and work permit | Within the terms of the permit | According to the ministry's explanation, no separate notification is needed for permits issued after 5 March 2026 |
| Permanent residence, EU resident, refugee status, subsidiary protection | Free access to the labor market | No work permit is needed; according to Zielona Linia, Ukrainian citizens exempt from a permit are employed on general terms, without a notification |
Holders of temporary protection and of the Pole’s Card can run a business on the same terms as Polish citizens; holders of the CUKR card can do so as well. Read about contracts and workers’ rights in the article Work in Poland for Ukrainians (in Ukrainian).
Family members get their status under different rules. Under the 2022 EU decision, temporary protection extends to family members of those who left Ukraine: a husband or wife, minor unmarried children and close relatives who lived together and were dependent, if the family was in Ukraine before 24 February 2022. The EU decision treats an unmarried partner as a spouse only where national law does so. The stay of a child born in Poland whose father or mother has temporary protection is also legal, if the child is not a citizen of Poland or another EU country. For other grounds, there is family reunification. If a family member with UKR status joins a foreigner with a temporary residence permit, the requirement that this foreigner has held permits for 2 years does not apply.
Can you switch from temporary protection to another permit?
Yes, but the permit you receive ends your temporary protection. A holder of UKR status can apply for a temporary residence permit for work, for highly qualified work (the EU Blue Card), for running a business, as a family member of a Polish citizen and for family reunification. The general ban on such applications by people under temporary protection does not cover these five permits, and fingerprints are taken from the PESEL register.
As soon as the permit is granted, temporary protection ends. UdSC explains this with an example: a person who received such a permit for work in 2025 lost their PESEL UKR and cannot get a CUKR card. If, on the other hand, you have a pending case for a temporary residence permit, an application for the CUKR card closes it automatically.
You cannot get an EU long-term resident permit while under temporary protection: the application is refused at the filing stage. According to UdSC’s position, the 5 years for this permit are counted from the day you received the CUKR card, and the time with UKR status before that does not count. The law has no direct rule on this; it is UdSC’s explanation.
What about international protection (asylum)?
An application for international protection in Poland ends temporary protection. If the international protection case ends with a final decision that does not grant it (including a refusal, leaving the application unexamined or discontinuing the case), temporary protection is restored from the day the decision became final. The preamble of the 2026 EU decision recalls that desertion and evasion of military service are not, in themselves, grounds for international protection.
When do you need a lawyer?
You need an immigration lawyer when your case goes beyond the general rules:
- you were refused a CUKR card or a permit: you can appeal the decision within 14 days of the day it was delivered to you;
- you want to switch from temporary protection to another permit and do not know how this will affect your family;
- your family members have different statuses, or your children were born in Poland;
- you have a decision excluding you from temporary protection or an entry ban.
In Poland, free legal aid is available to any individual who declares that they cannot pay for a lawyer; the law sets no conditions on citizenship. UdSC also says that you can file the CUKR card application yourself, without paid intermediaries. Kompanion does not provide legal services and does not recommend lawyers.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Treating CUKR as a separate kind of protection. It is a residence card: when you collect it, protection turns into a temporary residence permit, and in the PESEL register UKR status is changed to CUKR.
- Reading the CUKR conditions as alternatives. On its page of 26 March 2026 the ministry joins them with the word “or”, but the law requires all three at the same time.
- Putting off the CUKR card application until after 4 March 2027.
- Leaving Poland for more than 30 days with UKR status: protection ends.
- Filing a permit application on paper. Since 27 April 2026, it is accepted only through MOS.
- Taking the rules from materials written before 5 March 2026.