Poland to tighten Ukrainian refugee residency laws

The Polish government has proposed an amendment to a special act on assistance for Ukrainian citizens, tightening the rules making them cover some of their own costs, reported from EurActiv.

Ukrainian refugees that came to Poland after the armed conflict broke out in Ukraine will now be obliged to obtain a national identification number, PESEL. They will also have restricted access to social benefits, such as the monthly 500 zł (€104) for child benefits, and will have to participate in covering their living costs, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported.

"We cannot finance the refugees’ residence indefinitely,” Deputy Interior Minister Paweł Szefernaker told RMF FM radio earlier this month. "We still have about 80,000 refugees accommodated in collective housing places, like cover markets, fire halls or guesthouses,” he added.

According to the Ministry, since January, Ukrainians who have lived in such places for over 120 days would have to cover 50% of their costs. The idea is that they will ultimately become completely self-sufficient, Szefernaker said.

About 1,400,000 Ukrainians possess the Polish PESEL number, but not every Ukrainian living in Poland applied for it. Should the new law come into force, they will have 30 days to comply with the rules and obtain the number.

This obligation "will put the situation [of Ukrainian residents] in order and dismantle the obstacles on the way to certain public services,” believes Grzegorz Kubalski from the Association of Polish Counties (ZPP).

On the other hand, the new rules of access to social welfare are aimed at better controlling the payments and minimizing the risk of people illegally receiving benefits. Under current provisions, foreigners that leave Poland for more than a month lose their right to legal residence and child benefits.

The new law will also grant the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and local governments more information on each Ukrainian that enters or leaves Poland, which the Interior Ministry says would help to prevent social benefit fraud.

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