On Saturday, 26 March 2022, an amendment to the Polish Special Act on Assistance for Ukrainian Citizens was signed by the President. The changes are small, but they have a big impact on people who, for various reasons, left Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022 to a country other than Poland and then came to Poland.

Until now

Prior to the entry into force of the amendment, the scope of the Polish Special Act and significant facilitations concerning the legalisation of residence and work were dedicated only to citizens of Ukraine (and members of their families) who came to Poland directly from Ukraine. Thus, the Polish Special Act did not apply to people who came to Poland via another country (e.g. Slovakia).

After the amendment

The Polish Special Act has now been modified by deleting the word “directly” in the context of arrival from Ukraine. This means that it now also applies to people who left Ukraine to another country due to the war, and then came to Poland – crossing a border other than the Polish-Ukrainian one.

The amendment takes effect retroactively from 24 February 2022.

 

Emilia Kalecka, Associate