Guide for Ukrainians
Choose who you are: each page gathers the answers for one situation, checked against official sources.
This is not legal advice. The rules change often. Before you decide anything, open the official page linked under the answer or call the information line. The foundation does not handle residence cases.
Who are you and what is your situation?
Collect your documents
A valid passport for travel abroad for every person, children included; birth and marriage certificates; your driving licence; diplomas and school certificates; medical records and vaccination cards; disability documents; papers for a pet: chip, rabies vaccination, antibody test and veterinary certificate. Take photos of everything and keep them separately. In Poland many of these papers need a sworn translation, which is easier to arrange with the originals in hand.
The full answer and sourcesCheck the rules for new arrivals
Yes, the EU has extended it until 4 March 2028, with two conditions to remember. Apply for a PESEL with UKR status at any commune office within 30 days of entering Poland. And since 31 July 2026 a new grant of protection requires fulfilled military obligations in Ukraine, so a document confirming it may be requested.
The full answer and sourcesAt the border, say it is evacuation
Say plainly to the Polish border guard that you are leaving because of the war and are seeking protection, not travelling as a tourist. How your entry is recorded matters later, when you apply for a PESEL with UKR status, and correcting the record with the Border Guard afterwards is hard. This is practical advice from our foundation; the decision belongs to the officer.
The full answer and sourcesWithin 30 days: PESEL with UKR status
Apply at any commune office within 30 days of entering Poland. Without registration you may lose the right to temporary protection.
The full answer and sourcesTravelling with a pet
The animal needs a microchip that meets the ISO standards and a valid rabies vaccination: the first one is given no earlier than at 12 weeks and counts from 21 days after the shot. Ukraine is a country outside the EU, so the rules also require a rabies antibody test done in an approved laboratory and a veterinary certificate; no more than five animals may travel with one person. Read the full conditions on the page of the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate before the trip.
The full answer and sourcesKnow where to get free help
At the National Integration Offices (KBI): support is free, you can talk to an adviser or a psychologist and sign up for a Polish language course. They do not provide accommodation and do not pay money. The addresses are on the ministry’s page.
The full answer and sources
Get a PESEL with UKR status
Apply at any commune office within 30 days of entering Poland. Without registration you may lose the right to temporary protection.
The full answer and sourcesSet up the document in your phone
An electronic document in the mObywatel app for adult citizens of Ukraine with UKR status, a PESEL number and a trusted profile. Since 5 March 2026 it is called the Temporary Protection Document. Together with a valid passport it lets you cross the Polish border and travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180.
The full answer and sourcesRegister your address
Yes, if you stay longer than 30 days: a foreigner from outside the EU registers within 4 days of moving in, at the commune or district office. It is free. Bring a separate form for each person, children included, your passport, the document of your right to stay and proof of your right to the flat, for example the lease; the owner confirms on the form that you live there. You cannot register for longer than your legal stay lasts.
The full answer and sourcesOpen a bank account
Yes. Anyone who stays legally in the EU and has no other payment account in Poland has the right to a basic payment account: keeping it and the card are free, with five free transfers and five free withdrawals from other banks’ cash machines a month. The bank needs a valid identity document and an address in Poland, and it can refuse only for reasons listed in the law. Banks also offer ordinary accounts on their own terms.
The full answer and sourcesSort out health insurance
Since 5 March 2026 it depends on insurance. Insured are, among others, employees, people on a contract of mandate, sole traders, the registered unemployed and students, and they can add family members. Without insurance, people with UKR status keep free care only in these groups: children under 18, women who are pregnant, giving birth or in the postpartum period, residents of collective accommodation centres, and victims of torture or rape. In an acute emergency help is given to everyone.
The full answer and sourcesStart working legally
Yes. With temporary protection you can work, and your employer must notify the labour office through praca.gov.pl within 7 days of your first day. With the CUKR card no work permit is needed.
The full answer and sourcesEnrol the children in school
Yes. Since 1 September 2024 children from Ukraine are covered by the same duties as Polish pupils: one year of pre-school preparation, primary school and further education in a secondary school. Learning online in a Ukrainian school does not replace it. The 800+ and Dobry Start benefits are paid only when the child attends a Polish pre-school class or school.
The full answer and sourcesRemember the 30-day rule
With UKR status: it ends automatically if you leave Poland for more than 30 days. With the CUKR card: a stay outside Poland of more than 6 months means losing the permit.
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Care during pregnancy and birth
Yes. Women with UKR status who are pregnant, giving birth or in the postpartum period keep the right to publicly funded care even without insurance. After the birth, register the child at the civil registry office within 21 days.
The full answer and sourcesRegister the birth within 21 days
To the civil registry office (USC) of the place where the child was born. The hospital sends the birth card there within 3 days, and a parent must report the birth within 21 days: in person or online. It is free. You receive a short copy of the birth certificate and a notice of the child’s PESEL. If the parents are not married, the father first acknowledges paternity; foreign marriage documents need a sworn translation into Polish.
The full answer and sourcesRegister Ukrainian citizenship
Ask the USC for a full copy of the Polish birth certificate (odpis zupełny) and have it translated. With it and a parent’s passport, register the child’s Ukrainian citizenship by birth at the consulate for the district where the child was born: one parent is enough, it is free, and the certificate is ready within about a month. After that you can apply for the child’s passport. Whether a Ukrainian birth certificate will also be issued in your case, ask the consulate: by the Ministry of Justice’s explanation a consul registers the birth of a Ukrainian’s child abroad free of charge when it is reported within a month.
The full answer and sourcesMake the child’s passport
A parent or other legal representative applies for a child under 16 and brings the child’s birth certificate and their own passport. You can apply at the Passport Service "Document" or at a consulate. For a child born in Poland, first register the child’s Ukrainian citizenship at the consulate.
The full answer and sourcesArrange the child’s legal stay
The child needs its own basis of stay. If you have temporary protection, a parent applies for the child’s PESEL with UKR status at the commune office; fingerprints are not taken from children under 6. Do it right after the birth is registered and ask the office about the deadline in your case.
The full answer and sourcesAdd the child to your health insurance
Yes, if they have no insurance of their own: children up to 26, your spouse, and parents or grandparents who live in one household with you. Report them through your employer, or yourself at the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) if you run a business. It costs nothing extra.
The full answer and sourcesApply for 800+
Yes, for a child who lives with you in Poland; a school-age child must attend a school in the Polish system. Since 1 February 2026 the parent must work or run a business (ZUS checks this); parents of children with disabilities are exempt.
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Ukrainian passport: first steps
Contact the nearest Ukrainian consulate; if the passport was stolen, also report it to the police. If you must go to Ukraine urgently, the consulate issues an identity card for return to Ukraine, valid for 30 days. A new passport can be ordered at the Passport Service "Document" or at the consulate. Keep a photo or copy of your documents separately: it speeds everything up.
The full answer and sourcesBook the consulate
Through the e-Consul system; booking is free. You sign in with Diia.Signature, an electronic signature or BankID. New slots open every day at 9:00 local time, and when there are none you can join the waiting list. Never pay intermediaries for a slot.
The full answer and sourcesOrder a new passport
At the Passport Service of the state enterprise "Document", Monday to Saturday 9:00-18:00: Warsaw (Blue City, Al. Jerozolimskie 179, 2nd floor, +48 517 573 010), Kraków (Galeria Krakowska, ul. Pawia 5, 2nd floor, entrance from the car park, sector C, +48 573 744 601), Wrocław (Pasaż Grunwaldzki, plac Grunwaldzki 22, level 0, +48 451 106 881) and Gdańsk (Al. Grunwaldzka 415, +48 786 587 951), or at a Ukrainian consulate. In Poland you apply only with an advance booking in the electronic queue, confirmed with Diia.Signature or BankID; ready documents are collected without booking. A passport takes up to three months.
The full answer and sourcesPolish residence card: 3 days
Tell the voivode who issued the card within 3 days of the loss: you get a free certificate that replaces the card for up to 2 months. Apply for a new card at the same office within 14 days; the fee is higher when the loss was your fault. If the card was stolen, report it to the police too.
The full answer and sourcesDriving licence
Yes. The Passport Service "Document" exchanges Ukrainian licences and restores lost or stolen ones in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk and Kraków. You get a new Ukrainian licence, not a Polish one.
The full answer and sourcesDo not pay intermediaries
Be careful. The MOS portal is free and you can apply yourself, without an appointment or an intermediary. Never give anyone the login details to your trusted profile or to MOS.
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Check that you qualify
A 3-year residence card for people who had temporary protection. You need a valid PESEL UKR on 4 June 2025, on the day you apply and on the day the card is issued, and UKR status without a break for at least 365 days. It gives work without a permit and the right to run a business like Polish citizens.
The full answer and sourcesCheck your passport
Apply in advance: the new passport is made in Ukraine and delivery to Poland takes weeks. A valid travel document is needed for many matters in Poland, for example to confirm your identity for PESEL UKR or to apply for the CUKR card.
The full answer and sourcesApply online in MOS
Only online, in the MOS portal, since 4 May 2026. Fees: 340 zł stamp duty and 100 zł for the card, to two different accounts. You need a digital photo and an electronic signature (trusted profile, qualified signature or e-ID). The portal is free and no intermediary is needed.
The full answer and sourcesKnow what changes with the card
UKR status is cancelled and the entitlements tied to it end. Report a change of address to the voivode within 15 working days, collect the card within 60 days of the notice, and remember that more than 6 months outside Poland means losing the permit.
The full answer and sourcesIf you study
Free full-time studies in Polish and the social stipend continue while you keep UKR status. Getting the CUKR card or another residence permit ends UKR status, and the university may then charge tuition. Ask your university about its rules before you apply for the card.
The full answer and sourcesTravelling with the card
Yes: the card lets you travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
The full answer and sources
Your right to work
Yes. With temporary protection you can work, and your employer must notify the labour office through praca.gov.pl within 7 days of your first day. With the CUKR card no work permit is needed.
The full answer and sourcesWhere to look
Public job offers and the services of labour offices are on praca.gov.pl; your district labour office (PUP) also helps in person. Offers across Europe are on the EURES portal. The Green Line of the labour offices answers questions at 19524.
The full answer and sourcesKnow the minimum pay
In 2026 it is 4806 zł gross a month on an employment contract and 31.40 zł gross an hour on a contract of mandate. From 1 January 2027 it rises to 4950 zł a month and 32.30 zł an hour. An employer may not pay less, whatever your citizenship.
The full answer and sourcesRegister at the labour office
If your stay is legal, yes, at the labour office. A registered unemployed person has health insurance, whether or not they receive an allowance.
The full answer and sourcesIf the employer cheats
To the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP): it gives free advice and accepts complaints from every worker, including foreigners. Keep your contract, messages and proof of the hours you worked.
The full answer and sourcesSettle your tax
If you earned income in Poland, the annual PIT return for the previous year is filed by 30 April. For employees the tax office prepares it in the Twój e-PIT service, open from 15 February: log in to e-Urząd Skarbowy and check it. If you do nothing, a PIT-37 is accepted automatically on 30 April. For your own situation ask the National Tax Information line.
The full answer and sources
What is open to you
Quite a lot. Erasmus+ training courses, seminars and study visits for people who work with young people have no upper age limit. You can lead a group on a youth exchange. Humanitarian aid volunteering in the European Solidarity Corps is open up to the age of 35. And our events, the radio and volunteering at the foundation have no age limit at all.
The full answer and sourcesTraining courses without an age limit
A short international training, seminar or study visit for people who work with young people as staff or volunteers: activities last from 2 to 60 days. There is no upper age limit; participants are usually 18 or older.
The full answer and sourcesHave your diploma recognised
It depends on the date and the purpose. Diplomas of master and specialist issued before 20 June 2006 are recognised under international agreements. Later diplomas give access to further studies in Poland (a bachelor to second-cycle studies, a master to doctoral school), but for other purposes they need nostrification at a Polish university. Regulated professions such as doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse, midwife, veterinarian and architect always require nostrification.
The full answer and sourcesA free Polish course and advice
At the National Integration Offices (KBI): support is free, you can talk to an adviser or a psychologist and sign up for a Polish language course. They do not provide accommodation and do not pay money. The addresses are on the ministry’s page.
The full answer and sourcesVolunteer with us
Fill in the form on the Volunteering page. We read every application and write back to the email you leave. People of any nationality are welcome.
The full answer and sourcesYour pension years
Poland and Ukraine have a social security agreement: the periods of insurance in both countries are added together to check the right to a pension, and each country pays for the years worked there. An application filed at the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) counts as filed with the Ukrainian institution on the same day. The pension age in Poland is 60 for women and 65 for men. Ask ZUS about your case: 22 560 16 00.
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Get a local SIM card
Go to an operator’s shop with your passport: in many countries, among them Poland, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Slovakia and Bulgaria, a card must be registered to a document. Start with a prepaid card: it needs no contract, bank account or local number. The national telecom regulator shows the coverage of every operator, and the names of the operators in sixteen countries are in our guide.
The full answer and sourcesOpen a bank account
In every EU country a person who lives there legally has the right to a basic payment account: a bank may refuse only for reasons set by law. Take your passport, the document of your stay and proof of address; the local personal or tax number is often needed too. Outside the EU the rules are set by each bank. The largest banks in sixteen countries are listed in our guide.
The full answer and sourcesWhere to make documents
The Passport Service "Document" has 47 centres in 13 countries. Outside Ukraine and Poland they work in Germany (Berlin, Cologne, Munich), Spain (Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona), Italy (Milan), Czechia (Prague), Slovakia (Bratislava), Bulgaria (Varna), the United Kingdom (London), Canada (Toronto, Burlington), Moldova (Chișinău), Belgium (Kortrijk) and Slovenia (Ljubljana). They make passports for travel abroad and ID cards; addresses, hours and booking are on the service’s site. Everywhere else, go to a Ukrainian consulate.
The full answer and sourcesFind your consulate
The foreign ministry’s site has a catalogue of all embassies and consulates with addresses, phones, hours and consular districts: type the name of the country in the search. A visit is booked through e-Consul, free of charge. Check which post serves your district and whether it provides the service you need: honorary consulates usually do not issue documents.
The full answer and sourcesBook a visit
Through the e-Consul system; booking is free. You sign in with Diia.Signature, an electronic signature or BankID. New slots open every day at 9:00 local time, and when there are none you can join the waiting list. Never pay intermediaries for a slot.
The full answer and sourcesProtection across the EU
The protection itself is common to the whole EU and now runs until 4 March 2028, with the rule on military obligations for new applications since 31 July 2026. Everything else is set by each country: how to register, housing, benefits, healthcare and work. This guide describes Poland; for another country use the pages of its migration authority.
The full answer and sourcesErasmus+ from your country
Yes. You take part as a resident of the country where you live, through an organisation from that country: look for the partner from your country in the call, or ask the National Agency there. Our calls always list the countries of residence they accept. The European Solidarity Corps and DiscoverEU are also open to residents of EU countries.
The full answer and sourcesIn a crisis
In danger, call the local emergency number: 112 works across the European Union. For Ukrainian citizens in a crisis abroad (detention, an accident, a serious illness, a death) the foreign ministry keeps a hotline: +380 44 238 15 88, [email protected]. It is not for booking ordinary consular visits.
The full answer and sources
You can take part from Poland
Yes. In Erasmus+ what counts is the country where you live and the organisation that sends you, not your passport. If you live in Poland legally, you join the Polish group of a Polish sending organisation on the same terms as Polish citizens. The call always says which countries of residence it accepts.
The full answer and sourcesFind a call and apply
Open the Opportunities page: every call says who can apply, what is covered, the deadline and how to send an application. If there is no open call now, leave your email in the newsletter form and we will write when one opens.
The full answer and sourcesPrepare the documents
A valid passport and a document of your legal stay in Poland: a residence card, the CUKR card, or UKR status with the Temporary Protection Document in mObywatel. With them you can travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180. For a country outside Schengen you may need a visa: check with that country’s embassy early; the sending organisation is obliged to help, and visa costs can be covered from the project. Participants under 18 need written consent from their parents. Insurance requirements are stated in each call.
The full answer and sourcesMind your UKR status
Yes: UKR status ends if you are outside Poland for more than 30 days. A youth exchange or a training course is much shorter, so it is safe. Before a long volunteering placement or a semester abroad, first arrange another basis of stay, for example the CUKR card.
The full answer and sourcesWhat is paid for
The project budget has a fixed amount for each participant’s travel, set by distance and not by the ticket price, and a daily amount that covers accommodation and food, which the organisers arrange. Visa costs can be covered separately. How and when travel is refunded is written in each call, so keep your tickets.
The full answer and sourcesTake your certificate home
Yes. Participants of Erasmus+ youth projects receive a Youthpass: a European certificate that describes what you did and what you learned. You can add it to your CV.
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Dates to remember
- 5 Mar 2026New rules replace the special act
- 4 May 2026CUKR applications open
- 31 Jul 2026New protection only after military obligations
- 31 Aug 2026Deadline to confirm identity
- 4 Mar 2027Polish extension of documents ends
- 4 Mar 2028EU temporary protection ends
The gold line shows where we are today.
Where to ask
- Office for Foreigners, information line47 721 76 75weekdays 9:00-16:00
- CEIDG, business registration801 055 08822 765 67 32
- National Tax Information22 330 03 30801 055 055
- ZUS, social insurance22 560 16 00
- National Health Fund, patient line800 190 590free, around the clock, also in Ukrainian
- Support line for adults in an emotional crisis116 123free, around the clock
- Help line for children and young people116 111free, around the clock
- Emergency number112police, ambulance, fire brigade
The MOS portal is free. Never give anyone your login details, and be careful with paid intermediaries.