- President Karol Nawrocki ended separate wartime protections for Ukrainians, shifting them to general EU and national foreigner laws.
- Approximately 1 million Ukrainians must now apply for residence permits before the March 4, 2027 deadline.
- The reform removes unconditional privileges to create legal equality between Ukrainian refugees and Polish citizens.
(POLAND) — President Karol Nawrocki ended Poland’s separate wartime protections for Ukrainians on March 5, 2026, signing off on a law that repeals the 2022 “Special Act on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine” and folds refugees into Poland’s general Law on Foreigners and the EU temporary protection framework.
Nawrocki signed the bill on February 19, 2026, after government approval and parliamentary passage, as officials argued the emergency regime had granted “unconditional privileges” that created inequality with Polish citizens and strained the labor market and state budget.
Poland’s shift removes the standalone Ukraine-specific track for legal stay, work and benefits and replaces it with standard procedures and documentation under existing foreigner and EU rules. For many Ukrainians, the most immediate questions now center on how to keep legal stay, whether work authorization continues, and which supports remain automatic.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion, the 2022 law simplified residence, work, benefits and education as Poland hosted more than 2 million arrivals initially. About 1 million Ukrainians remain, the government and diplomats have said.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka described the direction of travel in comments on January 20, 2026, arguing that after nearly four years most Ukrainians in Poland are employed and integrated, allowing a move to “systemic solutions.”
Nawrocki’s chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, framed the change as “assistance coupled with responsibility and contribution,” after the president vetoed an August 2025 extension of the emergency law.
The law does not set out an overnight expulsion event, and officials and advisers have said they expect no mass status revocations. Instead, the change moves Ukrainians away from a distinct special legal status and toward standard immigration processes, with compliance and documentation carrying more weight.
Under the new arrangement, the 2022 Special Act no longer serves as a standalone basis for many wartime privileges. Protections and procedures now run through the Law on Foreigners and the EU temporary protection architecture, a structural shift designed to keep legal pathways open while ending the exceptional rules used during the emergency phase.
One core element involves residence permits for people who came because of the war and for those whose documents were extended due to the conflict. Ukrainians who arrived after February 24, 2022, or had permits extended due to the war can apply for residence permits until March 4, 2027.
That permit-based approach changes day-to-day life in practical ways, including what documents people must present and how they interact with local administration. It also reduces reliance on sweeping automatic extensions, replacing them with applications and decisions under standard rules.
Work rights remain, but the system surrounding employment becomes less streamlined than it was under the emergency law. Poland preserves the right for Ukrainians to work, while ending simplified hiring procedures that some employers relied on during the period of exceptional measures.
Business rules also tighten as the special emergency provisions end. The law terminates wartime rules that allowed Ukrainians to set up businesses on terms equal to Poles under the Special Act’s framework.
Employers have voiced concern that the loss of simplified procedures may deter some hiring, as administrative friction rises. Immigration advisers, by contrast, have described the transition as manageable for working, tax-paying Ukrainians whose children attend school in Poland, while warning that stricter rules will bite harder for people who relied on broad aid entitlements.
Poland’s labor market has leaned heavily on Ukrainian workers since 2022. Ukrainians comprise two-thirds of foreign workers in Poland, according to the information provided with the legislative changes.
The law also tightens requirements tied to registration and ongoing eligibility under EU temporary protection channels, including the PESEL UKR personal identification number. New arrivals must register for PESEL UKR within 30 days of entry; failure results in automatic loss of temporary protection, treated as voluntary renunciation.
Temporary protection documentation also shifts administratively, with voivodeship offices taking over issuance of temporary protection cards rather than local councils. The change centralizes an important piece of proof that many Ukrainians use when dealing with employers, landlords and public offices.
Rules around losing protection become more explicit, including travel-related triggers. A person loses status if absent from Poland over 30 days or if protection is granted elsewhere in the EU.
Support systems change alongside the legal framework, with healthcare and benefits becoming more conditional and more closely tied to employment and insured status. Uninsured Ukrainians now receive the same treatment as uninsured Poles, with exceptions listed for children, pregnant women, violence victims, and wounded soldiers.
Accommodation and food aid narrow to vulnerable groups, including the elderly and disabled, reducing access to broad support that applied more widely under the emergency approach. The government’s move matters for families, students and others who had relied on automatic entitlements linked to the wartime law, especially if they lack stable employment or insurance.
Officials have presented the shift as part of a move toward EU-aligned structures, including a “single, coherent support system” for all EU temporary protection beneficiaries, regardless of nationality. The government argues that a unified framework facilitates mobility within the bloc while enabling authorities to withdraw status for rule-breakers.
The legal overhaul also lands alongside wider policy changes slated for 2026, including the adoption of the EU Temporary Protection Directive later in 2026 and separate EU asylum reforms effective June 12, 2026, allowing inadmissibility for safe third-country transit such as Turkey and Tunisia. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s office described the Ukraine law change as equalizing access for all protected foreigners.
For Ukrainians in Poland, the immediate reality becomes less about a single emergency statute and more about maintaining status through familiar immigration steps—registration, documentation, and residence permits within the new timelines. Ukraine’s ambassador, Vasyl Bodnar, reported about 1 million refugees by summer 2025, a scale that officials say now requires rules designed for long-term administration rather than crisis response.
