At the beginning of December, together with 12 other organizations, we signed a letter from Right to Protection Poland addressed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, drawing attention to significant issues related to the loss of UKR status after the amendment of the law on January 28, 2023.
The Raised Issue
The current legal situation in our country results in the loss of legal residence and social rights for Ukrainian refugees. Many refugees lost their UKR status after January 28, 2023, even though they had actually been in Poland since the effective date of the mentioned amendment. The loss of this status leads to the suspension of social benefits payments from ZUS and also hinders access to healthcare. The lack of clear rules and legal procedures for regaining status creates chaos and uncertainty among refugees.
Recommendations
We propose amending the regulations in such a way that in the event of the incorrect deprivation of UKR status for a person from Ukraine who is actually residing in Poland, that person should have the opportunity to apply for restoration of the status, rather than a new grant of that status. Furthermore, we recommend the development of a simple and transparent procedure for restoring this status. We draw attention to the lack of a central database that allows for effective verification of the current residence status and the lack of information flow between databases in various cities within the country. We appeal for urgent actions to secure the livelihood and social stability of Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Read the Full Appeal Content
The report is available in Polish.