flash news: #Ukraine
Work on amending the act on assistance to citizens of Ukraine has reached a conclusion. On 10 June, the President signed a law that:
- broadens the range of persons covered by the Act, to include juvenile children of Ukrainian citizens and of their spouses,
- extends the legal stay of Ukrainian citizens until 30 September 2025,
- extends until 30 September 2025 the possibility of obtaining temporary residence permits for a period of 1 year to persons who have not met all the statutory requirements, but have declared a specific purpose for their stay in Poland,
The Council of Ministers adopted a draft amendment to the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Citizens in Connection with the Armed Conflict in that Country.
The bill was introduced into the Sejm (Polish Parliament’s lower chamber) on 30 April. The most important amendments include:
- extension of Ukrainian citizens’ legal right to stay in the Republic of Poland till 30 September 2025,
- improvements in the system of support, specifically regarding accommodation and food for refugees from Ukraine,
- linking the 800+ benefit to compulsory education,
As of 23 April, the acceptance of new applications for consular services for Ukrainian citizens, specifically men of conscription age (18-60) who are temporarily abroad, has been suspended, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reports in a press release.
The change is motivated by the need to bring the procedures in line with new regulations under Ukraine's Mobilisation Law, which are set to take effect on 18 May of this year. The new regulations are aimed at curbing evasion of military service. Among other things, they restrict the issuance of foreign passports without updating military registration documents.
Work is still in progress on the amendment to the law on assistance to Ukrainian citizens in connection with the armed conflict in Ukraine. A new draft was published on 17 April which includes the following changes (as compared to the previous version):
- The change of status from UKR to CUKR (where a person with UKR status receives a temporary residence card) will take place on the day he/she receives the card and not on the day he/she receives a temporary residence permit;
- The requirement for a minimum period of stay in Poland and a minimum number of permits will be abolished when applying for a residence card to reunite with family members;
On 19 February 2024, the Supreme Court received a legal question (case III CZP 11/24) as to whether a Ukrainian citizen with permanent residence in Poland can inherit under Ukrainian law.
The case originally involved a CJEU judgment (C-21/22) which ruled that EU law does not prohibit the exclusion, on the basis of a bilateral agreement between states, of the application of the law of the country of origin of a foreigner from a non-EU state.
On 21 February the Journal of Laws published an Act amending the Act on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine, dated 9 February 2024. Under the new legislation, the temporary protections afforded to Ukrainian citizens in Poland and associated privileges have been extended until 30 June 2024.