Refugees in Poland who escaped the war in Ukraine and have obtained a PESEL number showing “UKR” status, may travel from 23 July 2022 using their passports and a diia.pl digital document, which is generated by the mObywatel mobile app.
The diia.pl digital document has been notified by Poland to the European Commission as a new document that serves as a residence document, which not only confirms legal stay in Poland, but also entitles its holders to:
- travel within the EU,
- cross its external borders,
- stay in the territory of other Schengen area states for up to 90 days in a period of 180 days.
This is significant assistance for the beneficiaries of the Special Act (Act on Assistance to Ukrainian Citizens in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of that Country of 12 March 2022), who, despite enjoying temporary protection and legally residing in Poland until now, following its expiry, were not entitled to freely cross the Polish border or travel to other EU states without a valid residence permit or a visa.
The official notice on rules for crossing the border using the diia.pl document is posted on the website of the Border Guard.