flash news
The first effects of the plan announced in mid-September by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to terminate contracts with visa agencies due to irregularities in visa processes are already visible.
On 28 September 2023, a political decision was taken in the Council of the EU to extend the temporary protection granted to Ukrainian citizens fleeing war who have found refuge in the territory of the European Union.
The new cut-off date for temporary protection for those fleeing war in Ukraine is to be 4 March 2025.
We are currently waiting for the Council to formally adopt a decision amending the existing regulations. This will take place once the final wording of the decision has been agreed and translated into all EU languages.
Ukrainian citizens who were residing in Poland based on, among others, a national visa, and their stay’s legal validity ended before 24 February 2022 and was then subsequently extended under the COVID-19 Special Act to 31 July 2023, may continue to reside legally in Poland until 4 March 2024. This follows from the interpretation issued by the Head of the Office for Foreigners.
Employers who fail to comply with the obligation to file a notification on the start of work by a Ukrainian citizen can avoid sanctions in certain situations.
On 28 August this year, the President of Poland signed the Amending Act of 7 July 2023 which amends the Civil Procedure Code, the Law on the System of Common Courts, the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as certain other acts. It introduces, among others, changes in how court costs are regulated in employment cases.
In an employment case, if the value of the dispute exceeds PLN 50,000, only an appeal fee will be charged, and in addition, only on the part of the value of the dispute that exceeds PLN 50,000. The fee will be collected under the rules of Article 13 of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases.
Poland’s Commissioner for Human Rights is receiving complaints on abnormally long waiting times for residence cards to be issued to foreigners by the Governor of Lower Silesian Province, once the foreigners have obtained a Polish residence permit (at least 44 complaints were received on this, just from June to mid-July 2023). The Commissioner has intervened and sent a letter to the Governor of Lower Silesia requesting details of the scale of the problem, its causes, as well as the corrective measures the authority is putting into place.