President Nawrocki Signed a Law on the Rules for Ukrainians' Stay in Poland 0 6

The President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, signed a law regulating the conditions for the stay of Ukrainian citizens in Poland. The new rules facilitate the transition from temporary protection, which Ukrainian refugees received, to a three-year temporary residence permit.

"Thanks to these changes, the legal approach to Ukrainian refugees will be the same as for all other foreigners," noted former Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administration Maciej Duszczyk in an interview with Polish Radio.

"The right to work, the right to education, and the right to social benefits directly depend on the status of stay. The basis here is the form of legalization. We are offering a form that will encourage Ukrainian citizens who currently have legal stay based on military asylum to change their status, for example, for education or employment. This tool will likely be available as early as January or early February, that is, even before the current rules expire," Duszczyk explained.

To apply for a status change, Ukrainians will not need to go to the Office for Foreigners; it will be sufficient to fill out an online form.

Currently, nearly 1 million Ukrainian citizens are benefiting from temporary protection in Poland, mostly women and children.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Polish Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, warned that a refusal to engage in dialogue with Kyiv could leave Poland out of key negotiations regarding the future of Ukraine and the region. He commented on the fact that Poland was not present at the meeting of the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany with Zelensky in London. Czarzasty reminded that President Karol Nawrocki has yet to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky. "If we do not talk to the President of Ukraine and if we reject Ukraine, do not be surprised that we are not at the tables where the future of this country is being decided," the politician stated. He believes that it is the foreign policy steps of the Polish president that have led to the situation in which Poland has been sidelined from negotiations.