The state benefits will be reserved for refugees who have obtained employment from now on
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has signed a bill tightening the rules for Ukrainian refugees receiving state benefits.
While the legislation offers Ukrainians the ability to stay in Poland until at least March 2026, it links their access to benefits, including the monthly “800 plus” zloty child support allowance ($220 or more), to proof of employment for at least one parent and school enrollment for their dependents.
Other benefits now reserved only for Ukrainians working in Poland include health programs, prescription drug coverage, and medical and dental services.
The Ukrainian refugees will now also have to show they earn at least 50% of the minimum wage, with their compliance checked monthly. The new legislation envisions a few exemptions, namely for people with disabilities.
The adopted measure spells the end for “tourism from Ukraine at the expense of Polish taxpayers,” the head of the president’s office, Zbigniew Bogucki, has said.
The Polish president is set to introduce two additional bills concerning the refugees shortly, namely on tightening rules to get the country’s citizenship and on criminalization of the promotion of hardline Ukrainian nationalist movements, he added.
“Through his previous vetoes, the president forced the government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, to work and propose solutions that are not perfect but certainly better,” Bogucki told reporters.
Back in August, Nawrocki vetoed the earlier version of the bill, which would have simply extended the then-existing benefits system without any changes. The president has repeatedly argued that only those refugees who contribute to Poland’s economy should be eligible for state benefits.
Poland has been one of the top destinations for Ukrainian refugees since the escalation of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow in February 2022. The country is believed to have welcomed over a million refugees from the country since then.
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