Expat EssentialsPOLANDExpat Essentials Poland
A free check for the Polish residence card for people with temporary protection (PESEL UKR). The voivode decides. This is not a legal decision.
Informational only. Not legal advice, and not a decision of the voivode.
Your answers stay in this browser. We do not ask for your name or PESEL.
Ukrainian citizens who came because of the war, a spouse or minor child (including a minor child of the spouse) who is not a Ukrainian citizen, a close family member of a Ukrainian citizen with a Karta Polaka, and some children born in Poland.
Active PESEL UKR on the day you file, UKR status on 4 June 2025, and at least 365 consecutive days of UKR status at some point. Separate shorter periods do not add up.
Born on or after 24 February 2022 to a mother with temporary protection. The 4 June 2025 date and the 365-day period do not apply (art. 42d). The mother must already have received her own CUKR card. UdSC also says the child needs UKR status on the day the card is issued.
A valid passport in the PESEL register, fingerprints from age 6 or a note that they could not be taken, a signature specimen from age 12 (art. 42g), and your own Profil Zaufany or qualified e-signature. A proxy cannot sign.
Two separate payments before you file. UdSC says there is no exemption, including for a child. A card under art. 42c is valid for 3 years from the day it is issued. A card for a child born in Poland lasts for the same period as the mother’s card (art. 42p).
A Ukrainian citizen who came to Poland because of the war, certain family members who came with them, or a child born in Poland on or after 24 February 2022 to a mother with temporary protection. You also need the UKR-status conditions, unless you are that child. People with Polish or other EU citizenship cannot apply.
File by 4 March 2027. If the application is filed correctly by then, art. 42x treats the stay as legal until the card is collected, the card is invalidated because it was not collected within 60 days, or a refusal or a discontinuance becomes final. The EU extended temporary protection until 4 March 2028, and MOS describes the filing deadline as the end of temporary protection. The Act still uses 4 March 2027 for this protection of legal stay.
440 zł in total: 340 zł stamp duty and 100 zł for the card, paid separately before you file. UdSC says there is no exemption, including for a child. The Act says the stamp duty is not refunded if no card is issued (art. 42s sec. 3), and neither fee is refunded if the card is not collected within 60 days (art. 42r sec. 2).
A proxy cannot sign or send it. You sign with Profil Zaufany or a qualified e-signature (art. 42f sec. 5). For a person without full legal capacity, a parent, guardian, curator or temporary guardian signs, and may also use podpis osobisty.
UdSC information line: 47 721 76 75
Facts checked 5 November 2026 against the Act (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1293), the Office for Foreigners (UdSC) and MOS.
Informational only. Not legal advice, and not a decision of the voivode.