On 7 March 2026 Poland’s Ministry of the Interior confirmed press reports that the country’s 2022 Special Act for Ukrainians will be phased out on 4 March 2027. The move, first detailed by officials in a Polskie Radio interview and picked up by Ukrainian outlet Obozrevatel, means the estimated one million Ukrainians who entered Poland under the EU’s temporary-protection mechanism must, within the next 12 months, either (1) apply for a Polish temporary or permanent residence permit under the regular Foreigners Act, or (2) leave the country.
![Poland Gives Ukrainian Refugees One-Year Countdown to Choose New Immigration Status]()
For individuals unsure which permit route best fits their situation, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. The company’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and courier submission options that help both employers and employees navigate work-permit and residence-card applications well before the March-2027 deadline.
The measure does not end protection overnight. PESEL-UKR numbers, which legalise stay and grant immediate labour-market access, remain valid through 4 March 2027. However, holders must update missing passport data by 31 August 2026 and start their residence-permit applications early to avoid bottlenecks. Warsaw has already suspended normal immigration-processing deadlines until 4 March 2026; that suspension will now expire, and standard time-limits (typically 60–90 days for work-permit decisions and up to six months for residence cards) will again apply. For employers the change has major workforce-planning implications. Since 2022 Ukrainian nationals have filled critical gaps in retail, hospitality and light manufacturing; the Social Insurance Fund credits them with helping push contributions to record highs. Businesses will need to budget for government fees (PLN 440 per work permit; PLN 340 per residence permit) and for legalisation leave while employees visit voivodship offices for biometric capture. Companies using the simplified “notification-only” hiring process should prepare to switch to full work-permit sponsorship during 2026. The government is urging refugees to consult free legal clinics run by NGOs such as Association Interwencja Migracyjna. Those who meet Polish-language or family-reunification criteria may be eligible for permanent residence after only two or three years, offering a path to citizenship. At the same time officials stress that social-benefit entitlements will tighten: access to public health care will depend on payment of insurance premiums, while housing subsidies will be means-tested. Poland’s decision is being watched closely across the EU. Brussels has already prolonged temporary protection to March 2027, but several member states—Germany and the Czech Republic among them—have indicated they, too, want to transition large refugee populations to ordinary immigration regimes. Multinational employers with Central-European operations should therefore review their broader regional mobility strategies now.
For individuals unsure which permit route best fits their situation, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. The company’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and courier submission options that help both employers and employees navigate work-permit and residence-card applications well before the March-2027 deadline.
The measure does not end protection overnight. PESEL-UKR numbers, which legalise stay and grant immediate labour-market access, remain valid through 4 March 2027. However, holders must update missing passport data by 31 August 2026 and start their residence-permit applications early to avoid bottlenecks. Warsaw has already suspended normal immigration-processing deadlines until 4 March 2026; that suspension will now expire, and standard time-limits (typically 60–90 days for work-permit decisions and up to six months for residence cards) will again apply. For employers the change has major workforce-planning implications. Since 2022 Ukrainian nationals have filled critical gaps in retail, hospitality and light manufacturing; the Social Insurance Fund credits them with helping push contributions to record highs. Businesses will need to budget for government fees (PLN 440 per work permit; PLN 340 per residence permit) and for legalisation leave while employees visit voivodship offices for biometric capture. Companies using the simplified “notification-only” hiring process should prepare to switch to full work-permit sponsorship during 2026. The government is urging refugees to consult free legal clinics run by NGOs such as Association Interwencja Migracyjna. Those who meet Polish-language or family-reunification criteria may be eligible for permanent residence after only two or three years, offering a path to citizenship. At the same time officials stress that social-benefit entitlements will tighten: access to public health care will depend on payment of insurance premiums, while housing subsidies will be means-tested. Poland’s decision is being watched closely across the EU. Brussels has already prolonged temporary protection to March 2027, but several member states—Germany and the Czech Republic among them—have indicated they, too, want to transition large refugee populations to ordinary immigration regimes. Multinational employers with Central-European operations should therefore review their broader regional mobility strategies now.
