Poland cancels automatic renewal of visas and residence permits: what should Ukrainians do?
Now experts do not note a surge in the submission of documents for a temporary residence permit in Poland.
The Polish authorities plan to lift the state of epidemic threat from July 1. This means that visas and residence permits for foreigners will no longer be automatically renewed.
Experts of the EWL migration platform explain what to do to those citizens of Ukraine who arrived in Poland before the full-scale invasion and are in the country with expired documents.
Since March 2020, Poland has introduced a rule that extends the validity of national visas and residence permits for the period of the epidemic threat. Thanks to her, foreigners, including citizens of Ukraine, could stay in the country even with expired documents. However, from July 1, the norm will cease to operate. Changes to the special law on assistance to citizens of Ukraine in January 2023 provide for the automatic extension of residence documents for all foreigners staying in Poland until August 24, 2023. Therefore, if the state of the epidemic threat is canceled in Poland from July 1, Ukrainian migrants who do not have PESEL UKR status and are in Poland from March 14, 2020, can legally stay in Poland until August 24, 2023.
If these citizens of Ukraine continue to want to stay in Poland, they must legalize their stay in the country by August 24, 2023.
This can be done in three ways. To extend the basis for legal stay in Poland, it is enough to draw up an application for a temporary residence permit. You can also get a visa. Another alternative option is to leave the Schengen area for 90 days and return to Poland as part of the visa-free movement.
Now, EWL experts do not note a surge in the filing of documents for a temporary residence permit in Poland.
Living in Poland – important to know
On April 7, some changes to the law on foreigners came into force in Poland, which was signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda in March. Most of them concern the illegal residence of foreigners, as well as the procedure for their deportation to their countries of origin.