Poland

⚠️ THE MOST COMMON WAY PEOPLE LOSE THEIR STATUS IS A TRIP. Leaving Poland for more than 30 days ends temporary protection (UKR status). It expires by itself, with no decision and no letter to you: art. 109b ust. 1 pkt 2 of the Act on granting protection to foreigners (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 862). The law has NO exceptions for medical treatment, study or family reasons — if you read otherwise somewhere, that information is outdated or invented: the one exception that used to exist (being posted abroad for work) was repealed on 5 March 2026 together with the old provision. A trip to Ukraine of a month or longer is exactly this case. The status can be granted again: apply for PESEL UKR at a gmina within 30 days of your return, and the date of the new status is the day you re-entered (art. 44b of the Act on population records). But the periods do NOT add up, and that breaks the "365 continuous days" condition for the CUKR card. If you travel within Schengen, you can declare the departure at any gmina. Do not confuse this with the 6-month limit: that one applies to an already issued CUKR card, not to UKR status. While you are on UKR, your limit is 30 days. ⚠️ The 31 August 2026 deadline HAS PASSED. If your PESEL UKR was registered on a declaration only, without a photo document, and you did not show a valid passport at the gmina by that date, you have already lost UKR status. Do not wait: go to the urząd gminy with a valid passport as soon as possible and ask about having the status granted again. ⚠️ Since 5 March 2026 free healthcare (family doctor, reimbursed medicines) with PESEL UKR is limited to four groups: victims of torture or rape, people under 18, women during pregnancy and childbirth, and residents of collective accommodation centres. Everyone else is entitled only to life-saving care, unless they have compulsory health insurance through work or unemployed status. ⚠️ From 1 February 2026 the 800+ benefit is paid only if a parent works or runs a business (ZUS checks this automatically) and a school-age child attends a Polish school. Travel with any travel document. No visa needed: entry is visa-free and PESEL UKR status is registered in Poland. Bring children’s birth certificates and any proof of residence in Ukraine before 24.02.2022.