Poland’s Council of Ministers has adopted a package of measures designed to move from emergency reception to long-term integration of the roughly one million Ukrainians still in the country. The amendment to the Special Act on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine, published on 6 January 2026, formally extends legal stay, work rights, education and healthcare access for beneficiaries of temporary protection until 4 March 2026.
At the same time the Central Statistical Office unveiled an interactive ‘Ukrainians in Poland’ dashboard that tracks employment, social-assistance take-up and school attendance down to county level. The data will feed into a newly created network of National Integration Centres, each pairing regional authorities with non-governmental partners to provide language training, skills assessment and job-matching services.
![Poland extends assistance law and launches integration-centre network for Ukrainian displaced persons]()
A key policy change links eligibility for the flagship “800+” child benefit (PLN 800 ≈ €186 per month) to at least one parent being employed in Poland. Health-care coverage for uninsured adults has been narrowed, while provisions allowing Ukrainian psychologists to practise without Polish diploma recognition have been prolonged for another year to address mental-health bottlenecks.
For employers the reforms bring both opportunity and obligation. Companies can tap into a growing pool of job-ready candidates through the integration centres, but must also ensure that Ukrainian employees meet the new benefit-eligibility rule or risk higher turnover. HR teams are advised to check PESEL-UKR numbers, confirm employment contracts are properly registered and help staff navigate Polish tax and social-security systems.
The package keeps Poland broadly aligned with the EU-wide Temporary Protection Directive, which the Council has already prolonged to March 2027, and signals Warsaw’s intention to shift from crisis management to structured integration over the next 12 months.
At the same time the Central Statistical Office unveiled an interactive ‘Ukrainians in Poland’ dashboard that tracks employment, social-assistance take-up and school attendance down to county level. The data will feed into a newly created network of National Integration Centres, each pairing regional authorities with non-governmental partners to provide language training, skills assessment and job-matching services.
A key policy change links eligibility for the flagship “800+” child benefit (PLN 800 ≈ €186 per month) to at least one parent being employed in Poland. Health-care coverage for uninsured adults has been narrowed, while provisions allowing Ukrainian psychologists to practise without Polish diploma recognition have been prolonged for another year to address mental-health bottlenecks.
For employers the reforms bring both opportunity and obligation. Companies can tap into a growing pool of job-ready candidates through the integration centres, but must also ensure that Ukrainian employees meet the new benefit-eligibility rule or risk higher turnover. HR teams are advised to check PESEL-UKR numbers, confirm employment contracts are properly registered and help staff navigate Polish tax and social-security systems.
The package keeps Poland broadly aligned with the EU-wide Temporary Protection Directive, which the Council has already prolonged to March 2027, and signals Warsaw’s intention to shift from crisis management to structured integration over the next 12 months.
