On 24 October 2025 Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) published a detailed bulletin confirming that, from 1 November 2025, the criteria for staying in government-run collective accommodation centres (Ośrodki Zbiorowego Zakwaterowania – OZZ) will change for displaced Ukrainians.
The amendment to Poland’s special “assistance act” trims the list of people who can live in the centres without paying. Going forward, only vulnerable categories such as persons with disabilities, seniors, pregnant women, and their essential caregivers will remain eligible. Families with three or more children will lose the full exemption once every child is older than seven. Ukrainians who enter Poland after 1 November will also have to demonstrate vulnerability to qualify, ending the blanket approach that applied in the early months of the war.
Fees are being standardised. Residents who were already paying 50 % or 75 % of the cost will have to leave the centres. Pensioners, regardless of the pension amount, will pay a flat 15 złoty (€3.50) per day. Wojewodas (provincial governors) will no longer have discretion to grant humanitarian fee waivers outside the statutory categories, closing what officials describe as a major loophole.
The ministry stresses that Ukrainians who lose the right to free accommodation are not being left unsupported. A new “Together to Independence” programme, implemented with the Polish Red Cross and the Polish Centre for International Aid, will finance rental deposits, Polish-language courses, job-search assistance and integration activities to help refugees secure private housing.
For multinational employers the measures mean that workers hired from among the refugee population may need higher wages or housing allowances if they can no longer live free of charge in OZZ facilities. Organisations that still rely on volunteer-run shelters will have to verify their compliance, as inspections and penalties for unauthorised housing have also been tightened. Companies should review HR policies and extend relocation support where necessary to retain Ukrainian talent.
The amendment to Poland’s special “assistance act” trims the list of people who can live in the centres without paying. Going forward, only vulnerable categories such as persons with disabilities, seniors, pregnant women, and their essential caregivers will remain eligible. Families with three or more children will lose the full exemption once every child is older than seven. Ukrainians who enter Poland after 1 November will also have to demonstrate vulnerability to qualify, ending the blanket approach that applied in the early months of the war.
Fees are being standardised. Residents who were already paying 50 % or 75 % of the cost will have to leave the centres. Pensioners, regardless of the pension amount, will pay a flat 15 złoty (€3.50) per day. Wojewodas (provincial governors) will no longer have discretion to grant humanitarian fee waivers outside the statutory categories, closing what officials describe as a major loophole.
The ministry stresses that Ukrainians who lose the right to free accommodation are not being left unsupported. A new “Together to Independence” programme, implemented with the Polish Red Cross and the Polish Centre for International Aid, will finance rental deposits, Polish-language courses, job-search assistance and integration activities to help refugees secure private housing.
For multinational employers the measures mean that workers hired from among the refugee population may need higher wages or housing allowances if they can no longer live free of charge in OZZ facilities. Organisations that still rely on volunteer-run shelters will have to verify their compliance, as inspections and penalties for unauthorised housing have also been tightened. Companies should review HR policies and extend relocation support where necessary to retain Ukrainian talent.
