Poland pushes to strip jobless Ukrainians of benefits
Lawmakers in Poland’s lower house of parliament have adopted a new bill tightening the rules for Ukrainian refugees, after President Karol Nawrocki vetoed an earlier proposal to prolong the existing system of payments set to expire at the end of September.
The bill passed the Sejm on Friday by 227 votes to 194, with seven abstentions, and will now go to the Senate, according to the Polish Press Agency.
The measure extends the legality of stay for Ukrainians in Poland until March 2026, but links access to family benefits – such as the monthly 800 plus allowance – to proof of employment and school enrollment for children. Foreigners will now have to show they earn at least 50% of the minimum wage, with compliance checked monthly through Poland’s social security system (ZUS).
If a recipient is found not to be working in a given month, the benefit will be suspended. Authorities also plan to integrate multiple government databases to detect fraud and prevent benefit abuse, while requiring all applicants to hold a PESEL social security number.
Nawrocki, who vetoed the earlier version of the bill in August, has repeatedly argued that Poland’s generosity must not extend to those who do not contribute to the system.
“Only those Ukrainians who work in Poland should receive the 800 plus allowance,” he insisted.
The new legislation also restricts some free medical services for adult Ukrainians, while maintaining exceptions for children and people with disabilities.
During the debate, lawmakers rejected several opposition amendments, including proposals to extend the uninterrupted residence period for naturalization from three to ten years; impose harsher penalties for illegal border crossings; and criminalize the promotion of Banderism, the Ukrainian nationalist ideology linked to wartime atrocities against Poles.
According to Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Duszczyk, the reforms are meant to combat Poland’s “grey” labor market, detect fictitious employment schemes, and boost tax revenues. Ukrainians, who number over one million in Poland, are expected to be the main focus of enforcement.
