Ukrainians in Poland are increasingly being denied temporary protection, - media
In some local authorities (gminas) in Poland, there has been an increase in the number of cases where Ukrainian citizens are being denied temporary protection status (PESEL UKR). Instead, they are being issued with a PESEL number marked ‘NUE’, which classifies the individual as an ordinary economic migrant.
This has been reported by the newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna and inPoland, according to Censor.NET.
Although Poland has adopted amendments to the legislation on the protection of foreigners at the national level and has officially extended the legal stay of Ukrainians until March 2027, a worrying trend has emerged at the local government level.
Polish authorities have begun to assess the grounds for granting temporary protection more strictly and are checking the reasons for Ukrainian citizens’ entry more frequently.
Why is the UKR status being refused?
Journalists from various publications have found that, in many cases, officials in local authorities act like biased judges. The main reasons for refusals and the forced reclassification of Ukrainians as economic migrants (NUE) are:
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Geographical factor: officials are rejecting applications from people registered in relatively calm (in the Poles’ view) regions of Ukraine, claiming that their arrival is linked to seeking employment rather than a "direct threat to life";
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Transit factor: Ukrainians are being refused if they entered Poland not directly via the Ukrainian-Polish border, but from the territory of other safe EU countries (such as Slovakia or Hungary);
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if the person has previously registered for a form of temporary protection or held a residence permit in another European country;
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applicants apply for documents a long time after crossing the border, exceeding the 30-day deadline for mandatory registration strictly laid down by law.
For example, one employer described a situation where a Ukrainian arrived in Poland directly from Ukraine to take up employment and applied for a PESEL UKR number. However, instead, he was issued with a PESEL number with NUE status. When asked for clarification, officials justified the refusal by stating that the applicant allegedly did not reside in a region directly affected by military hostilities and was therefore ineligible for temporary protection status.
The threat of losing rights
The publication specifically emphasises that such a refusal and the reclassification to NUE deprives Ukrainians of key entitlements: the right to free healthcare, social benefits (in particular the 800+ child benefit scheme) and the ability to work legally without additional bureaucratic permits.
For example, under the new rules, NUE status is only at risk for existing refugees who, by September 2026, deliberately fail to comply with the requirement to verify their identity using a valid foreign passport.
Polish human rights activists are already sounding the alarm, as the law on assistance to Ukrainian citizens clearly stipulates that every Ukrainian citizen who has arrived in Poland as a result of Russian aggression has an unconditional right to temporary protection. Any attempts to assess the security situation in a specific region of Ukraine at the level of a local council are unlawful.
- It should be recalled that, previously, coordinated disinformation about an alleged mass exodus and departure of Ukrainians from Poland was actively circulated in the Polish media. However, the latest data from the European Commission refutes this: as of spring 2026, around 960,000 Ukrainians officially remain under temporary protection in Poland, second only to Germany in this regard.
