Published on the 14th of April 2022, the Law on amendments to the Ukrainian specific Act introduces facilitations for Ukrainian citizens who apply for a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Poland in order to conduct business activities. The amendment applies to persons conducting one-person business activity.

Until the 31st of December 2022, they will not have to prove in the residence proceedings that the business they run meets the relevant conditions, including that the foreigner earned a certain income in the tax year preceding the submission of the application.  

The amendment also introduces several other solutions favourable for foreigners, e.g. in the area of obtaining PESEL. The act extends the time for submitting applications for PESEL in a special procedure available to Ukrainians covered by the provisions of the specific Act to 90 days. Until now, a Ukrainian citizen had 60 days to do so. 

It also adds a new procedure for applying for national visas. The amendment provides for obtaining a visa by a foreigner staying in Poland. The competent authority for issuing visas in this case will be the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Details of how to submit applications, i.e. at what time they can be submitted and the citizens of which countries are entitled to submit them, are to be specified in the regulation. 

In addition, persons who stay in Poland on the basis of humanitarian visas have gained the possibility to apply for a temporary residence permit intended for them. The list of countries whose citizens will be able to apply for the permit will be specified in the regulation. The permit will be issued on simplified terms for a period of 3 years.