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Ukrainian citizens in Poland: the CUKR residence card

By MałgorzataPublished 25 Oct 2026Updated 25 Oct 2026

If you came to Poland from Ukraine because of the war and have temporary protection (PESEL status UKR), you can apply for the CUKR residence card. It is valid for 3 years, turns your protection into a temporary residence permit, and costs 100 zł for the card plus 340 zł stamp duty.

Who can apply

• Citizens of Ukraine who came to Poland from Ukraine because of the war and are not Polish or other EU citizens.
• Their spouse, minor child or minor child of the spouse who are not Ukrainian citizens, if they also came from Ukraine because of the war.
• A child born in Poland to a mother whose stay is legal, if the child holds the UKR status.
• A non-Ukrainian close family member of a Ukrainian citizen who holds a Karta Polaka, in the cases the law describes.

Conditions

• You hold PESEL status “UKR” on the day you apply.
• You held that status on 4 June 2025, and you held it without a break for at least 365 days (the 365 days need not be right before your application). There are exceptions, for example for children born in Poland from 24 February 2022. Check the MOS page for yours.

How to apply

1. Create your MOS account and log in through login.gov.pl.
2. Choose “Wniosek UKR”. If the system reports a mismatch with the PESEL registers, ask your municipal office (gmina) to check and complete the data, then try again.
3. Attach a digital photo (JPG) and proofs of both payments (PDF).
4. Sign the application yourself with a trusted profile, qualified signature or personal signature and submit it. Download the official receipt (UPO).

The application cannot be signed or submitted by a proxy. An application submitted on paper or outside the MOS service is left unexamined.

Fees

• 100 zł: card fee.
• 340 zł: stamp duty for the temporary residence permit that your protection turns into.

What happens next

• Collect the card within 60 days of the notice that it is ready. A card that is not collected is cancelled, and the fees you paid are not refunded.
• The voivode decides within 180 days of an application that meets the formal requirements.
• The card has the annotation “Poprzednio posiadacz ochrony czasowej” and is valid for 3 years. It cannot be renewed under the special act.
• When you collect it, temporary protection ends and you are covered by a temporary residence permit until the card expires. Before then, apply for a permit that fits your situation, such as work or study, if you meet its conditions.
• If you file your application by 4 March 2027, your stay is treated as legal from filing until you collect the card or it is cancelled (art. 42x).
• While the card is valid, report every change of your place of stay to the voivode within 15 working days.
• With the permit you do not need a work permit to work in Poland, and you may run a business on the same terms as Polish citizens.
• The permit can be withdrawn if you leave Poland for at least 6 months, among other grounds (security, public order, entry on the undesirable-foreigners list).

Planning the next permit

Many people use the 3 years to move to a regular permit. See our guides on the temporary residence and work permit and the EU long-term resident permit.

Sources

• MOS: Residence card “CUKR”
• MOS: Information on fees
• Legal basis: Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens, art. 42c–42x (Dz.U. 2026 item 1293); Stamp Duty Act annex part III item 2 (Dz.U. 2025 item 1154); Regulation on fees for foreigners’ documents (Dz.U. 2022 item 1583)

Facts checked against official government sources on 25 Oct 2026. Rules and amounts change, so check the source before you act.