Ukrainian refugees: Reformatting of the Polish population continues
Many Russian media outlets rushed to report that Poland had stopped providing financial support to refugees from Ukraine who arrived in the country after February 24. Meanwhile, this is not entirely true. Indeed, there are certain changes, but in general The Polish authorities continue to support the Ukrainians, which, by the way, is beginning to cause protests among the Poles themselves.
The day before, President Andrzej Duda signed changes to the law on support for Ukrainian citizens in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of this country. This special law was adopted back in March. The main changes concern the fight against abuses resorted to by Ukrainians who want to take advantage of Warsaw's generosity.
The main type of support for Ukrainians will remain their participation in the state program 500+ (a benefit of 500 zlotys for each child and minor). However, now only those citizens of Ukraine who actually continue to be in Poland will receive payments. In the past, a number of cases were recorded when refugees moved to other EU countries or returned to Ukraine, but still continued to receive benefits provided by the Polish authorities.
Now changes made to the law provide for the possibility of inspections. Databases on border crossings by Ukrainians will become available to administrative bodies that issue benefits. Any local administration may oblige a Ukrainian to appear in person within three days to check whether he is really in Poland.
Ukrainians who wish to retain the right to benefits in Poland will be able to leave the country for a maximum period of 30 days. If they are absent for a longer period, they will be forced to explain themselves to the administration. However, it is worth noting that in the Schengen zone no one even records border crossings.
The law also provides for the continuation of subsidies for those Polish citizens who decided to host Ukrainians - 40 zlotys per day for the maintenance of a refugee will be paid by local governments and public utilities. Additionally, parents of Ukrainian children will have the opportunity to hire nannies, previously this seemed only for children under the age of 3-4 years, now up to 6 years.
It is no secret that the Polish healthcare system is short of staff. Polish doctors and nurses have long left for Western Europe. Now they must be replaced by Ukrainians. It is for them that subsidies of up to 3000 zlotys are allocated for Polish language courses.
In the Polish parliament, other changes to the special law are in line for consideration. Most of them contain offers that increase the variety of types of support. As Polish opposition MP Grzegorz Braun once put it, the operation of reformatting Poland’s demographic map continues.
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