Two dates that no longer coincide
Until August 2026 everything was simple: UKR status was valid until 4 March 2027, and applications for the CUKR card were accepted until the same date. One date, one deadline. On 30 July 2026 the EU Council adopted implementing decision 2026/1912, effective from 5 August, and extended temporary protection for another year, until 4 March 2028.
The deadline for submitting the CUKR application, however, remained the old one. The Office for Foreigners confirms this directly: the application is accepted until 4 March 2027, and the extension of protection did not move this date. That is, the window for transition now closes a whole year earlier than the basis on which you currently live expires.
That is precisely why the extension of protection is more dangerous than it seems. It removes the sense of urgency, while the deadline that really must be met has remained in place. Moreover, the years lived with UKR status are not counted toward the five years required for EU long-term resident status, and temporary protection does not provide a physical card at all.
CUKR: the card this is all done for
CUKR is a residence card created specifically for Ukrainian citizens with UKR status. It converts temporary protection into an ordinary temporary residence permit for a period of three years. In essence, it is the next step after UKR status, and at present it is the only one that does not require seeking a separate basis such as work or marriage.
All conditions must be met simultaneously, and it is worth checking them before entering the portal:
- Ukrainian citizenship or the status of a family member of a Ukrainian citizen;
- legal stay in Poland on the basis of temporary protection;
- PESEL UKR as of 4 June 2025;
- continuous UKR status for at least 365 days;
- valid UKR status at the time of submitting the application;
- full data in the register: name, date of birth, gender, citizenship, passport data, fingerprints and signature for those who have reached the age of 12.
The last condition fails most often. A person is sure that everything is fine with the documents, but the register is missing fingerprints or data from a valid passport, because the passport was changed already in Poland.
Why 180 days matter more than 4 March
Applications are accepted from 4 May 2026, and it can be submitted no later than 4 March 2027. This is a separate deadline, and it is no longer tied to the end of the status.
Consideration of the application lasts up to 180 days from the day of submission. This is the official period from the FAQ of the Office for Foreigners, and not an everyday estimate.
If you submit the application in the last week of February 2027, the decision may quite legally arrive already in autumn, when UKR status has long ceased. Formally, the right to stay during consideration is preserved, but in practice this means months of life without a card in hand, with explanations to the employer, the bank and the border guard.
Count backward from the date when you need the card in hand, and add 180 days. If you submitted in February 2027, at the very end of the window, the decision will quite legally come closer to autumn. Protection will still be valid by then, but months without a card mean explanations to the employer, the bank, and the border guard. There is no reason at all to drag it out until the last week: applications have been accepted for almost half a year already.
Another deadline that is easy to miss already at the end of the road. The ready card is collected in person, and 60 days are given for this from the notification. If you do not come on time, the card is annulled, and the whole story starts over.
Don't stop at the article
The bot has 750 questions in the format of a real consul interview, instant feedback, and a mock exam. Try it for free.
Check your level →How to apply: online only and only from a new account
The application is submitted exclusively through the MOS portal, mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl. There is no paper option, the application will not be accepted at the voivodeship office.
A new account is needed. The old MOS account, if you ever submitted other documents through it, is not suitable for CUKR, and this stops people right at the entrance.
You will also need Profil Zaufany or a qualified electronic signature and a photograph in digital format.
The cost consists of two payments: 340 zlotys of administrative fee and 100 zlotys for the production of the card itself.
What the card gives and what it takes away
Three years of legal residence, work without additional permits, business activity on equal rights with Polish citizens, Schengen travel up to 90 days for every 180 days provided a valid passport.
The main gain is not in this list. Time with the CUKR card counts toward the five years for EU long-term resident status, and it counts from the day it is received. UKR status did not give this at all. CUKR is an ordinary zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy, and it is not in the list of exceptions of Art. 212 ust. 2, so the counter finally starts moving.
Now about what is lost, and it is better to find out about this before applying, not after.
Medical insurance does not transfer automatically. Receiving CUKR terminates UKR status, and with it the special access to NFZ under Art. 37 of the special law. After the card, access to medicine is the same as for any foreigner with a temporary residence permit: through work with ZUS contributions, through one's own company with contributions, or through voluntary NFZ insurance, which costs about 620 zloty per month. For a family without official work this is a noticeable sum, and it should be factored into the decision in advance.
Along with UKR status, free accommodation and meals in collective accommodation centers also disappear.
A new obligation appears, which is often forgotten already after receiving the card: every change of place of residence must be reported to the voivode who issued the card within 15 working days.
Payment of 800+ during the transition
The most common fear sounds like this: I will take the card, I will lose 800+. The transition from UKR status to CUKR itself does not take away the payment. The condition is the same for UKR status and for a residence card with access to the labor market.
This condition appeared on 1 February 2026 and applies to all foreigners from the relevant list. The right to payment for a specific month belongs to the person who was professionally active in Poland in the previous month. The norm is written in Art. 1 ust. 2a of the law of 11 February 2016 as amended by Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203.
Professional activity includes umowa o pracę, umowa zlecenia, one's own company, zasiłek dla bezrobotnych, study with a scholarship, as well as a sports or doctoral scholarship. ZUS checks this automatically, no certificates need to be brought.
Three cases are exempt from the condition: payment for a child with Polish citizenship, payment for a child with a disability, and a child under the care of a guardian appointed by the authorities of the country of origin.
For those who were not active, a preferential bridge is provided. If a person was subject to medical insurance under art. 66 ust. 1 pkt 24, they receive the right to three months of payments, or six months if there are three or more children. It can be used only once during the entire period.
Separately, one should remember about school. The payment is suspended if the educational information system does not confirm the fulfillment of the annual preschool preparation obligation, the school obligation, or the learning obligation. That is, the child must be enrolled and actually attend.
But what truly removes the basis for payment is a change of UKR status to NUE. NUE is neither a penalty nor a separate permit, but one of the four markers in the PESEL register under art. 8 pkt 24a ustawy o ewidencji ludności: it covers every foreigner from outside the EU. The marker itself adds no rights and no duties, yet the UKR status disappears along with it, and the benefit rule explicitly requires a PESEL number with UKR status.
The 31 August 2026 deadline: what has already happened to it
This section is not advice but a statement of fact, because nothing can be done here anymore.
The obligation to confirm identity applied not to all holders of PESEL UKR, as is often written, but only to those whose number was granted based on a data declaration, without a valid travel document. These were primarily children under 18. Those who received the status with a passport in hand did not have to do anything.
The deadline expired on 31 August 2026. From 1 September, the UKR status of these people was replaced with NUE in accordance with Art. 25 ust. 2 Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203. Along with the status, the right to legal stay under the special law and payments under it disappeared, and the path to CUKR closed retrospectively, because one of the conditions requires a valid UKR status. The law does not provide a mechanism for restoration.
If you are not sure whether this applied to you, it is worth checking right now: the status is visible in the mObywatel profile and at the urząd gminy. A detailed analysis of this situation and of which grounds remain is collected in a separate article about the CUKR card.
Briefly, what to do
Check your data in the register, especially fingerprints and the data of a valid passport. Make sure that you had PESEL UKR as of 4 June 2025 and that the status was maintained continuously for a year. Create a new account on the MOS portal in advance, not on the day of submission. Count backward from the date when you need the card in hand, and add 180 days for processing. Budget 440 zlotys for fees and, if there is no official employment, about 620 zlotys per month for health insurance.
Frequently asked questions
Until what date is UKR status valid and until what date are CUKR applications accepted?
Protection is valid until 4 March 2028 under EU Council implementing decision 2026/1912 of 30 July 2026, effective from 5 August. The CUKR application is accepted only until 4 March 2027: this date has not changed. The difference between them is exactly one year.
How long is a CUKR application processed?
Up to 180 days from the day of submission. This is the deadline from the official FAQ of the Office for Foreigners. Do not confuse it with the five years required for long term EU resident status.
Can I submit an application on paper or at the urząd gminy?
No. Only online through the portal mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl, and only from a new account. The old MOS account is not suitable for CUKR.
Will I lose 800+ if I switch to CUKR?
The transition itself does not take away the benefit: the condition of professional activity is the same for UKR status and for the residence card. You can lose the benefit due to inactivity, due to unconfirmed child education, or due to a change of status to NUE.
Will I have NFZ after receiving the card?
Automatically no. Special access based on UKR status ends together with the status. What remains is work with ZUS contributions, your own company, or voluntary NFZ insurance for approximately 620 zlotys per month.