The CUKR Card: Myths and Facts About Leaving Temporary Protection

The figure most often repeated about CUKR is "four conditions". The act sets three.

And the one people fear most — "a valid PESEL UKR on the day the voivode issues the card" — is not in the provision at all. Out of it grew the advice not to leave Poland for more than 30 days while a decision is pending. That advice rests on a condition that does not exist.

Everything below was verified on 26 October 2026 against the consolidated text of the special act — obwieszczenie Marszałka Sejmu of 17 September 2026, Dz.U. 2026 item 1293.

What the document actually is

"CUKR" is colloquial shorthand; the word does not appear in the act. Formally it is a residence card under art. 226(1) of the Act on Foreigners, carrying the annotation prescribed by art. 42m:

The mechanism went live on 4 May 2026 — the date was set by a separate MSWiA communiqué of 10 April 2026, M.P. 2026 item 371. Do not confuse it: item 370 of the same day is a different communiqué, about the move to MOS under the Act on Foreigners.

Myth 1: "there are four conditions"

No — three, listed in art. 42c:

Plus a precondition in the opening words of the same provision, which almost nobody writes about: the stay must be recognised as legal under art. 106 of the act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners. That is the legal form of "temporary protection".

A condition about "a valid PESEL UKR on the day the card is issued" is not in art. 42c. So neither is the risk of losing your entitlement by travelling while you wait — on that ground. Travel bites elsewhere: see the section on art. 42t.

Myth 2: "failing a condition is the whole list of refusal grounds"

The conditions are only the first of six. Art. 42e(1) lists them all:

And the detail worth more than the whole table: under (3), art. 261 of the Code of Administrative Procedure does not apply to the cases in (5) and (6) — that is the provision which normally obliges the authority to invite payment and allow time. Here it will not. An unpaid fee is a straight refusal.

Art. 42s(2) says when to pay: the obligation arises at the moment the application is filed, not after a decision.

Myth 3: "my lawyer can file for me under a power of attorney"

No, and the provision is stricter than it looks. Art. 42g(1)(2) requires the application to be signed by the Ukrainian citizen themselves, with a qualified electronic signature or the trusted profile signature. For a person without legal capacity, or with limited capacity, the person filing on their behalf signs (art. 42f(4)).

Filing itself — art. 42f(1): electronically only, through an online service in the IT system operated by the Head of the Office for Foreigners. Note that the provision names the UDSC system, not MOS. MOS is the system for applications under the Act on Foreigners (art. 106c). These are separate legal regimes with separate rules: the paper-filing bar in art. 106c(5), for instance, has nothing to do with CUKR.

The turn: what stalls applications is not the conditions but two registers

Here is why applications hang, and nobody writes about it.

Art. 42g(1) provides that an application counts as filed only once both requirements are met: the signature under (2), and the completeness of your data in two registers ((1)) — the register under art. 44c(1) of the act on population records and the PESEL register.

What "complete" means is defined in (2), and it is not a formality:

Now put that together with art. 42l: the card is issued or refused within 180 days of the filing of an application meeting the requirements of art. 42g(1) and (2).

So: if an expired passport is sitting in PESEL, or there are no fingerprints in the register, the application has not legally been filed and the 180 days never start running. Meanwhile the applicant sees "application submitted" and waits. They can wait a long time — the clock never started.

The practical conclusion is simple and counterintuitive: before filing, check your data rather than the conditions. Is your current passport number up to date in PESEL, have fingerprints been given, does a child over 12 have a signature on file. All of that can be dealt with in advance and none of it depends on the voivode.

Myth 4: "I can keep my existing application on another basis just in case"

You cannot, and it is irreversible. Art. 42i: where a Ukrainian citizen has filed an application for a card under art. 42c, proceedings for granting them a temporary residence permit, initiated on their own application and not concluded by the date the card application was filed, are discontinued by operation of law — "umarza się z mocy prawa". No separate decision by the voivode, and no consent from you.

Two points the popular summaries miss. First, the provision covers only the art. 42c case — it does not extend to children's applications under art. 42d. Second, what is discontinued is proceedings initiated on your application: it does not touch proceedings the authority opened of its own motion.

Hence the order of operations: first satisfy yourself that the three conditions are met and the register data are complete, and only then file. If in doubt, finishing the proceedings already under way is sometimes the better course.

Myth 5: "deadlines are frozen, a ponaglenie is pointless"

This is the most widespread misconception, and our own previous version repeated it. Two regimes have to be separated here.

The art. 100d freeze does exist and runs until 4 March 2027, but look at its subject matter: (1) lists proceedings for granting temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status, for amending a residence-and-work permit and the Blue Card, and for withdrawing those permits. The issue of a residence card under art. 42c is not on that list.

CUKR has its own period — art. 42l, 180 days. It is not suspended.

In passing: art. 100c of the special act, cited by many materials including our own earlier version, has been repealed — uchylony. So have art. 100da and art. 100e. They cannot be relied on.

That said, for the cases the freeze does cover, the futility of a ponaglenie is not voivodeship practice but an express provision. Art. 100d(3)(1): the rules on authority inaction and on the duty to notify a party that a case has not been dealt with in time do not apply. (3)(2): no fine is imposed on the authority and no sums are awarded against it to complainants. (4): a cessation of action, or acting late, cannot be the basis for legal remedies concerning inaction, excessive length, or breach of the party's right to have the case examined without undue delay.

The difference is therefore fundamental: on an ordinary residence permit the remedy is unavailable as a matter of law, whereas on CUKR there is a period and it runs — provided the application was filed properly. The freeze is covered in our article on art. 100d.

Myth 6: "once I have the card I can travel as before"

Partly true, but the provision is more specific. Art. 42t(1): the temporary residence permit is withdrawn where:

• (1) — defence, state security, or the protection of security and public order so require;
• (2) — there is a valid entry in the register of foreigners whose stay is undesirable;
• (3) — the foreigner has left Poland for a period of at least 6 months.

Withdrawal is by the voivode who issued the card, by decision ((2)); the higher authority is the Head of UDSC ((3)), so the decision can be appealed (the route is in our article on appeals).

And a duty almost nobody remembers: art. 42u(1) — while the card is valid, its holder must notify the voivode of every change of place of stay within 15 working days.

What happens the moment you collect the card

This mechanism appears in no popular guide, and it determines your status.

Art. 42r(1): from the day the card is collected, the entitlement under art. 106(1) of the protection act becomes, by operation of law, a temporary residence permit granted for the remaining validity of the card. A card under art. 42c is valid for 3 years from issue (art. 42p(1)); a child's card under art. 42d matches the validity of the mother's ((2)).

The trap sits in art. 42r(2): if the card is not collected within 60 days of the day the voivodeship office made the collection information available, the card is annulled. And it says expressly: the card fee and the permit stamp duty are not refunded.

What this card lacks compared with an ordinary one

Art. 42k provides that the Act on Foreigners applies to issue and replacement — except art. 229(2), (4), (6) and (7), art. 230(2), art. 231, art. 237, art. 243 and art. 245–247.

That exclusion of art. 237 repays attention if you have read our karta pobytu guide: it is precisely the provision granting the 50% fee reduction. Ordinary cards get it — students, children under 16, recipients of social assistance. For cards under art. 42c and art. 42d it does not apply.

The amounts themselves: the card fee comes via art. 42n through art. 235(1) and the regulation issued under art. 239(1) of the Act on Foreigners; the permit stamp duty via art. 42s(1) through art. 1(1)(1)(c) of the Stamp Duty Act, at the rate in Part III item 2 of that act's schedule.

Why this matters beyond legalisation: the right to run a business

The most underrated element of the whole mechanism is art. 42w.

A Ukrainian citizen granted a temporary residence permit in the manner described in art. 42r(1) may take up and conduct business activity in Poland on the same terms as Polish citizens.

To see how much that is: the list of titles conferring the right to a sole proprietorship is closed, and the work-based permit under art. 114 — the most common card held by foreigners — is not on it (covered in our articles on JDG). So someone working lawfully on a work-based residence card cannot register a JDG, while the holder of a card under art. 42c can.

The deadline: by when must you file

Art. 42x: if by 4 March 2027 an eligible Ukrainian citizen files an application under art. 42c or art. 42d in the manner provided by art. 42f(1), their stay is treated as legal until the day of:

• (1) — collection of the card, or its annulment under art. 42r(2);
• (2) — the decision refusing the card, or discontinuing the proceedings, becoming final.

Note the wording: protection comes from a filed application — meaning one that satisfies art. 42g. Go back to the section on the two registers: this is where the two mechanisms meet.

Children born in Poland

Art. 42d is a separate basis for a child born in Poland to a mother who is a person within art. 106(1) of the protection act. Again three conditions:

The third condition dictates the sequence: the mother's card first, then the application for the child. The refusal grounds for children's cases are shorter — art. 42e(2): failure to meet the art. 42d conditions, non-payment of the card fee, non-payment of the stamp duty.

Frequently asked questions

So how many conditions are there — three or four? Three, in art. 42c(1)–(3): UKR status on 4 June 2025, UKR status on the filing date, and uninterrupted UKR status for at least 365 days. Plus the precondition that the stay be legal under art. 106 of the act of 13.06.2003. There is no condition about a valid PESEL UKR on the day the card is issued.

Can I travel while the decision is pending? There is no condition in art. 42c that would prevent it. The restriction appears after you have the card: leaving for at least 6 months is a ground for withdrawing the permit (art. 42t(1)(3)).

I submitted my application and nothing is happening. Is the clock running? Check your register data. Under art. 42g(1) an application counts as filed only where the data in the PESEL register and in the register under art. 44c(1) of the act on population records are complete, plus your signature. And the 180 days under art. 42l run from an application meeting art. 42g(1) and (2).

Are CUKR deadlines frozen? No. Art. 100d(1) lists proceedings for granting, amending and withdrawing permits — the issue of a card under art. 42c is not there. CUKR has its own period of 180 days (art. 42l). Art. 100c of the special act has been repealed.

What happens to my pending work-based residence application? It is discontinued by operation of law on the day the CUKR application is filed — art. 42i, "umarza się z mocy prawa". There will be no separate decision and the case cannot be revived.

I forgot to pay the fee. Will they ask me to? No. Art. 42e(1)(5) and (6) make non-payment a free-standing ground for refusal, and (3) expressly excludes art. 261 KPA, so no invitation to pay will come. The obligation arises on filing (art. 42s(2)).

Does a CUKR card allow me to open a JDG? Yes. Art. 42w: business activity on the same terms as Polish citizens. That is noticeably more than a work-based card under art. 114 offers, which is not on the list of titles for a JDG.

Does the 50% fee reduction apply? No. Art. 42k expressly excludes art. 237 of the Act on Foreigners — the very provision that grants the reduction for ordinary cards.

What is in this article and what is not