President of Poland Karol Nawrocki delivering a speech at the celebrations in Westerplatte in Gdańsk, Poland, September 1, 2025. Getty Images/Mateusz Slodkowski
On November 7, the Sejm of Poland rejected President Karol Navrotsky’s bill regulating aid to Ukrainian refugees.
Earlier, the Polish government proposed changes to the law supporting people who arrived from Ukraine, after a veto by Navrotsky.
The president vetoed the government bill and proposed his own version. After this veto of the presidential initiative, the government adapted the text and submitted it for a vote in the Sejm, aiming for adoption by September 30, 2025.
The Sejm backed the government version of the law, resulting in a resolution to reject the presidential bill. It was approved by 244 deputies.
The decision clearly states that the presidential bill duplicates the provisions of the already adopted government document. The Law on Assistance to Ukrainians in Poland, which took effect in September 2025, continues the legal status of Ukrainian refugees’ stay until March 4, 2026, but at the same time tightens the requirements for receiving financial assistance.
Key Provisions and Implications
The bill lists benefits that will not be available to Ukrainian citizens who do not work in Poland, including medical rehabilitation, treatment programs for addictions, various aspects of health care and the purchase of prescription medicines, as well as other medical services.
Social assistance will only be available to Ukrainians who work in Poland, and whose children attend Polish schools. The exception will be parents with children with disabilities.
This decision reflects the differences between the initiators and underscores the government bill’s priority in the region’s humanitarian policy for the near term.
This is good news for Ukrainian citizens in Poland, showing that the government continues to focus on concrete support mechanisms and financial assistance, while also restricting some benefits to those categories that do not work or study in the country.