PESEL UKR: Poland Introduced New Requirements for Ukrainian Children's Entry Documents.

Ukrainians were informed about crossing the border with minor children who are in Poland under temporary shelter (PESEL UKR).

Due to the war, many Ukrainian families were forced to leave their homeland and find temporary shelter in neighboring countries, particularly in Poland. For those who received temporary protection status (PESEL UKR) in Poland, the issue of crossing the border with minor children is of particular importance.

For Ukrainians who have temporary shelter in Poland (PESEL UKR), crossing the Polish border requires two documents:

• an electronic certificate Diia.pl in the mobile application mObywaltel
• a valid foreign passport.

These documents grant the right to cross the Polish border as well as the right to move to other Schengen area countries.

Important! The paper certificate assigning the PESEL UKR number, which you received from the Polish administration (urzędzie), is not suitable for crossing the border. This document is not recognized by border guards as a basis for entry.

Please note that the program can be downloaded by adults (18+) and minors aged 13-18.

For children under 13, one of their parents/legal guardians (the one who submitted the application for assigning the child a PESEL UKR) must upload the child's data into their Diia.pl profile.

You can find detailed instructions on how to do this at the link: is also necessary to take into account that if one of the parents (guardians), whose profile contains data about a child under 13, received a residence card, the electronic certificate Diia.pl becomes inactive not only for them but also for the child.

In such a case, for the child to have a legal basis for entry into Poland, one of the child's parents (guardians) has the right to obtain a residence card for the child on the basis of family reunification (in accordance with Article 42, paragraph 13 of the Special Law of March 12, 2022, "On Assistance" to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of this state).

Moreover, it is important to remember that citizens who have applied for a residence card and have not yet received the relevant plastic document may at any Time lose their UKR status. Accordingly, the right to enter Poland based on Diia.pl.

This can happen because the cancellation of temporary shelter (PESEL UKR) occurs on the day a positive decision (decyzji) on granting a residence permit in Poland (zezwolenia na pobyt) is made, not at the time of receiving a plastic residence card that confirms the presence of this permit. Departments for foreigners of voivodeship offices do not inform about the date of the decision.

Thus, if a minor child will cross the border from Poland to Ukraine or from Ukraine to Poland accompanied by third parties (adult relatives or acquaintances), the accompanying persons must have a notarized power of attorney/permit for the child's departure abroad from both parents or from each separately.

It should be noted that Poland has recorded a massive increase in applications from Ukrainians for international protection.