One change, thousands of refusals. ZUS checks more than just the application itself
Since February 1, Ukrainian citizens with UKR status must meet additional conditions to receive 800+. A parent or guardian should be employed, and the child (except for exceptions concerning the youngest) must fulfill an educational obligation in Poland. This can be schooling, mandatory yearly preschool preparation, or another form of fulfilling the learning requirement.
That's not all. Both the applicant and the child must continuously live and stay in Poland. Since the new rules came into force, more than 110,000 new applications were submitted to ZUS, and 12.5 thousand of them were rejected due to unmet criteria.
Failing to meet any of the mentioned criteria (parent's employment, child's schooling in Poland, or permanent residence) can mean the loss of the benefit for the family. The exception covers children who have not yet turned six. From June 1, similar rules will also apply to other non‑EU and non‑EFTA foreigners.
These changes do not affect Polish citizens, EU, EFTA, or UK citizens covered by the withdrawal agreement.
1,600 PLN in July? Here the calendar acts as a financial filter
Some parents will see a double transfer in July. It will not be an additional bonus, but a compensation for the earlier month. To maintain payment continuity, the application had to be submitted in April. Those who did it later may receive the overdue benefit right now, in July.
Submitting the application by June 30 allowed the right to compensation to be preserved. An application sent in July means losing the benefit for June. The difference between 800 and 1,600 PLN does not come from a new rate, but from the schedule.
End of the annual race with deadlines? The government wants to change the mechanism
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is working on a solution that would automatically extend the right to 800+ for subsequent periods. Parents and guardians would no longer have to submit the same data every year if their situation has not changed.
ZUS would use information stored in the system, and the parent would update it only when the family situation changes. The project has already entered the government's legislative work list, but current deadlines still apply.
