Nawrocki said the bill “does not make the correction” debated publicly. “I will not change my view and I recognize that 800 plus should belong only to those Ukrainians who take on the effort of work in Poland,” he told a briefing.
He argued measures adopted after Russia’s attack 3½ years ago were ad hoc and should now be revised. He also cited healthcare access, saying Ukrainians receive benefits “regardless of whether they work and pay the health contribution or not,” leaving Poles “treated worse than our guests from Ukraine.”
The president announced his own bill to lengthen the path to citizenship and tighten border rules. “I propose new principles for granting citizenship […] this process should be extended,” he said, adding the draft would raise the penalty for illegal border crossing and include the phrase “stop Banderism” to counter propaganda and ground relations with Ukraine in “justice and truth.”
His proposal would equate “Banderist” symbols with those linked to Nazi and Soviet regimes and adjust the law on the Institute of National Remembrance regarding OUN-UPA crimes on Poles. The plan foresees extending citizenship qualification from three to 10 years and lifting the maximum sentence for illegal border crossing to five years.
Earlier in the legislative process, conservative-populist opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) lawmakers sought to tie 800 plus for Ukrainians to employment or running a business and to tighten citizenship rules; those changes were rejected.
Presidential cabinet chief Paweł Szefernaker later urged lawmakers to pass an assistance bill by end-September. If parliament adopts the text the presidency prepared, “the president […] will be able to sign the law immediately,” he said, calling for cross-party cooperation.
The shelved amendment would have extended temporary protection for Ukrainians until March 4, 2026; clarified eligibility for 800 plus to cover students who finished secondary school before 18 and continue education; lengthened voivode processing times for residency decisions; tightened aid eligibility by excluding short-term border crossers; ended the use of alcohol fee revenues for aid; required documentation of family ties for third-country nationals; continued support for local governments educating Ukrainian children; and tightened simplified licensing for Ukrainian and other non-EU-trained medical professionals.
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Source: PAP