Ukrainians in Poland win courts because of the long processing of residence permits

The courts in Poland decided to pay the citizens of Ukraine almost 200 thousand zlotys (almost 1.28 million hryvnias) due to the delay of the voivodship administrations in issuing permits for temporary residence and work.

This writes the Polish edition of Rzeczpospolita.

According to Polish law, consideration of applications for a temporary residence and work permit should take no more than 90 days. However, in reality, in some voivodeships, the waiting time ranges from one to almost two years. Citizens of Ukraine, who do not agree with such a delay, are suing the inaction of the Polish authorities. Those, in turn, recognize the correctness of the Ukrainians and award them monetary compensation.

At the moment, there are 183 statements of claim in the courts of Poland regarding the long-term registration of a residence permit.

Voivodship administrations attribute the delay to limited staff resources and a huge increase in residence permit applications.

Business and the expert community are trying to find a way out of this situation and are turning to the official authorities, but so far without success. “Much could be changed by extending from six to, for example, 18 months, a permit for short-term employment of a foreigner in Poland on the basis of an application from the employer. They are issued by district employment centers, not state institutions, and they are much better at solving such issues in a timely manner,” said Lukasz Dudjik, an expert on the employment of foreigners.