Poland may extend visas and work permits for ukrainians
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukrainian migrant workers in Poland may have their work permits and working visas automatically extended. This is stated in one of the points of the program “Economic and Social Anti-Crisis Shield for the Safety of Entrepreneurs and Workers in Connection with the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic,” developed by the Polish authorities.
The proposed economic assistance package amounts to 212 billion PLN (approximately 50 billion euros) and consists of five main blocks:
- protection of jobs (30 billion PLN);
- support for entrepreneurship (74.2 billion PLN);
- safety of the financial system (70.3 billion PLN);
- support for the healthcare system (7.5 billion PLN);
- development of investments in the public sector (30 billion PLN).
As part of the proposed measures, the plan is to automatically extend the validity of visas and work permits for workers from Ukraine.
The relevant draft law will be considered by the Polish government on March 24, after which it will be sent to parliament.
Additionally, in order to mitigate the negative impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the economy, the government plans to take the following steps:
To preserve jobs:
- they will reimburse 40% of the average salary of employees to employers who are on the verge of closure due to quarantine;
- individuals working under commission contracts or contracts for services will receive financial assistance from the government amounting to 80% of the minimum subsistence level (approximately 2000 PLN gross);
- if the quarantine duration for kindergartens and educational institutions is extended, parents will continue to receive separate social assistance. However, only those who stay home to care for a child up to 8 years old will be eligible, and the payments will not exceed a 14-day period.