Movement within the European Union – biometric passport and diia.pl
If you are a citizen of Ukraine and have a biometric passport or electronic document diia.pl, you can travel to other European Union countries. These rights result from visa-free travel between Ukraine and the European Union. With a biometric passport – without a visa, you can move freely within the European Union for 90 days after entering the Schengen area. You can choose a European Union country where you would like to apply for temporary protection and join close relatives in the country where they are staying.
Movement within the European Union – non-biometric passport
If you are a citizen of Ukraine, you have the right to temporary protection (e.g. based on leaving Ukraine after February 24, 2022). If you do not have a biometric passport, then the authorities of the first EU country in the Schengen area you enter should issue a short-term visa (valid for 15 days). With a short-stay visa, you can move to another European Union country to exercise your right to temporary protection there.
If you do not have a travel document, the authorities at the border of the country you are entering can, if necessary, authorise further travel, for example by issuing a travel document and visa or by using the transfer pass form provided for in the provisions on temporary protection.
Is it possible to move between Schengen countries without internal border controls?
After entering a Schengen country, you can move without border control to other Schengen countries. This possibility is provided for 90 days within 180 days.
The Schengen area includes a large number of EU countries as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. After entering the Schengen area, you can go to these countries, but the rights related to temporary or international protection may differ from the EU regulations.
What if the 90-day period of visa-free travel in the Schengen area ends?
Then you are entitled to a residence permit – following European Union regulations. A residence permit is, for example, a residence permit, a digital document http://diia.pl, or a certificate on the use of temporary protection, which is issued by the Head of the Office for Foreigners to temporary-protected individuals of citizenship other than Ukrainian. It can be used to stay in another Schengen country for a maximum period of 90 days during the 180 days. Based on the same document, it is possible to leave the European Union and move to another third country and re-enter a Schengen country.
If you do not yet have a residence permit, you can obtain other national documents or permits (national visa (D), Schengen visa (C), TZTC (Tymczasowe Zaświadczenie Tożsamości Cudzoziemca – Temporary Foreigner ID) – if you apply for international protection). Please note that there are different laws in each country. It is best to contact the authorities of the country where temporary protection has been granted and make sure that the documents received there allow travel.
If you do not have a travel document, such as a passport, but you have to go to Ukraine and then return, the best solution for your return is a direct entry – by air, land or sea – to the European Union country where you benefit from protection.
Diia.pl
Diia.pl is a digital document. In some situations, it can replace an identity card or passport – it is a legal way to verify your data in various situations, e.g. at a doctor’s office or in an office. At the same time, the document confirms the right of legal residence in Poland and the use of temporary protection, because it can only be granted to Ukrainian citizens who crossed the Polish border after February 24, 2022.
Based on diia.pl, you can cross the borders of the Schengen area and stay and stay in other countries outside Poland for 90 days in 180 days.
How to get diia.pl?
If you are an citizen of Ukraine, arrived after February 24, 2022, and have been assigned a PESEL number, you can ask to activate the Trusted Profile. Do this at the office where you were assigned the PESEL number. If you did not create a trusted profile when you were assigned the PESEL number, you can do it online, e.g. via a Polish bank account. Then install the mObywatel apps and log in with your Trusted Profile data.