The number of Ukrainians living in Poland under temporary protection status has plunged by over 107,500 since spring, government statistics released on September 8 show.Some 974,500 people were registered under the immigration status offered to Ukrainian refugees in Poland in April 2026. That number fell to 868,000 by early September, a drop of around 11 percent.Polish news reports have suggested rising hostility toward the refugees is causing an exodus from the country. Some are emigrating, but Ukrainians in Poland say much of the decline is down to bureaucratic roadblocks rather than strife on the streets.
Demonstrators hold placards reading '"No social benefits for Ukrainians," "Ukrainian youth to the front!" and "We remember Volhynia (the 1940s massacres of ethnic Poles by Ukrainian nationalists) in Warsaw on December 19, 2025.
Bohdan Kontsur, an immigration expert with Ukrainian House in Warsaw told RFE/RL that a law change in March has required Ukrainian refugees to explicitly state to border guards their intention to seek temporary protection in Poland. But he says many, “find out about this when they go to the [immigration] office and there they're getting told that their entry into Poland was listed as a tourist entry.”Kontsur says many Ukrainians he has helped have claimed they were not asked any questions at the border, and saw no information about the new rule at the checkpoints.Ukrainians visiting Poland as tourists are not permitted to apply for temporary protection status.Anna Sobieska-Tekien, a spokesperson for the Polish border guard confirmed the legal detail to RFE/RL.“A Ukrainian citizen intending to enter Poland to avail themselves of temporary protection should clearly declare this intention to the Border Guard officer during the border check,” she said in an email.“This is important because, in the absence of such a declaration, entry may be registered under the general rules applicable to visa-free travel,” the spokesperson added.
