After the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, millions of citizens, including families with children, were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in European countries. Poland has become one of the main countries that has received a large number of Ukrainian refugees. Children evacuated by Ukrainian refugees often have to adapt to new conditions, facing various bureaucratic and legal obstacles. This is especially true for problems with border crossing and the use of electronic documents that allow them to travel within the EU. However, not all children have equal access to the documents that ensure their right to return to Poland or other Schengen countries.
One of the most acute problems is the situation of children under the age of 13 who are under temporary protection in Poland. The loss of access to the Diia.pl electronic document due to a change in the legal status of their parents deprives such children of the right to re-enter Poland. This issue is of considerable concern, as parents are not always aware of all the consequences of changing their legal status, and children may be left without the possibility of crossing the border legally.
Requirements for crossing the border by children under 13
The Polish Border Guard has announced that children under 13 years of age who have temporary protection will not be able to enter Poland without an electronic document Diia.pl. As the Polish border guards emphasise, the presence of a PESEL number does not automatically give the right to re-enter the country. This problem arose after numerous appeals from civil society organisations, such as the Right To Protection Foundation, which faced cases where children of Ukrainian refugees could not cross the border due to the lack of necessary documents.
Arkadiusz Tywoniuk, Head of the Border Department of the Main Commandant’s Office of the Polish Border Guard, confirmed this information. He noted that minors under the age of 13 who do not have a Diia.pl electronic document cannot enter Poland or travel to other Schengen countries. To cross the border, children need to have a valid passport and an electronic document in the Diia.pl application. Having only a PESEL number, which is granted to all refugees with temporary protection, is not a sufficient basis for entry.
Loss of access to Diia.pl due to a change in the status of parents
Children under the age of 13 are usually linked to the Diia.pl e-document of their parents or guardians who have PESEL UKR status. However, when one of the parents obtains a residence card or another temporary residence permit in Poland, the child loses access to this electronic document. This is due to the fact that Diia.pl is used only by persons with temporary protection status. Children under the age of 13 cannot create a profile in Diia.pl on their own, as this requires a zaufany profile (proxy profile), which in Poland can only be issued from the age of 13.
Changes in the legal status of parents, e.g. obtaining a residence card, automatically revokes the PESEL UKR status for children. This means that the child can no longer use the Diia.pl app, even if he or she was previously linked to their parents’ documents. As a result, children who do not have a Diia.pl electronic document cannot return to Poland after leaving the country or travel to other Schengen countries.
The importance of Diia.pl for refugees
The Diia.pl electronic document was created in March 2022 as part of the mObywatel mobile application. This document allows Ukrainian displaced persons to access digital services in Poland. In addition, since July 2022, Diia.pl has been recognised as an official digital certificate of legal residence for Ukrainians in Poland. It acts as a residence permit and, together with a passport, entitles you to cross the external border of the EU and travel within the Schengen area for up to 90 days.
In June 2023, the possibility of adding data on children with PESEL UKR status and linked to a parent’s PESEL number to Diia.pl was introduced. This has made travelling with children easier, as Diia.pl allows you to move freely within the Schengen area without additional documents or permits.
However, if the legal status of the parents changes, the children automatically lose access to Diia.pl, which limits their travel rights. This creates a serious problem for families who have already adapted to the new living conditions in Poland and were not prepared for such bureaucratic complications.
Legal consequences of changing status
The legal status of refugees from Ukraine may change over time. In Poland, the PESEL UKR status granted to persons with temporary protection is automatically cancelled if the person obtains another legal status, for example
- Residence card (temporary residence permit);
- Permanent residence permit;
- EU long-term resident’s residence permit;
- Complementary protection or tolerated stay;
- Humanitarian protection.
This means that access to the Diia.pl e-document is reserved only for those who have temporary protection status. When this status changes, e.g. due to the receipt of a residence card, access to Diia.pl is automatically cancelled for both adults and their children.
The situation with the documentation of children of Ukrainian refugees in Poland is one of the most pressing issues for displaced persons. The loss of access to Diia.pl due to the change in the legal status of parents complicates the possibility of children under 13 years of age to return to Poland or travel within the Schengen area. Ukrainian families should closely monitor changes in their legal status and timely prepare the necessary documents for their children to avoid possible complications when crossing borders.
