Can a Ukrainian open a business in Poland in 2026? What changed on 5 March

Yes, but since 5 March 2026 not every Ukrainian can. To open a JDG (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, a sole proprietorship) you now need a qualifying status, such as PESEL UKR (temporary protection), a CUKR card or another permit on the official list. A JDG you registered by 4 March 2026 can carry on for as long as your stay in Poland is legal.

What changed on 5 March 2026

In 2022 Poland passed a special act for Ukrainians (specustawa). Its article 23 let any Ukrainian citizen staying legally in Poland run a business on the same terms as a Pole, as long as they had a PESEL (Poland’s personal ID number). That covered UKR status and also ordinary permits, such as a temporary residence and work permit.

A law of 23 January 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203) started winding the special act down. It came into force on 5 March 2026 and repealed article 23.

Now your residence title today decides whether you can open a new JDG, and the date you registered decides whether you can keep an older one.

Who can open a new JDG

You can register a new JDG in CEIDG, the public register of sole traders, on Polish terms only with one of these titles.

The full list, in article 4(2) of the Act on Foreign Entrepreneurs, also covers refugee status, subsidiary protection, humanitarian or tolerated stay, and family members of EU citizens.

With PESEL UKR

PESEL UKR is the PESEL number with UKR status that temporary-protection beneficiaries get. On the CEIDG form you tick a separate statement for this path and attach scans of your passport’s photo page and entry stamp.

With a CUKR card

The CUKR card is a 3-year residence permit for people who held UKR status. Article 42w of the special act says a CUKR holder may start and run a business “on the same terms as Polish citizens”.

• Where to apply: online in MOS (Moduł Obsługi Spraw, the foreigners’ case system).
• Cost in 2026: 440 PLN (340 PLN stamp duty plus 100 PLN for the card).
• Who qualifies: you had UKR status on the day you apply, on 4 June 2025 and on the day the card is issued, with at least 365 days of it without a break.
• Deadline: applications close on 4 March 2027.

Watch out: collecting the CUKR card ends your temporary protection and the benefits tied to it, such as free collective accommodation. In return, time on CUKR counts towards EU long-term residence; time on UKR status does not.

If you opened your JDG before 5 March 2026

A JDG registered by 4 March 2026 under the old article 23 carries on for as long as your stay in Poland is legal, on any residence title. A later move to a work permit does not affect it.

When your stay stops being legal, the ministry strikes the business off CEIDG (wykreślenie z CEIDG) by an administrative decision. The same happens to a JDG registered on or after 5 March 2026 if you lose the title you registered it on.

Example: you registered on the PESEL UKR path in May 2026 and then switch to a temporary residence and work permit. That permit ends your protection and gives no JDG rights, so the JDG is struck off. Before you give up UKR status, choose a permit that keeps JDG rights, such as CUKR or a permit to continue your CEIDG business, and confirm it with your voivodeship office (urząd wojewódzki).

Until 4 March 2027, a Ukrainian who already runs a JDG and seeks a business residence permit is spared the usual size test (a set income, or two full-time employees). The law covers cases handled up to that day, so apply early. Health insurance, stable income and a place to live are still required.

Dates that can end your business

For a Ukrainian, residence status, not tax, usually ends a JDG.

The protection end date is not settled for business. The EU extended temporary protection to 4 March 2028, and Polish law ties legal stay under protection to the EU decision. But the business portal biznes.gov.pl still says UKR holders may do business until 4 March 2027, a text written before the extension. If you rely on the later date, ask the CEIDG helpline (numbers at the end) to confirm it in writing.

Watch out: suspending your JDG (zawieszenie działalności) pauses ZUS and taxes, but it does not protect your residence status or your right to be in CEIDG.

If you cannot open a JDG

A company. A Ukrainian without JDG rights may still do business through a company, most often a sp. z o.o. (limited liability company). The costs:

• at least 5,000 PLN of share capital;
• a court fee of 250 PLN with the online S24 template, or 500 PLN with a notarial deed (since 29 November 2025 there is no separate 100 PLN announcement fee).

Since 1 June 2025 this route does not let you take on recurring non-cash duties to the company as a shareholder, such as working for it. Working in your own company may still need a work permit or a suitable residence permit. See JDG or sp. z o.o. for the running costs.

Unregistered activity (działalność nierejestrowana). Small earnings up to 10,813.50 PLN per quarter in 2026 need no registration, as long as you ran no business in the last 60 months. Since 1 June 2025 it is open only to foreigners who could open a JDG (the table above, temporary protection included), so not to someone on a work permit alone. More in unregistered activity.

Employment. Ukrainians staying legally but not on temporary protection can keep working for an employer on a simple notification, which the employer sends to the county labour office within 7 days of the start of work. This arrangement runs for 3 years from 5 March 2026.

Do ulga na start and preferential ZUS apply to you?

Yes. Taxes, VAT and ZUS (the social insurance institution) work as they do for Poles, including ulga na start (start-up relief) and preferential ZUS. In 2026:

The health contribution is always due, even during ulga na start. On the tax scale (skala) or flat tax (liniowy) it is at least 432.54 PLN a month from February 2026 to January 2027. See ZUS startup relief for the conditions.

For Ukrainians with a FOP (фізична особа-підприємець, a Ukrainian sole proprietorship): both reliefs are for people who ran no business in the last 60 months. The law does not say “in Poland”, and whether ZUS counts a Ukrainian FOP is unclear. Ask ZUS for a written interpretation before you rely on it. An active FOP can also make you a tax resident of both countries: see a Ukrainian FOP while living in Poland.

A JDG also counts as professional activity for 800+, the child benefit that since 1 February 2026 foreigners get only after an active month.

Your first month: what you need

1. Check your status. Ask your municipal office (urząd gminy) whether your PESEL UKR is active. If it became NUE, go to the voivodeship office’s foreigners’ department first.
2. Set up a trusted profile (profil zaufany), the free login for CEIDG, the tax office and ZUS. You need a PESEL. You confirm the profile through a bank, in person, or by a video call with an official. See government logins.
3. Register in CEIDG. It is free, and the entry is normally made by the next working day. For foreigners, biznes.gov.pl warns it can take up to 30 days (usually about 7) while your status is checked. You choose your PKD codes (activity codes), tax form and ZUS option like anyone else. More in can a foreigner open a JDG.
4. Open a bank account. Payments from another business above 15,000 PLN must go through a payment account. Each bank decides whether to open one for you, so ask what it needs first.
5. Register for VAT-UE (VAT-R) before your first invoice to a business client in another EU country, even if you are VAT-exempt.
6. Set up your e-Doręczenia address, the official electronic mailbox every business in CEIDG must have.
7. Find an accountant you can talk to. If Polish is hard, ask before you sign whether they work in Ukrainian or Russian. Komplet, our free Mac app, files each invoice into the right month and prepares a clean package for whichever accountant you choose.

What to do next

If you qualify for CUKR, apply before 4 March 2027. For your own case, ask:

• your voivodeship office about your residence status;
• the CEIDG helpline (801 055 088 or 22 765 67 32) about your right to be in the register;
• the Migrant Info helpline (+48 22 490 20 44, in Ukrainian and Russian) for general help.