WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland plans to charge Ukrainian refugees for food and accommodation after 4 months in public accommodation, the government said on Tuesday.
More than a million Ukrainian refugees settled temporarily in Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbor, after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, relying on the kindness of foreigners who opened their homes and government assistance.
But after an initial wave of public support for refugees, resources are drying up and refugees are finding it harder to find apartments and get help as Poland faces a cost-of-living crisis and constraints budgets.
“Ukrainian citizens who stay in Poland in collective accommodation centers will contribute to the cost of accommodation and meals,” the government said in a statement.
Those staying in such accommodation, for example government-funded hotel rooms or school dormitories, for more than 120 days will be required to cover 50% of the cost up to 40 zlotys ($8.87) per day per person . After 180 days it would be 75% of the cost up to 60 zlotys. People unable to work due to age or disability would be excluded, as would pregnant women, according to the plan.
The government wants the new rules to apply from March 1, 2023. The bill will go to parliament where it should comfortably pass.
($1 = 4.5085 zlotys)
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Alan Charlish, editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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