Ukrainian children in Polish schools: a practical guide for parents
Enrolment, Polish lessons, 800+, the 2027 exams and further study under the rules in force since 1 September 2026. Every part opens with a short answer and ends with its official sources.
Legal status: . This is information, not legal advice. Rules change: for your own case, ask the school or the kuratorium for a written answer.
What changed on 1 September 2026
Do special rules still apply to pupils from Ukraine?
No. Since 1 September 2026 all pupils from Ukraine have been under the general rules for foreigners: Article 165 of the Education Law and the regulation of 23 August 2017. The right to free extra Polish lessons remains, but it is narrower than before.
The main differences
Extra Polish: now at least 2 lessons a week, for at most 24 months. The Ministry's 2024 notice said at least 4 hours and up to 36 months. If someone quotes those old figures, they are relying on rules that have ended.
Eighth-grade exam: the Education System Act now has a permanent rule on how pupils who came from abroad finish primary school (see the exams part).
Intercultural assistant: until 4 March 2027 this can be a person without Polish citizenship and without a document proving their Polish, as long as their Polish is good enough to help the pupil.
From 1 September 2027 a provision on a core curriculum for extra Polish lessons takes effect. A regulation is to set the details.
What do I do to get my child into a Polish school?
Go to the public primary school for the catchment area where your child lives (szkoła obwodowa). That school admits the pupil automatically. Missing documents do not close the door: the class is then decided through an interview (rozmowa kwalifikacyjna).
Who must attend
Age 6: one year of pre-school preparation (zerówka) from September of the year the child turns 6.
Compulsory school (obowiązek szkolny): from September of the year the child turns 7 until primary school is finished, at most until their 18th birthday.
Compulsory learning (obowiązek nauki): after primary school, education stays compulsory until the 18th birthday, for example at a secondary school.
Children who are foreigners use public schools on the same terms as Polish citizens.
Documents
Grade 1 needs no certificates. For grades 2 to 8 the school decides using documents: a certificate, attestation or other paper from the school abroad.
If a document does not show the total years of schooling, a written statement from the parent is enough for that.
The regulation on admitting foreigners does not list a PESEL number or a sworn translation as a condition of admission. Ask the school office what it needs. PESEL does matter for 800+, among other things.
When there are no documents
The head teacher holds an interview and places the pupil in a suitable class based on it. If the child does not know Polish, the interview is held in a language the child uses, with someone who speaks it if needed. The school may also consider the child's age and the parent's opinion.
If the school refuses
The catchment school admits the child automatically. Another primary school or a secondary school admits a pupil if it has free places, and a refusal can be challenged as described below and on the enrolment page.
Within 7 days of the refusal: a written request to the head teacher for the reasons.
Within 5 days: the school prepares its reasons.
Within 7 days of receiving the reasons: an appeal to the school's appeals committee, which has 7 days to decide.
After that, a complaint can go to an administrative court.
Step by step at a primary school
Find the catchment school for the address where your child lives in Poland. The municipal office can help.
Contact the school office and hand in the admission request (template below).
Hand in the documents you have, or ask for an interview date.
Ask right away about extra Polish, the teaching helper and the preparatory class.
Preschool and zerówka
A child from abroad enters a public preschool under the same admission rules as Polish citizens. During the school year, the head decides.
A school other than the catchment one
The pupil is admitted on the parent's application if the school has free places. Sports schools, bilingual schools and international classes have extra conditions, such as a language test when the documents do not show the child's readiness.
When the catchment school cannot cope
If admission would require organisational changes at the school, the municipality can name another school. If that is not possible either, the kurator names a school at the municipality's request. If a school sends you away without that, write to the municipality and the kuratorium.
Parents' duties
Parents register the child with the school and make sure they attend regularly. Unexcused absence from at least 50% of school days in a month counts as not fulfilling the duty, and that can be enforced administratively. So excuse every absence.
Questions
Can the catchment school turn away a child from Ukraine because of missing documents?
Missing documents are not an obstacle: the regulation provides for an interview, and the catchment school admits the pupil automatically. This does not apply to second-level vocational schools or post-secondary schools.
Pupil's rights: Polish, support, preparatory class
What language support is my child entitled to now?
A pupil whose Polish is not good enough for learning has a right to free extra Polish lessons (at least 2 lessons a week, at most 24 months) and to help from someone who speaks their language (at most 12 months). A preparatory class and an intercultural assistant are possible, but not every school has to provide them.
Extra Polish lessons (dodatkowa nauka języka polskiego)
The school's governing body (organ prowadzący, usually the municipality or county) organises it at the child's school. The head sets the hours in agreement with that body.
Lessons are individual or in groups, in an amount that lets the pupil learn enough Polish to take part in class, and no fewer than 2 lessons a week.
Extra Polish and catch-up classes together: at most 5 lessons a week per pupil.
The right covers pupils under compulsory school or compulsory learning.
What the law and the Minister's letter do not settle
The texts we checked do not say whether months of extra Polish before 1 September 2026 count towards the 24 months. If your child has had these lessons for a long time, ask the head for a written answer on how long they will continue. If in doubt, ask the kuratorium.
Teaching helper and intercultural assistant
Teaching helper who speaks the language of the country of origin (pomoc nauczyciela): this is the pupil's right, for at most 12 months. The head employs this person.
Intercultural assistant (asystent międzykulturowy): the school may employ one, but the law does not require it. They help with contact with the school and work with parents.
In 2026/2027 the government's Przyjazna szkoła programme co-funds assistants, so it is worth asking the head about it.
Catch-up classes (zajęcia wyrównawcze)
When a subject teacher finds gaps caused by a different curriculum, extra classes are organised: 1 lesson a week per subject, for at most 12 months.
Preparatory class (oddział przygotowawczy)
The governing body may create one but does not have to. It lasts until the end of the school year in which the pupil joined, and the teachers' council may shorten it or extend it by at most one year.
At most 25 pupils and at least 6 hours of Polish a week. A team of two teachers and a school counsellor or psychologist decides who joins.
A pupil from another school may attend at the parent's request, if the governing body agrees.
Ukrainian language and the Ukrainian online school
The Polish rules we checked do not treat online study at a Ukrainian school as fulfilling the duty in Poland in 2026/2027. The 2024 exception covered only final-year pupils at Ukrainian schools in 2024/2025.
The duty is fulfilled by attending a primary school, or a school abroad or at another country's diplomatic mission in Poland.
Since 1 September 2026 Article 37 also covers children from Ukraine: the head may allow learning outside school (home education), with yearly classification exams at the school. Before choosing this, ask ZUS how it affects 800+.
A consulate or a national cultural association may run lessons in the language and culture of the country of origin at the school, in agreement with the head and with the governing body's consent, if at least 7 pupils sign up: up to 5 lessons a week, with rooms provided free.
Questions
Does the Ukrainian online school replace Polish school in 2026/2027?
The rules we checked contain no such option. The 2024 exception covered only final-year pupils at Ukrainian schools in 2024/2025.
Must a school have an intercultural assistant?
No. The law says a school may employ one. The pupil's right, however, is to a teaching helper who speaks the language of the country of origin, for at most 12 months.
Does 800+ depend on my child attending a Polish school?
Yes. For Ukrainian citizens with UKR status, 800+ is suspended if the Education Information System (SIO) does not confirm the child is meeting the pre-school year, compulsory school or compulsory learning duty. Once confirmed, it is paid from the month the conditions were met.
The conditions according to ZUS
The child meets the duty at a Polish educational institution.
The parent or guardian and the child live in Poland.
The parent or guardian is professionally active. This does not apply, among others, to applications for a child who is a Polish citizen or to parents of children with a certified disability (ZUS gives the exact conditions).
The application gives the PESEL numbers of parent and child and includes a statement that the child attends school or preschool in Poland. ZUS has said it will check the conditions every month.
What you can do
The benefit is 800 zł a month per child under 18.
When your child starts school, ask the office whether they are already entered in SIO.
The benefit period runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027, and applications are electronic only.
A ZUS decision can be appealed to the President of ZUS within 14 days of delivery.
UKR status and the child's document
People given a UKR PESEL without a valid travel document (often children) had to confirm their identity at the municipal office by 31 August 2026. According to ZUS, after that date the status changes to NUE, temporary protection and the right to 800+ end, and a new basis for staying is needed. If this is your situation, contact the municipal office and ZUS without delay.
The family ministry states that Ukrainian citizens with a UKR PESEL may stay legally in Poland until 4 March 2027.
Questions
What happens to 800+ if my child does not attend a Polish school?
Payment is suspended if SIO does not confirm the duty is being met. Once it is confirmed, the benefit is paid from the month the conditions were met.
Must a pupil from Ukraine take the eighth-grade exam and the matura in Polish?
Yes. A pupil must sit the eighth-grade exam to finish primary school. The CKE notices for 2027 provide no papers in Ukrainian, and give foreigners with limited Polish adjustments based on a positive opinion from the teachers' council. Ukrainian can be chosen as a foreign language at the matura, but not at the eighth-grade exam.
Eighth-grade exam 2027
Main dates: Polish 10 May, maths 11 May, foreign language 12 May 2027. Additional dates: 9 to 11 June. Results: 6 July 2027.
Adjustment for a foreigner: a separate paper in Polish and maths (Polish up to 195 minutes, maths up to 165), a separate room, a bilingual dictionary. The foreign language uses the standard paper, 110 minutes.
This year the school tells parents about adjustments in writing by 20 November 2026. Parents reply within 3 working days, at the latest by 25 November. If you have received nothing, ask the head now.
Foreign languages at this exam: English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian. The language in the declaration can be changed until 10 February 2027.
Matura 2027
Compulsory: Polish (oral and written), maths (written) and a foreign language (oral and written), plus a written exam in one additional subject. To get the matura certificate you need at least 30% in each compulsory subject.
Ukrainian is on the list of foreign languages at the matura. Written main dates: basic level 6 May, extended and bilingual level 14 May 2027.
Adjustment for a foreigner: up to 30 minutes more for each written exam except languages, up to 15 minutes more for oral Polish, a separate room, a bilingual dictionary and, where justified, special marking rules in Polish. The paper is the standard one.
The matura declaration is due by 7 February 2027. That is a Sunday, so hand it in earlier. After that, subjects generally cannot be changed. Results and certificates: 9 July 2027.
Ukrainian certificates: nostrification and recognition
To enrol in school you do not need recognition by the kurator: documents or an interview are enough (except for second-level vocational and post-secondary schools).
When you need the level of education confirmed in Poland, the kurator handles the recognition application. The word nostryfikacja relates to documents recognised up to 31 March 2015; the current rules speak of recognition (uznanie).
With the application: the original or duplicate for inspection, or a notarised copy, with an apostille, plus a Polish translation by a sworn translator. If that translation meets obstacles that are hard to overcome, the kurator may accept another one.
A person harmed by armed conflict who cannot present the original may apply to have their education confirmed on the basis of other documents or a statement.
Where the adjustment comes from
The Education System Act lets a foreign pupil whose limited Polish makes it hard to understand a written text sit the exam under adjusted conditions. The basis is a positive opinion from the teachers' council. The head records the adjustments the council names and the parents accept.
At the eighth-grade exam a teacher may read aloud once any Polish paper text of 250 words or more, if the council's opinion notes serious reading difficulty. The dictionary cannot be for the language being tested; an electronic one must be on a device with no internet.
Another basis: adaptation difficulties
A pupil receiving psychological and pedagogical support at school because of adaptation difficulties after studying abroad may also get adjustments based on a positive council opinion. Talk to the class teacher and school counsellor about it.
Finishing primary school after coming from abroad
Final classification counts grades from the last class and from subjects completed in lower classes the pupil did in Poland. Subjects from classes the pupil skipped do not block graduation.
Grades must be passing and the pupil must sit the exam. A pupil who does not meet these conditions repeats the last class and sits the exam that year.
Ukrainian beyond the foreign-language list
Ukrainian as a national-minority language is a compulsory matura subject only for graduates of schools or classes teaching that language. The eighth-grade maths exam in Ukrainian applies only to pupils in schools or classes taught in the minority language.
Who handles the application and what it costs
The kurator for the place of residence is competent. One exception: confirmation of education without the original, for people with refugee status or subsidiary protection, goes to the Mazovian kurator.
A fee applies to the checking interview, if the kurator orders one. People using confirmation without the original are exempt.
Questions
Can Ukrainian be taken as the foreign language at the 2027 eighth-grade exam?
No. The list covers English, French, Spanish, German, Russian and Italian. At the matura, Ukrainian is available as a foreign language.
Is a pupil from Ukraine exempt from the Polish exam in 2027?
The 2027 documents contain no such exemption. The pupil sits the exam; the Act has exceptions for, among others, certain disabilities, competition laureates and health reasons. A foreigner can use adjustments.
How does a pupil from Ukraine get into secondary school or university?
After a Polish primary school the normal admissions process applies. A pupil arriving from abroad is admitted to a liceum, technikum or first-level vocational school using documents and at the parent's request, if the school has free places. For university, a Ukrainian certificate gives access under an international agreement, with no NAWA statement needed.
Secondary school
The kurator sets admission dates for first classes by the end of January, and the head publishes the criteria by the end of February. Check your kuratorium's website for the 2027/2028 dates.
A pupil from abroad: the class or semester is set using documents. Age and the parent's opinion may also count, and with no documents there is an interview.
A technikum or vocational school also requires a medical certificate showing no contraindications to practical vocational training.
A post-secondary school requires a Polish language certificate of at least B1. An interview does not replace documents there.
University
NAWA says certificates covered by international agreements, including those with Ukraine, are recognised automatically when applying for first-cycle and long-cycle studies, so an individual NAWA statement is not needed.
According to NAWA's guide this means the certificate of complete general secondary education and the atestat issued since 20 June 2006. Earlier certificates are recognised as equivalent to the matura certificate under older agreements.
Since 1 July 2025 kurators no longer deal with the right to apply to university on the basis of foreign certificates. Earlier kurator decisions remain valid.
Tuition for full-time studies in Polish is not charged to, among others, a foreigner under temporary protection in Poland or with a permanent residence permit. Check admission conditions and language requirements in the rules of your chosen university.
Questions
Do I need a NAWA statement with a Ukrainian certificate to apply to university?
NAWA says no: certificates covered by international agreements, including those with Ukraine, are recognised automatically for first-cycle and long-cycle applications. Still check the KWALIFIKATOR system and the rules of your chosen university.
Copy, fill in the brackets, then send or print. Each message has an explanation, and the text you send is in Polish.
Request for admission
For the school in your catchment area. Fill in what you have. If you have no documents, keep the sentence about the interview.
Для школи вашого округу. Впишіть те, що маєте. Якщо документів немає, залиште речення про співбесіду.
Temat: Prośba o przyjęcie ucznia z Ukrainy — [imię i nazwisko dziecka]
Szanowna Pani Dyrektor / Szanowny Panie Dyrektorze,
proszę o przyjęcie mojego dziecka [imię i nazwisko], urodzonego [data urodzenia], do szkoły. Mieszkamy pod adresem [adres w Polsce], w obwodzie tej szkoły. W Ukrainie dziecko ukończyło klasę [numer].
Przekazuję: [świadectwo / zaświadczenie / oświadczenie o liczbie lat nauki].
Nie mam dokumentów ze szkoły w Ukrainie, dlatego proszę o wyznaczenie rozmowy kwalifikacyjnej (§ 12 rozporządzenia z 23 sierpnia 2017 r.), w razie potrzeby z udziałem osoby znającej język ukraiński.
Proszę także o informację o dodatkowej nauce języka polskiego. Mój kontakt: [telefon, e-mail].
Z poważaniem,
[imię i nazwisko rodzica]
Asking for extra Polish lessons
It asks for specifics: the number of lessons and the end date. A more general version is among the site's templates.
Тут просять конкретики: кількість уроків і дату завершення. Загальніший зразок є в шаблонах сайту.
Temat: Dodatkowa nauka języka polskiego — [imię i nazwisko], klasa [klasa]
Dzień dobry,
moje dziecko [imię i nazwisko] zna język polski na poziomie niewystarczającym do korzystania z nauki. Na podstawie art. 165 ust. 7 Prawa oświatowego i § 17 rozporządzenia z 23 sierpnia 2017 r. proszę o objęcie go dodatkową, bezpłatną nauką języka polskiego.
Proszę o pisemną informację:
1) od kiedy i w jakie dni będą odbywać się zajęcia oraz ile lekcji tygodniowo obejmą,
2) do kiedy będą prowadzone, biorąc pod uwagę, że dziecko [nie korzystało dotąd z tych zajęć / korzystało z nich od (data)].
Z poważaniem,
[imię i nazwisko rodzica]
Asking for a helper who speaks Ukrainian
The teaching helper is the pupil's right for at most 12 months. A school may employ an assistant, so you ask about one.
Помічник учителя є правом учня щонайбільше на 12 місяців. Асистента школа може найняти, тому про нього запитують.
Temat: Pomoc osoby znającej język ukraiński — [imię i nazwisko], klasa [klasa]
Dzień dobry,
moje dziecko [imię i nazwisko] ma trudności w nauce z powodu słabej znajomości języka polskiego. Na podstawie art. 165 ust. 8 Prawa oświatowego proszę o zapewnienie pomocy osoby władającej językiem ukraińskim, zatrudnionej jako pomoc nauczyciela.
Proszę też o informację, czy w szkole pracuje asystent międzykulturowy i w jaki sposób można się z nim skontaktować.
Proszę o odpowiedź do [data].
Z poważaniem,
[imię i nazwisko rodzica]
Absence note
A short version for the online gradebook. Check the school's statute for the method and deadline. You do not need to give medical details.
Коротка версія для електронного журналу. Спосіб і строк пояснення перевірте у статуті школи. Медичних подробиць подавати не потрібно.
Dzień dobry,
proszę o usprawiedliwienie nieobecności [imię i nazwisko], klasa [klasa], w dniach [daty]. Powód: [choroba / sprawy urzędowe / sprawy rodzinne]. Dziecko uzupełni materiał; proszę o informację, co jest najważniejsze.
Z poważaniem,
[imię i nazwisko rodzica]
Asking for a meeting
A request to meet the class teacher, with help from someone who speaks Ukrainian. Give the topic so the teacher can prepare.
Прохання про розмову з класним керівником за допомогою людини, яка знає українську. Вкажіть тему, щоб учитель міг підготуватися.
Temat: Prośba o spotkanie — [imię i nazwisko], klasa [klasa]
Dzień dobry,
chciałabym / chciałbym porozmawiać o [temat, np. postępach w nauce, egzaminie ósmoklasisty]. Słabo mówię po polsku, dlatego proszę, jeśli to możliwe, o udział asystenta międzykulturowego lub osoby znającej język ukraiński. Mogę przyjść w [dni i godziny].
Dziękuję i pozdrawiam,
[imię i nazwisko rodzica], [telefon]
National Integration Network: address listA list by voivodeship kept on gov.pl. The family ministry describes the offices as places for free help with official, legal and job matters. Łódzkie and Warmińsko-Mazurskie have no entries.
NaukoMapa · naukomapa.pl — information material. The current version, sources and tools are on the website. Check the rules and school notices before an important decision.