How do I know that I have lost the protection granted by the special act? Does obtaining a PESEL in Poland and later leaving for another country mean that I cannot, for example, take advantage of their forms of protection there?

At this point, the content of Article 11 Paragraph 2 of the special act, according to which the departure of a Ukrainian citizen from the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period exceeding 30 days deprives him of the right referred to in Article 2 Paragraph 1.

This means that a person who leaves the territory of Poland for a period longer than a month loses the right to “recognize the stay as legal” in Poland, and thus the rights under the Act. This does not apply to persons delegated to perform work or services outside the territory of the Republic of Poland by entities operating in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

When it comes to traveling to the Schengen countries – due to the abolition of border controls, there is a possibility that the Polish authorities will not actually be able to check whether a given foreigner has left Poland for a period exceeding 30 days.

The authority wishing to apply the “institution” under Article 11 will have to prove more than a 30 day’s departure from Poland, but without the exit stamp it will be quite difficult.

The special act does not provide for the withdrawal of rights under the act by way of a decision or other administrative act.

The special act does not and cannot affect the legislation of other EU countries, so it cannot indicate that the fact of using temporary protection – special protection in Poland deprives you of the possibility of using assistance in another Member State. In this context, it is worth recalling recital 15 of the Council Decision, which excludes the application of Article 11 of the Temporary Protection Directive – that is, de facto allows you to choose the country in which you enjoy temporary protection. It does not have to be a country of “first entry”.

However, it should be remembered that the rights resulting from temporary protection can be exercised only in one country.

In the case of using protection under the special act, it means de facto temporary protection, when moving to another EU country, a given person may have limited opportunities to use the privileges related to the introduction of temporary protection mechanisms in that country.

However, it is worth consulting with the lawyers of individual countries, because they will be familiar with the practice of national migration offices and the currently applicable internal law.