CUKR application for a child — a stable stay and the road to EU residency
The CUKR card gives your child a stable, legal stay and starts the clock toward EU long-term residency. See the requirements, the MOS steps and the whole path on a single timeline.
From the CUKR card, your child’s clock toward permanent residence in the EU starts ticking
Phase 1 · Before you apply
Does your child qualify?
The requirements come down to one thing: where your child was born.
Start with one question
Where was your child born?
Born in Poland after 23.02.2022
- 1The mother already has her CUKR card The mother’s filed application alone is not enough — you file the child’s application only once she has received her card.
- 2The child has a PESEL with UKR status Both on the day you apply and on the day the voivode issues the card.
- 3The mother or legal guardian has no Polish or other EU citizenship MOS verifies the citizenship of the child’s mother or legal guardian.
A card for a child born in Poland is issued for the same period as the mother’s card.
Arrived from Ukraine
- 1UKR status on the day you apply The child holds a valid PESEL with UKR status when you file the application.
- 2365 days without a break The child has held UKR status continuously for at least 365 days.
- 3UKR status on 4 June 2025 The child’s status had to be active on that day.
You don’t need a CUKR card of your own — you can file your child’s application independently of yours, including at the same time.
Check your child’s situation
The Dopomo assistant checks your child’s situation step by step and prepares the application.
Phase 2 · Your child has the CUKR card
Getting the CUKR card
You collect your child’s card. An honest look at what they gain — and what they lose.
What your child gains
- A residence card for 3 years — for a child born in Poland: for the validity period of the mother’s card.
- Legal, stable residence — independent of further extensions of temporary protection.
- Schengen travel — up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
- This time counts toward EU residency — the period with a CUKR card counts toward the required 5 years.
What they lose
- UKR status and temporary-protection benefits — including free accommodation and meals in collective accommodation centres.
A decision with no quick way back. The moment you collect the card, your child leaves temporary protection — returning to UKR status is not possible. Weigh it up before you apply.
The MOS sub-account: how to file for your child
You file your child’s CUKR application exclusively online on the MOS portal (from 4 May 2026) — from a sub-account (konto zależne) that you create from your own account. Step by step:
- 1Create your own MOS account — you sign in with profil zaufany (trusted profile) via login.gov.pl.
- 2Moje konto → Dane osobowe → „Konta dzieci/podopiecznych" (children’s/wards’ accounts) → „Dodaj konto" (add account) — this opens the „Dodawanie konta zależnego" (adding a dependent account) form — your child’s sub-account.
- 3Choose your role and fill in your child’s details — parent with full parental authority, curator, or legal guardian; details: PESEL, surname, first name, date of birth, sex, citizenship.
- 4File the CUKR application from your child’s sub-account — you sign the application as the parent or guardian.
Fees: 340 zł + 100 zł — no exemptions for minors. The same amounts apply regardless of the applicant’s age. Fingerprints — required only from children aged 6 and over.
60
days to collect your child’s card. After that deadline the card is invalidated and the fees paid are not refunded.
Ready to apply for your child?
We guide you through every field of your child’s CUKR application and check the data before the office sees it.
Phase 3 · What comes after CUKR
Where it leads
This is where the CUKR card connects to your child’s future.
0years
to EU long-term residency — your child’s CUKR time counts
CUKR — year 1
year 2
year 3
year 4
year 5 → EU
Time spent on PESEL UKR status alone does not count toward EU residency — only the time with a CUKR card counts.
Mind long trips abroad. Leaving Poland for 6 months or more cancels the CUKR card — and breaks longer than 6 months at a time, or 10 months in total, reset the time counted toward EU residency.
CUKR (3 yrs)EU resident
EU residency for a child — what to know
- 1A minor can obtain EU resident status The law sets no age restrictions.
- 2Time with a CUKR card counts toward the required 5 years Note: if study is the main and only purpose of the child’s stay (e.g. a boarding school while the parents live abroad), that period does not count toward the 5 years.
- 3The permit also has general conditions, the same for every applicant Including a stable and regular income (assessed over the 3 years before the application) and the 640 zł stamp duty.
Required when CUKR expires
Next temporary residence permit — on general terms
When the CUKR card expires, you apply for the next permit on general terms — work, study or family.
Send this to a parent with UKR status
Temporary protection with PESEL UKR status runs until 4 March 2028, but a CUKR application can only be filed until 4 March 2027 — after that date the CUKR application won’t be possible, only the standard path remains. Share while there’s still time.
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