Study in Poland from Ukraine
A practical, honest guide for Ukrainian students — visas, refusal rates, flights, costs and what life is really like. Backed by sources, not marketing.
Eastern Europe
2023/24 · GUS/NAWA
type D long-stay
€25–110 (bus)
Visas & entry
National long-stay (type D) study visa
- Processing time
- 2–8 weeks
- Where to apply
- Polish consulate in Lviv / Kyiv (consular operations adjusted due to war)
- Proof of funds
- ≈ 701 PLN/month (~€165/mo) statutory minimum + tuition + return travel; €2,000–4,000/year is a realistic buffer
Key documents
- acceptance letter
- proof of funds (bank statement <3 months old)
- health insurance
- accommodation
- return-travel funds
Source: study.gov.pl
Visa refusal — the honest picture
No clean per-country figure is published — here's what is known:
Not applicable for short stays — biometric-passport holders enter Schengen visa-free (≤90 days/180); no per-country type D study-visa refusal data is published
Important: Study >90 days still requires a type D visa or residence card.
Source: study.gov.pl
Getting there
Kyiv / Lviv → Warsaw — overland only (no direct flights due to the war)
- Typical price
- €25–110 (bus)
- Flight time
- 8–14 h
- Airlines
- FlixBus, TransTempo, Ecolines, Ukrainian Railways (to border)
Ukrainian airspace is closed — students travel overland; Rzeszów airport (~100 km from the border) is the nearest onward hub.
Prices vary — estimate from ukrainetravelnews.com
What it's really like
Ukrainians are by far the largest foreign community in Poland and the default 'familiar' migrant group — culturally close, often Polish-speaking within months, and deeply integrated into universities and the labour market. The near-universal 2022 solidarity had cooled by late 2024 (CBOS: ~53% still supportive, half of Poles feeling aid had become 'too extensive'), and benefit access is increasingly politicised. Day-to-day most students report a welcoming environment, though some encounter 'war fatigue', occasional resentment over benefits, and the same slow residence bureaucracy everyone faces.
Community: Largest migrant and student group — ~46,200 Ukrainian students in 2023/24 (≈43% of all international students), on top of 1M+ war refugees and a large pre-war labour diaspora.
Tips from students & forums
-
Apply for your temporary residence permit (karta pobytu) the moment you arrive — processing routinely takes 8–10 months and your visa can expire before the card is issued; the lodged application keeps your stay legal.
careersinpoland.com -
If enrolled full-time, get the university to register you with ZUS so NFZ public health insurance is free — don't pay for private cover you don't need.
welcome.uw.edu.pl -
Book the Lviv→Warsaw bus from Warszawa Zachodnia in advance and budget extra hours for the border — crossing on foot at Medyka/Shehyni is often faster than staying on the bus.
roadiscalling.com
Good to know
- Ukraine is the single largest source of international students in Poland — ~46,200 in 2023/24, about 43% of all foreign students.
- Since Feb 2022 there are no direct Ukraine–Poland flights; all travel is overland.
Frequently asked questions
Do Ukrainian students need a visa to study in Poland?
Ukrainian citizens need a Polish national long-stay (type D) study visa for programmes over 90 days. Typical processing: 2–8 weeks. Polish consulate in Lviv / Kyiv (consular operations adjusted due to war)
How many Ukrainian students are in Poland?
About 46,210 students from Ukraine were enrolled in Poland (2023/24, GUS/NAWA data).
How much does it cost to live in Poland as a student?
Roughly €630–1,210 a month for a student living alone in a one-bedroom flat, from Lodz (the cheapest of the 8 cities we track) to Warsaw (the most expensive); a university dormitory or shared flat usually brings that down to about €400–700. Estimate from Numbeo market data accessed 9 July 2026 — for a visa, rely on the sum the authorities specify.
English-taught programmes for Ukrainian students
All 951 degrees in the catalogue are open to Ukrainian applicants — these picks match what students from Ukraine most often look for. Tuition shown per year where the university publishes it.
No English test listed
Programmes whose admissions pages named no English test when we captured them. That is not a university statement that a certificate is unnecessary — confirm the current rule before you apply.
Affordable programmes
The lowest rates published for English-taught studies in the catalogue. Each figure is a university-wide rate its programmes inherit, not this programme's own fee.
Universities behind these picks
Each profile has step-by-step application instructions, admissions contacts and every English-taught programme the university offers.
Browse the full catalogue by field of study, city, university or use the programme finder.
Ready to find your programme?
Compare Ukrainian-friendly, English-taught Bachelor's and Master's across Polish universities.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-13. Visa-refusal figures are Schengen short-stay proxies unless stated; Poland does not publish national (type D) study-visa refusal rates per country. Flight prices and monthly budgets are estimates from aggregators and study.gov.pl and change over time. Entries ranked 31+ are added for search coverage of countries Poland does not publish separate student counts for; their studentsInPoland.count is null by design unless a published figure exists (the Perspektywy/GUS "Studenci zagraniczni w Polsce 2023" report covers some).