Poland launches 300 zł school‑supply grant for students

The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) opened the application period for the "Dobry Start" program on 1 July. The one‑off benefit provides 300 zł per child attending school, up to age 20 (or 24 for children with disabilities), to cover textbooks, notebooks, equipment and other school‑related expenses. Applications are accepted online through mZUS, eZUS, electronic banking or the Emp@tia portal and must be submitted by the end of November; submissions received by the end of August are paid out by 30 September. The grant is universal – it does not depend on parental income or employment status – and is also available to foreign residents of Poland, including non‑EU nationals and Ukrainian citizens with UKR status, provided the parent was employed in the month preceding the application. In 2025, ZUS processed over 3.3 million applications and paid out more than 1.4 billion zł for roughly 4.9 million children nationwide.