University of Silesia in Katowice

A student in a difficult financial situation whose monthly income does not exceed PLN 1,570.5 nett per capita in the family (from the 2024/2025 academic year, the income threshold is 45% of the minimum wage determined from 1 January of the year preceding the academic year for which the social allowance is awarded) is entitled to receive a social allowance. The amount of the allowance is determined by the Rector—in agreement with the Student Government—at the end of October (for the winter semester of a given academic year) and in March (for the summer semester).

A student’s financial situation is determined on the basis of a monthly income per each member of a student’s family. The monthly amount of income per capita in the family of a student applying for the social allowance is determined in accordance with the Act of 28 November 2003 on Family Benefits.
If the monthly income per capita in the family does not exceed PLN 600 nett (from January 2025, PLN 823 nett – the amount of the income criterion entitling to apply for social service benefits), it is mandatory to attach to the application for a social allowance a certificate issued by a social welfare centre or a social services centre about the use of social service benefits by the student or their family members in the year of submitting this application (an application for a certificate may be submitted by the student electronically via the ePUAP platform). Failure to attach such a certificate will result in a refusal to grant a social allowance.
If a student or their family members demonstrate very low or no income in their application for a social allowance and do not use social service benefits, the student may be granted a social allowance if they have documented the family’s sources of income.

A student may receive a higher amount of the social allowance in particularly justified cases. Such allowance is granted, in particular, to a student who is an orphan or has reached the legal age in foster custody.

Social allowance is granted at the student’s formal request. The application, together with a declaration of income containing documentation confirming the income situation uploaded in the form of jpg and pdf attachments, is completed and submitted electronically via USOSweb by the 10th day of a given month.

If the application is submitted by the 10th day of the given month, the allowance is paid out for the month in which the application was submitted; if the application is submitted after that date – the allowance is paid out in the following month without any compensation for the previous month.

The allowance is granted by the Dean or Vice-Dean under the authority of the Rector.

According to the Act of 20 July 2018: The Law on Higher Education and Science, when determining the amount of the income entitling a student to apply for the social allowance, the following incomes shall be taken into account:

• of the student;
• of the student’s spouse;
• of the student’s parents, legal or factual guardians;
• of underage children, children in education up to 26 (or until the end of the studies if the student reaches 26 in the last year of their studies), and disabled children, regardless of age, who are dependent on the aforementioned persons.

A student who does not maintain a common household with any of their parents, or legal or factual guardians may apply for a social allowance without the need to prove the income earned by these people and children dependent on them if they meet one of the following criteria:

• have reached the age of 26;
• are married;
• have dependent children;
• have reached the legal age while in foster custody;
•  have a permanent source of income and their average monthly income in the previous tax year and in the current year in the months preceding the month of submitting the declaration on not running the same household with any of the parents, legal or factual guardians is higher than or equal to PLN 1,396.

The student shall submit a declaration confirming that they do not maintain a common household with any of their parents, or legal or factual guardians.

Maintaining a common household means being partly or fully dependent on the person with whom the household is maintained. The circumstances of maintaining a common household also include other constituents, including incurring accommodation fees, providing care in illness, performing ordinary activities related to running a household or disposing of a joint income to meet living needs.

The fact that a student lives independently outside their family home is not unequivocal with the fact that they do not maintain a common household with any of their parents, or legal or factual guardians.

The amount of monthly income per capita in the family of a student applying for a social allowance is determined according to the principles set out in the Family Benefits Act. This Act in section 3 para 1 lists all sources of income to be taken into account when assessing the family’s financial situation, however—for the purposes of granting a social allowance—the following benefits are excluded from income:

1. social allowance, allowance for people with disabilities, Rector’s scholarships, financial aid, scholarships financed by a local government unit, scholarships for academic or sports results financed by a natural person or a legal person that is not a state or local government legal person, minister’s scholarships for significant achievements, scholarships from the university’s own scholarship fund (scholarships for academic results for students and research scholarships for employees and doctoral students).
2. cholarships received by school and university students and doctoral students as part of:

• • Structural Funds of the European Union,
  • non-recoverable funds granted as aid by European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Member States,
  • international agreements or implementing programmes drawn up for these agreements, or international scholarship programmes (e.g. scholarship under ERASMUS+),

c. material aid benefits received by school students under the provisions of the education system (e.g. school scholarships),
d. social allowances awarded by other entities referred to in Article 21(1)(40)(b) of the Act of 26 July 1991 on Personal Income Tax [Ustawa z dnia 26 lipca 1991 r. o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych] (public benefit organisations, e.g. foundations).
e. family benefits with bonuses, social welfare benefits, benefits within the Family 500+ programme;
f. direct payments for farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union.

Each student applying for the social allowance is obliged to submit:

• certificates issued by the tax office appropriate to the student and the student’s family members stating income subject to personal income tax according to Articles 27, 30(b), 30(c), 30(e) and 30(f) of the Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax;
• certificates issued by the tax office appropriate to the members of the student’s family who pay flat-rate tax under the tax regulations concerning certain income earned by natural persons, which present the income earned in the calendar year preceding the academic year;
• statements of the student and the student’s family members on the income not subject to personal income tax earned in the calendar year preceding the academic year;
• the student and the student’s family members’ certificates presenting the amount of health insurance contributions paid in the calendar year preceding the academic year.

The student is not entitled to have the social allowance granted in the case they hold a Master’s degree, also if it was obtained abroad. The student is not entitled to have the social allowance granted in the case they hold a Bachelor’s degree and start the 1st cycle studies once again.

All benefits, including the social allowance, are subject to certain rules:

1) they are granted for the 1st cycle, 2nd cycle, and long-cycle studies;

2) they may be granted for the total period of 12 semesters, regardless of whether a student receives them or not, provided that the benefits within this period may be granted during:

a) 1st cycle studies for no longer than 9 semesters,
b) 2nd cycle studies for no longer than 7 semesters;

3) the total period stipulated in point 2 is longer by 2 semesters when a student is enrolled in long-cycle studies, which last for a total of 11 or 12 semesters according to legal regulations;

4) the period stipulated in points 2 and 3 takes into account all semesters started by a student during studies stipulated in point 1, including the semesters on leave stipulated in Article 85(1)(3) of the Act of 20 July 2018: The Law on Higher Education and Science, except for semesters of subsequent 1st cycle studies started or continued after receiving the first Bachelor’s degree, Engineer’s degree or their equivalent. In the event a student is enrolled in more degree programmes at a time, the semesters taking place simultaneously count as one semester;

A student who is enrolled in more than one degree programme at the same time may receive a benefit of a given type (e.g. social allowance) only in one degree programme of their choice. A student may receive a given benefit (e.g. social allowance) in one degree programme and another benefit (e.g. Rector’s Scholarship) in another degree programme, including at another university.

Benefits regulations