Tusk: the 800 plus application will need to be filed only once, after a child is born

Prime Minister Donald Tusk, speaking before Tuesday's cabinet meeting, announced a planned simplification of the 800 plus child benefit. The obligation to file a new application every year is to disappear.

«One application is enough, the first one, after the birth of a child. And automatically until the age of 18, 800 plus will be paid to the family's account without the need to reapply», Tusk said. The exception will be cases in which a parent is obliged to notify the office of significant changes.

According to the prime minister, annual applications have so far been a source of stress: some people were late, others filled in the form incorrectly. Tusk also thanked Finance Minister Andrzej Domański for securing the financing of the benefit.

Currently the right to the payment is granted for a one-year period from 1 June to 31 May of the following year, and applications are submitted online only. The benefit is paid for a child until the age of 18 regardless of family income.