This article examines how Polish political elites constructed and transformed the affective foundations of welfare inclusion for Ukrainian refugees between 2022 and 2025. Drawing on the Social-Affective Citizenship (SAC) framework, it conceptualises refugee reception as a process shaped not only by legal and institutional arrangements but also by affective narratives that define belonging, deservingness, and welfare membership. The analysis is based on 46 political statements and 126 coded meaning units. The findings identify three interconnected affective regimes: Humanitarian Belonging, Reciprocal Deservingness, and Conditional Membership. The initial phase of refugee reception was dominated by empathy, solidarity, and collective responsibility, legitimising welfare inclusion on the basis of vulnerability and humanitarian need. Over time, political discourse increasingly emphasised reciprocity, fairness, productivity, and social contribution as criteria for sustaining support. Simultaneously, exclusionary narratives centred on costs, resentment, emotional fatigue, and national priority became more visible, particularly within right-wing opposition discourse. The analysis demonstrates that conditionality did not emerge in response to declining solidarity. Rather, elements of reciprocity, fairness, and welfare sustainability were already embedded within the initial solidarity regime and became more salient over time. The article contributes to scholarship on refugee governance and welfare deservingness by showing that affective narratives shape welfare boundaries. It also advances Social-Affective Citizenship theory by demonstrating how solidarity, reciprocity, and conditionality operate as interconnected mechanisms through which welfare membership is negotiated and legitimised.