3 Difficult Life Situations Faced by Belarusians in Poland and 3 Positive Resolutions

"One of the main tasks of our team is providing concrete help to Belarusians. I'd like to share three of the most recent difficult life situations in which we managed to help Belarusians," said Deputy Head of the Cabinet, Head of the NAM, Pavel Latushka.

1. Overcoming the Dublin Procedure

A former political prisoner, deported from Belarus in December 2025, applied for international protection in Poland. However, during the process of determining which state was responsible for her case, it emerged that this country was the Netherlands (since the woman had obtained a Dutch visa before her imprisonment).

Together with the "Volnyya" (Free) initiative, we managed to secure the opportunity to submit additional documents, which made it possible to justify the former political prisoner's right to begin the legalization process on Polish territory. This issue was also discussed during Pavel Latushka's meeting with the Head of Poland's Office for Foreigners, Tomasz Cytrynowicz.

As a result, an agreement was reached to waive the application of the Dublin procedure — her application was reviewed within Poland. After several weeks of waiting, the former political prisoner received a positive decision granting her international protection in Poland.

2. Reunion with a Child

Another former political prisoner, also deported in December 2025, had a minor child left behind in Belarus in the care of a relative. The regime threatened the relative with criminal prosecution if the child were taken out of the country and handed over to the mother.

Our team stayed in constant contact with the woman and actively facilitated communication with the diplomatic missions of several democratic states, which joined in resolving this problem. We also appealed to Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting a Polish visa for the relative who could accompany the former political prisoner's child, and received a positive response.

As of today, the child has successfully left Belarus and is now with the mother.

3. Visas for Relatives Based on Notarized Invitations

A Belarusian woman living in Poland under a temporary residence permit granted on humanitarian grounds approached our team. She wanted to invite her parents, whom she hadn't seen in several years. She prepared a notarized invitation and submitted it to the Polish consulate, but the consulate said it could not be used and advised her to contact the Voivodeship Office, where she was told that an invitation could only be processed through them after 5 years of residence in Poland.

Finding herself at a dead end, she turned to us. Pavel Latushka sent an inquiry to the Consular Department of Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs explaining the situation.

In its official response, Poland's MFA emphasized that Belarusians "residing in the Republic of Poland on the basis of humanitarian visas, temporary residence permits (obtained on humanitarian grounds), or subsidiary protection, as well as their immediate family members (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren), have the full right to apply for visas on the basis of notarized invitations."

Having received this official clarification, the Belarusian woman resubmitted the notarized invitation to the consulate — and her parents have already received their visas.

Moreover, thanks to the clarification obtained by the NAM, other Belarusians in similar circumstances have also been able to, and can continue to, arrange visas for their close relatives.

"For me, it's important not only to be active in the political sphere — accountability, increasing pressure on the Lukashenko regime, which brings our Belarus closer to normalcy, to the return of the rule of law and democracy — but also, for our team and the 'Latushka and the "For Freedom" Movement' faction in the Coordination Council, a priority is helping specific Belarusian men and women who, because of the actions of the Lukashenko regime, have found themselves in a difficult situation. And you know, there is nothing more valuable than simple gratitude from the people our team has been able to help.

I am sincerely grateful to Poland and the Polish authorities for their constant, effective communication and openness in resolving the problems of Belarusians who were forced to leave their homeland," summed up Pavel Latushka.