Humanitarian visas and residence permits

Procedure for obtaining in Poland

Polish authorities have started issuing humanitarian residence permits to Belarusians.

The procedure of issuing humanitarian visas on the territory of Poland was also launched (previously it was possible to obtain them only abroad).

Both documents are available to all Belarusians in need of humanitarian protection, including those who came to Poland before the war.

We have compiled basic information on their validity and how to obtain them.

Application points and deadlines:

From August 1 — in Warsaw.

From September — in Bialystok, Lublin and Poznan.

Who may apply:

those who arrived from Ukraine after February 24 (were legally in Ukraine before that);
already have humanitarian Polish visas and are in Poland;
cannot return to Belarus because of threats of persecution

Features of the document:

Document Acceptance Start: July 9, 2022

Accepting documents:

voivode of the place of residence;
departments of foreigners' affairs (Mazowieckie, Małopolskie and Wielkopolskie voivodeships);
civil and aliens affairs offices (all other voivodeships)

It is worth noting that each voivodeship and voivodship has its own timetable and deadlines for processing documents

Who may apply:

those who are in Poland without documents;
stayed in Poland on the basis of a humanitarian visa (D21);
stays on the basis of a visa (valid or extended due to the epidemiological state);
cannot return to Belarus due to threats of persecution

Humanitarian residence permit. Features of the document:

validity period — 3 years;
access to labor market;
no fee for review of documents and issuance of the residence card;
from January 1, 2023: possibility to request Polish international travel document for departure to other countries (in case of expiry of passport and impossibility to obtain a new one);
it is forbidden to go to Belarus. Violation of this requirement threatens refusal of entry into the EU in the future.