Poland continues to accept and review applications for international protection from Belarusians
- Oct 9
- 2 min read
The Office for Foreigners of Poland continues to accept applications for international protection from citizens of Belarus and to review applications that have already been submitted — this was confirmed today by the head of the Office for Foreigners, Tomasz Cytrynowicz, during a meeting of the working group on the legalization of Belarusians under the Ministry of the Interior of Poland.
On the Belarusian side, the meeting was attended by Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM) Pavel Latushka, legal advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Leanid Marozau, Chair of the Legal Commission of the Coordination Council Mikhail Kiryluk, Head of the Legal Aid Department of the Belarusian Solidarity Center Volha Dabravolskaya, and a representative of the initiative "Partyzanka".
Due to a significant increase in the number of applications for international protection, the provision of the law that establishes the time limits (6–15 months) for case review has been temporarily suspended. This measure was taken in order to reduce the amount of formal correspondence and allow employees to focus exclusively on examining cases concerning the granting of international protection, explained Tomasz Cytrynowicz in response to a question from Pavel Latushka.
During the meeting, representatives of the Office for Foreigners noted that the MOS portal is planned to be launched in the first quarter of 2026. Its goal is to increase the processing capacity of applications, and once the portal is fully operational, to return to the standard timeframes for consideration.
The Belarusian representatives raised the issue of the possibility of short-term travel outside Poland during the period of waiting for a decision on international protection, provided that the applicant has a valid residence permit and a Polish travel document. Following the meeting, a written confirmation of such a possibility from the Polish side is expected.
Pavel Latushka and Leanid Marozau also raised questions regarding the application of the Dublin Regulation and the situation with political prisoners who are being forcibly deported to Lithuania. The Polish side expressed understanding of the problem and a willingness to consider possible solutions based on the general provisions of the document.
In addition, the problem was discussed that arises in cases of passport loss, as well as when applicants run out of pages in their Belarusian passports and Polish authorities refuse to issue a Polish travel document. Representatives of the Office expressed their readiness to work on this issue and to consider possible administrative solutions.
Comments