The procedure for reviewing legalization issues in Poland for released Belarusians will be carried out as quickly as possible
- Admin of the NAM
- Jan 14
- 2 min read
Issues related to the legalization of political prisoners released on December 13 who have applied for international protection in Poland were the central topic of a meeting between Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM) Pavel Latushka and Head of the Polish Office for Foreigners Tomasz Cytrynowicz.
The meeting was attended by NAM lawyer and Chair of the Legal Commission of the Coordination Council Mikhail Kirylyuk, representative of the Belarusian Solidarity Center Volha Dabravolskaya, and a representative of the “Partyzanka” initiative.
The Head of the Polish Office for Foreigners assured that the Polish side will make every effort to ensure that decisions on the legalization of released political prisoners in Poland are taken within the shortest possible time, in accordance with current Polish legislation, as soon as all internal procedures are completed. It is expected that decisions will be made in the coming months.
Pavel Latushka expressed gratitude to the Office for Foreigners, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Main Headquarters of the Polish Border Guard for their constructive and positive approach to the legalization of Belarusian citizens deported to Poland.
During the meeting, Tomasz Cytrynowicz noted that the Office for Foreigners has already initiated legalization procedures for 79 released Belarusians, and procedures for an additional 4 Belarusians will be launched in the near future.
Separately, Pavel Latushka and the meeting participants initiated a discussion on the problem of opening bank accounts in Polish commercial banks for Belarusians who are undergoing legalization procedures and hold temporary foreigner identity certificates in Poland. Pavel Latushka emphasized that the Polish Financial Supervision Authority has provided a clear explanation that this document constitutes valid grounds for opening a bank account.Given the ongoing difficulties in opening accounts, an agreement was reached to obtain additional written confirmation from the Office for Foreigners that this document serves as a legal basis for opening accounts, and to use the official positions of Polish authorities in further engagement with commercial banks to resolve the existing situation.
A representative of the Office for Foreigners also noted that the agency supports the proposal to extend the validity period of the travel document for foreigners beyond one year. Pavel Latushka and the participants stressed that implementing this approach would significantly simplify the resolution of social and other issues for foreigners in Poland, including Belarusians, and would reduce the administrative burden on Polish authorities caused by the need to initiate procedures for obtaining a new travel document every year.
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