The Department of Cooperation with the Polish Community Abroad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has been providing administrative and office support for the Council for Poles Abroad since 2016. The Council is a public administration body that reviews appeals against decisions regarding the granting, refusal, extension, refusal to extend, and revocation of the Pole's Card. The Council also serves as:

•    A higher-level body in accordance with the Act of 14 June 1960 – the Code of Administrative Procedure,
•    An authority competent to reopen proceedings, revoke, amend, or declare the invalidity of its own decisions or rulings.

Since 2 September 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided administrative and office support for the Council.

The Council's activities are financed by the state budget.

Members of the third term of the Council were appointed on 2 November 2016, as part of the Council for Poles in the East. On 14 July 2019, based on the provisions of the Act of 16 May 2019, amending the Act on the Pole's Card (Journal of Laws, 2019, item 1095), the Council for Poles in the East was transformed into the Council for Poles Abroad. The fourth term of the Council was appointed on 3 November 2021.
 

In accordance with Article 10, paragraph 1, of the Act on the Pole's Card, the term of office of Council members lasts for five years.

The Council for Poles Abroad (CPA) consists of 9 members appointed from individuals distinguished by their expertise and experience in matters pertaining to the Polish diaspora and Poles abroad. These members are:

1.    Michał Frączkiewicz, lawyer, Prime Minister’s Office, Chairman of the CPA Council for terms II, III, and IV.
2.    Renata Kowalska, Head of the Legal and Legislative Section of the Consular Department of the MFA, member of the Council for Poles in the East, II term, member of the CPA Council III and IV terms.
3.    Dr. hab. Mariusz Kowalski, lecturer at the East European Studies at the University of Warsaw, employee of the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the Polish Academy of Sciences, member of the CPA Council III and IV terms.
4.    Dr. Małgorzata Waksmundzka – Szarek, lawyer, historian, lecturer at the University of Rzeszów, Subcarpathian Province Office in Rzeszów, member of the CPA Council IV term.
5.    Katarzyna Stochaj, legal advisor in the MFA Bureau of Administration, member of the CPA Council III and IV terms.
6.    Marcin Nosal, Minister Plenipotentiary, Head of the Pole's Card and Repatriation Section  in the Department of Cooperation with Polish Community Abroad at the MFA, member of the CPA Council IV term.
7.    Anita Łuczyńska, Head of the Civil and Administrative Procedures Section at the Treaty and Legal Department, lawyer, expert in complaints procedures before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, member of the CPA Council IV term.
8.    Witold Rutka, Head of the Legal Affairs Unit at the Department of Cooperation with Polish Community Abroad at the MFA, member of the CPA Council IV term.
9.    Piotr Widawski, lawyer, Head of the Citizenship Section at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, member of the CPA Council IV term.
The Council’s composition meets the statutory requirement of having at least half of its members with a higher legal education.
 

The Council for Poles Abroad considers appeals against decisions made by consuls or province governors regarding the issuance, extension, or revocation of the Pole's Card.

The Council for Poles Abroad can reopen proceedings, revoke, amend, or declare the invalidity of its own decisions or rulings concerning the Pole's Card.

In the event that a decision by the Council for Poles Abroad is appealed to the Provincial Administrative Court (or, if applicable, to the Supreme Administrative Court), the Council, through its representative (a designated Council member), participates in proceedings related to the appealed decision.

The activities of the Council are primarily governed by the following regulations:

•    Chapter 3 of the Act of 7 September 2007, on the Pole's Card (Journal of Laws, 2019, item 1598).
•    Regulation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of 26 June 2019, on the internal organisation and procedure of the Council for Poles Abroad (Journal of Laws, item 1245).
 

Due to the nature of the decisions made by the Council for Poles Abroad, the most frequently issued decisions are:

•    Confirming the decision of the first-instance authority.
•    Annulment of the first-instance authority’s decision and referral of the case for reconsideration.