Office for Foreigners

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Asylum procedure

Confidentiality
Asylum seekers are afforded special protection. Personal details of a foreigner allowing to determine if a procedure for granting or terminating asylum is pending or has been concluded, or if the foreigner has been granted or refused asylum, must not be disclosed to or obtained from entities reasonably suspected of engaging in persecution or inflicting serious harm.


Language of the procedure
The asylum procedure is conducted in Polish. If required, foreign language documents that have been admitted as evidence in an international protection or asylum procedure will be translated into Polish by order of the Head of the Office for Foreigners. Where additional information is required from an applicant, the Head of the Office for Foreigners may summon him/her for an interview or to provide explanations. The interview will be conducted in a language understandable to the foreigner, in the presence of an interpreter provided by the authority conducting the procedure.


Decision
The asylum procedure is concluded by issuing a decision. An asylum decision is issued within 6 months of the date of lodging the application (this time limit may be extended to 15 months). This time limit applies to the procedure handled by the Head of the Office for Foreigners at first instance. A foreigner who has been issued with a decision at first instance can appeal against it to the same authority and have the case re-examined. If he/she chooses not to exercise the right to request re-examination, he/she may also lodge a complaint with the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw via the Head of the Office for Foreigners.


Service of letters
Letters in the asylum procedure are served on individuals at the address they have provided or at any place where the addressee is found. Letters may also be served electronically.
A party to the procedure:

  • whose habitual residence, domicile or head office is outside the Republic of Poland, another EU Member State, the Swiss Confederation or a Member State of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), 
  • who has not appointed an attorney residing in the Republic of Poland to handle the case, 
  •  who does not act through a consul of the Republic of Poland,

is required to appoint an agent for delivery in the Republic of Poland, unless documents are delivered via a registered electronic delivery service. Should he/she fail to do so, correspondence addressed to that party shall be kept on the case file and deemed effectively served. 

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