Office for Foreigners

If you wish to apply for international protection to the Head of the Office for Foreigners, you must report to any Border Guard unit or post. If, apart from yourself as the applicant, the application is to cover other people (minor children and/or the spouse of yours), those people must also be present when the application is lodged.

In the case of unaccompanied minors, an application for international protection is lodged by a guardian or a representative of an international or non-governmental organisation providing assistance (including legal assistance) to foreign nationals, if — on the basis of an individual assessment of the unaccompanied minor’s situation — the organisation considers that he/she may require such protection.

Accompanied and unaccompanied minors may lodge an application on their own behalf if they have legal capacity.

You can lodge an application for international protection:

• when entering the territory of the Republic of Poland during a border check (inform the Border Guard officer that you wish to lodge an application),
• during your stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland (report to any Border Guard unit or post),
• through the commander of the Border Guard unit or post locally competent for the guarded centre, detention centre for foreigners, remand centre or prison – if you are being held in any of the above-mentioned places of detention.

Where the Border Guard is unable to accept an application for international protection submitted on the form on the day you appeared in person on the Border Guard premises and declared the intention to apply for such protection, the Border Guard authority will inform you, in a language you understand, of the date and place at which the application will be accepted, and will draw up a record of this activity.

If you are a disabled person, an elderly person, a pregnant woman, a single parent, a person in foster care, or if you are staying in hospital, a remand centre or prison and you are unable to appear on the Border Guard premises in person, you can submit a written declaration of the intention to apply for international protection by post or e-mail. In that case, the application for international protection will be accepted and registered by the Border Guard authority locally competent for your place of stay. Apart from yourself, a declaration of the intention to apply for international protection may also concern other persons (your minor children or spouse).

In both of cases, the application will be accepted and registered immediately, but no later than within 3 working days of the date on which the declaration of the intention to apply for international protection is received. Where the Republic of Poland is experiencing a mass influx of foreign nationals seeking international protection, this period may be extended to 10 working days.

When lodging an application, you must produce all the documents in your possession (including identity and travel documents), plus all evidence you have that may confirm a particular person’s circumstances. This rule applies both to the applicant himself/herself and to all persons to whom the application relates.

An application for international protection must be completed in Polish on a special form, based on information obtained during the foreigner’s interview with a Border Guard officer. If necessary, during the interview the foreigner may be assisted by an interpreter of the language in which he/she communicates.

Lodging an application involves additional procedures, such as:

• photographing (mandatory),
• fingerprinting (mandatory for persons over 14 years of age),
• medical examinations and sanitary procedures,
• a detailed personal check (only in cases justified on grounds of security or public order),
• an individual interview meant to determine which country will be responsible for examining the application for international protection.

You will be also informed in writing, in a language you understand, of the rules and procedures governing the granting of international protection, of your rights and obligations associated with the application procedure, and of the social and medical assistance and free legal assistance available to you.

If the protection seekers are people with disabilities, elderly people, single parents or pregnant women, the Border Guard will arrange for them transport to a reception centre and, where justified, meals during the journey.

When an application is accepted, the examination procedure commences. As proof of this, each adult receives a temporary foreigner’s identity certificate. For the period of its validity, the certificate confirms the holder’s identity and entitles the holder and any minor children whose details are entered therein to stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

An applicant for international protection may be detained and subsequently placed in a guarded centre or a detention centre for foreigners for up to 60 days. Any decisions in this regard will be issued by a court. The period of stay in a centre may be extended. However, the applicant may be also released from detention early. The legislation also provides for the use of alternative measures, such as e.g. the need to report to a specified authority at specific time intervals or the need to make a cash deposit.

Individuals who are not detained while their application is being examined may enjoy social assistance and medical care services provided by the Head of the Office for Foreigners.