Office for Foreigners

Yes. In each centre, in a visible, easily accessible and marked place (white cross on a green background) there is a first aid kit equipped with:

1.       hydrogen peroxide;

2.       dressings;

3.       patches;

4.       bandages;

5.       triangular scarves;

6.       elastic bands;

7.       cotton wool;

8.       scissors;

9.       latex gloves;

10.   mask for artificial respiration;

11.   NCR foil;

12.   first aid instructions.

Note: There are no medicines in the first aid kit.

In the event of difficulties with finding a first aid kit or the need for calling an ambulance – please contact the security staff.

The Office for Foreigners does not guarantee that each Centre for Foreigners are equipped with electric kettles. If you have your own electric kettle, please refer to the administrator to obtain approval.

The Office for Foreigners does not guarantee that each Centre for Foreigners are equipped with clothes irons and ironing boards. If you have your own iron, please refer to the administrator to obtain approval.

Yes, children are provided with the opportunity to participate in recreational activities, as well as cultural, educational or sports events organised with the participation of institutions, organisations, associations and other entities. For more information, contact an employee of the Department for Social Assistance at the Centre.

Pursuant to the rules of stay in the Centre, the Centre shall not be held liable for any belongings or money kept by a foreigner. Theft should be reported to the nearest police station in the place of residence.

Yes, each of the Centres for Foreigners is equipped with a laundry room and a drying room, equipped with automatic washing machines and clothes dryers.

Yes, each Centre for Foreigners provides the residents with 24-hour free Internet access (WI-FI). Moreover, each day-room in the Centre not owned by the Office is equipped with a TV set with access to a browser and other Internet applications.

Yes, the residents of the Centre have the right to maintain their own customs and traditions. In addition, each of the Centres has a dedicated prayer room in which you are free to engage in religious practices.

You must personally register your child for school in the area where you reside. In order to do that, please bring the documents confirming the identity of the parents and the child (e.g. Temporary Foreigner’s Identity Certificate) and all the documents confirming the fulfilment of compulsory education in Poland or abroad, including the country of origin (e.g. school certificates). An employee of the Department for Social Assistance in the Centre you remain in will provide you with information regarding the schools.

Yes. Centres have playrooms for children. Ask an employee of the Department for Social Assistance in the Centre you remain in to provide information about the detailed information regarding the schedule of classes. You can also enrol your child in a public kindergarten under the public education system. In order to do so, please contact the Principal of the selected facility. An employee of the Department for Social Assistance in the Centre you remain in will provide you with information on the nearest kindergarten.

The Office for Foreigners does not provide parking spaces for residents of the Centres. Some of the Centres are managed on the basis of civil law agreements, which do not provide for the need to provide parking spaces. In some Centres, however, Contractors may permit the residents to park their vehicles at the premises of the Centre.

The air temperature in the Centre for Foreigners should be at least 20ºC during all seasons. The heating season lasts from 1 October to 30 April.

No. The regulations of stay in the Centre prohibit the use of additional heating devices which were not originally provided.

Yes, if you did not undergo any medical examination or sanitary treatments of body and clothing when you applied for international protection, you will have to do so before you are admitted to the Centre. The Head of the Office ensures that the above examinations and sanitary treatments of body and clothing are carried out.

Yes, but such change is subject to the decision of an employee of the Office. A resident may be moved to another room if that is required by organisational reasons, or if it is necessary to ensure the safety of the resident or other residents of the facility.

No, in accordance with the rules of stay in the Centre, overnight stay of visitors is not permitted.

No, in accordance with the rules of stay applicable in the Centre, it is not allowed to carry out any gainful activity or use the premises of the Centre for purposes other than those for which they were intended.

Yes, such a meeting is permitted at the Centre during the hours indicated by the Head of the Office for Foreigners and is subject to privacy protection. Each entry of persons who are not residents or employees of the Office for Foreigners requires obtaining a consent granted each time by the Head of the Office for Foreigners. For this purpose, a legal representative or a resident of the facility must file an appropriate application specifying the purpose of entering the facility, details of the visitor, as well as the name and surname of the visited resident.

Within 14 days of the birth of a child, please refer to the Civil Registry Office competent for the place of birth or place of residence to obtain a birth certificate. You will receive your birth certificate immediately after presenting the required documents (e.g. parents’ Temporary Foreigner’s Identity Certificates, childbirth certificate issued by the hospital, certificate of marriage). After obtaining the birth certificate, refer to an employee of the Department for Social Assistance at the nearest Centre for Foreigners or at the Help Centre for Foreigners in Warsaw at ul. Taborowa 33 in order to file an application to the Department for Refugees Procedures to include a child in the procedure and apply for social assistance (in case of living outside the Centre).

Yes. Social assistance for foreigners applying for international protection also includes reimbursement of the costs of public transportation required to participate in the procedure for granting international protection, to receive medical treatment, preventive vaccinations or in other justified cases. In order to obtain reimbursement of incurred travel costs, please contact an employee of the Department for Social Assistance in the Centre or at the Help Centre for Foreigners in Warsaw at ul. Taborowa 33 and submit: tickets and documents confirming the purpose of the journey (e.g. a notice, confirmation of a doctor’s visit, confirmation of vaccination). In other justified cases, you may apply for reimbursement of other travel expenses subject to the approval of the Director of the Department for Social Assistance.

It is forbidden to record conversations, take photographs or film foreigners without their consent.

An employee of the Office for Foreigners or a security officer of the Centre has the right to enter a residential room after obtaining the consent of at least one adult resident of the room. An employee of the Office or a security officer employed at the Centre have the right to enter a residential room without obtaining a consent of at least one adult remaining at the room in the event that such entry is required for sanitary and epidemiological reasons or in emergency situations in order to protect the well-being or laws of persons.

Yes. Remember, however, that inviting any person who is not a resident or an employee of the Office for Foreigners requires obtaining approval of the Head of the Office for Foreigners each time. Your guests are allowed to remain at the facility at a location agreed with an employee of the Department for Social Assistance between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. In justified cases, with the consent of an employee of the Office, the visiting hours may be extended up to 22:00 pm.

Using tobacco products inside a Centre is only permitted in designated smoking areas located indoors or outdoors. Smoking tobacco outside of the areas is not permitted in any Centre.

Meals not collected by the residents on a given day during the lunch hours cannot be claimed at a later time and is not subject to receiving a financial equivalent. If you were not able to claim the meal during lunch hours for reasons outside of your control, the meal may be served at a later date, if it is possible taking into consideration organisational, sanitary and epidemiological reasons. Ask the Centre manager or an employee of the Department for Social Assistance at your Centre for further information.

Yes. Residents of the Centre must observe quiet hours: from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Residents of the Centre must return to the facility before 11 p.m.

You leave the Centre for Foreigners for up to two days at a time. In the event that you leave the Centre for more than 2 days, your social assistance will be withheld. In order to resume receiving the social assistance, in that case, you will have to refer to the reception facility in Dębak-Podkowa Leśna or Biała Podlaska. Please note: Your application for international protection in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be discontinued if you leave the Centre for a period exceeding 7 days for no justifiable reason.

No. Selecting appropriate room will be determined by the employee of the Office, taking into consideration the family situation, age, gender and other particular needs of each person.

In accordance with the rules of stay applicable at each Centre, you will receive cutlery, dishes, towels and bed linen. You will be asked to account for the things you received before leaving the Centre.

No. The Office for Foreigners decides about admitting each person to a particular Centre. An employee of the reception facility is going to inform you about the reception facility. The only exception from the aforementioned rule is when members of your immediate family (wife, husband, parents, siblings) already remain at one of the Centres.