National forms of protection
The oldest form of protection in Poland is ‘asylum’. A foreigner may be granted asylum, if it is necessary to protect them and the interest of the Republic of Poland requires so.[1] This is a separate procedure and requires an explicit application for asylum. Due to its political nature, it is the least used type of protection (11 positive cases in 2024, 5 positive cases in 2023).[2] The institution of asylum is a unique form of protection because the foreigner can submit a relevant application while staying outside the territory of the Republic of Poland and then obtain a visa to attend the procedure. The responsible authority is the Office for Foreigners. The asylum procedure does not in any way suspend the return or permits for legalising temporary stay of a foreigner in Poland for the duration of the procedure. The foreigner being the subject of this specific asylum procedure may submit an application for international protection or another form of legitimising their stay.
The permit for humanitarian stay and the permit for tolerated stay are forms of protection which complement the international protection system, i.e. refugee status and subsidiary protection. A foreigner may be granted such a permit once the proceedings on granting international protection are concluded negatively. It is not possible to submit a separate application for a permit based on humanitarian reasons or tolerated stay. Both permits are granted in return proceedings ex officio or upon the request of certain authorities. The responsible authority is the Commander of the Border Guard Unit/Outpost; the Head of the Office for Foreigners act as a second instance.
Permit for humanitarian stay should be granted to a foreigner if their obligation to return:
- Can be exercised solely to a state in which, within the meaning of the ECHR:
- Their right to life, freedom and personal security might be threatened, or;
- They could be subjected to torture or inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, or;
- They could be subjected to forced labour, or;
- They could be deprived of the right to a fair trial or
- Would violate their right to family or private life within the meaning of the ECHR or
- Would violate the rights of the child, as defined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in a manner which may represent a serious threat to their psychophysical development.[3]
In practice, authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons is most often granted to individuals who lead a family life in Poland, whose children are significantly integrated into the Polish society, attend a Polish school and their expulsion would negatively impact their mental and physical state.[4] In 2024, 50 out of 55 foreigners were granted permit for stay for humanitarian reasons on the basis of these circumstances.[5]
Permit for stay for humanitarian reasons is refused if there are substantial grounds to believe that:
- They have committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity within the meaning of the international law; or
- They are guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations set out in the Preamble and Article 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations; or
- They have committed a crime within the territory of the Republic of Poland or committed an act outside this territory that is a crime under the Polish law; or
- They represent a threat to national security or defence, the protection of public order and safety, or
- They have instigated or otherwise participated in the perpetration of crimes or offences referred to in point 1–3.
Furthermore, a foreigner who, prior to arriving in the territory of the Republic of Poland, has committed an act other than the ones specified in points 1–3 that is an offence under the Polish law and is punishable by imprisonment, may be refused authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons if they left the country of origin for the sole purpose of avoiding punishment.[6]
Legal conditions to grant permit for tolerated stay partially overlap with those listed above. That is because the permit for tolerated stay granted if a return obligation for a foreigner:
- can be exercised solely to a state in which within the meaning of the ECHR:
- their right to life, freedom and personal security might be threatened, or
- they could be subject to torture or inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, or
- they could be subject to forced labour, or
- they could be deprived of the right to fair trial or be punished without a legal basis – if there are reasons for refusing the issuance of a permit for stay for humanitarian reasons.[7]
- The second group of legal conditions for granting permit for tolerated stay refer to returns that are not feasible for reasons beyond the control of the authority responsible for the forced execution of the decision on obliging a foreigner to return, and beyond the control of the foreigner, or can be effected only to a country to which expulsion is inadmissible under a ruling of a court of law or because of a decision of the Minister of Justice on the refusal to expel a foreigner.[8] Foreigners granted tolerated stay permit for the latter reasons are placed on the list of foreigners whose stay within the territory of the Republic of Poland is undesired.
In practice, a permit for tolerated stay is issued to foreigners when there is no actual or legal possibility of obliging them to return.[9] In 2024, there were 5 permits for tolerated stay issued in both instances (while the number of persons towards which decision on return was issued in 2024 was 11994).[10] What makes it different from authorising the stay for humanitarian reasons is that in the case of a permit for tolerated stay, foreigners’ rights were set at a minimum level and they need to periodically report their place of residence to the Border Guards.[11]
| Summary of the rights of persons benefiting from ‘asylum’, a permit for stay for humanitarian reasons or a permit for tolerated stay | |||
| Asylum | Permit for stay for humanitarian reasons | Permit for tolerated stay | |
| Document issued | Permanent residence permit, a card for 10 years, renewable | Residence permit for 2 years, renewable | the document “permit for tolerated stay” (not a residence document), valid for 2 years, confirms identity but not citizenship, does not entitle to cross the border |
| Polish travel document for foreigners | Entitled to obtain | Entitled to obtain | Not entitled to obtain |
| Access to integration programme | Not entitled | Not entitled | Not entitled |
| Access to housing | No special housing, entitled to social or communal housing as Polish citizens | No special housing, entitled to social or communal housing as Polish citizens | No special housing, entitled to social or communal housing as Polish citizens |
| Access to healthcare | Entitled as every foreigner legally residing | Entitled as every foreigner legally residing | Entitled as every foreigner legally residing |
| Access to education | Entitled as every minor | Entitled as every minor | Entitled as every minor |
| Access to family reunification | Entitled to request a temporary
residence permit for a family member |
Entitled to request a temporary
residence permit for a family member |
Not entitled |
| Access to labour market | Entitled to work, no additional permit | Entitled to work, no additional permit | Entitled to work, no additional permit |
Return procedure
As of 31 December 2024, according to the Border Guard, there is no list of countries to which returns are not carried out.[12] In 2023 countries to which no returns are carried out were the following: Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Palestine, Ethiopia, Sudan and Ukraine (for more on returns of Ukrainian nationals, see Annex on temporary protection).[13]
[1] Article 90 of the Law on Protection.
[2] Information provided by the Office for Foreigners, 19 February 2025.
[3] Article 348 of the Law on Foreigners.
[4] European Migration Network, National forms of protection Non-EU harmonised national forms of foreigner protection in Poland, 2019, available here, 20.
[5] i.e. on the basis of Artice 348(2). Information provided by the Office for Foreigners, 19 February 2025.
[6] Article 349 of the Law on Foreigners.
[7] Article 351(1) of the Law on Foreigners.
[8] Article 351(2) and (3) of the Law on Foreigners.
[9] European Migration Network, National forms of protection Non-EU harmonised national forms of foreigner protection in Poland, 2019, available here, 23.
[10] Information provided by the Office for Foreigners and the latter by the Border Guard.
[11] Article 358 of the Law on Foreigners.
[12] Information provided by the Border Guards, 7 March 2025.
[13] Information provided by the Border Guard, 18 March 2024.