Place of detention

There are two types of detention centres in Poland, both used for detaining asylum applicants and third-country nationals subject to return procedures, namely guarded centres and so-called arrest for foreigners centres.

All detention centres are for migration-related purposes and the Border Guard is in charge of their management. Asylum applicants are never placed in regular prisons with ordinary prisoners but are detained together with third-country nationals in an irregular situation in a guarded centre or arrest for foreigners centres. There is no special facility where only asylum applicants are detained.

The design and layout of some of the centres create the impression of a prison-like environment: thick walls, bars in the windows (Krosno, Białystok, Przemyśl)[1] (taken off and replaced with special secure windows in 2025 in Lesznowola, Kętrzyn and Biała Podlaska)[2] and on the corridors. In addition, all centres are surrounded by high walls topped with barbed wire.[3]

On 13 August 2021, a new amendment was introduced to the Ordinance of the Ministry of Interior and Administration of 24 April 2015 on guarded centres and detention centres for foreigners. It allows the placement of detainees in a dedicated room for third-country nationals or in a residential cell, the area of which is not less than 2 sqm per person, if the following conditions are fulfilled:

• There are no vacancies in rooms for foreigners,
• Placement is for a specified period of time,
• This cannot last longer than 12 months.[4]

This regulation is still in force, despite the CPT recommending to restore the minimum standard of living space to 4 m² per detainee in multiple-occupancy rooms in guarded centres for foreigners.[5]

As a consequence of this and other factors (e.g. containers), the capacity of detention centres increased in 2025. As of 26 September 2025, 1,167 places were available in detention centres, compared to 805 as of 31 December 2024. Containers for migrants were introduced again in Lesznowola and Kętrzyn.[6]

All detention centres were overcrowded.[7]

Guarded centres

At the end of 2025 there were 5 guarded detention centres in Poland. Białystok, Przemyśl, Kętrzyn, Biała Podlaska and Krosno Odrzańskie (closed for renovation in September 2024), and Lesznowola were for men. Women, married couples, unaccompanied children and families with children were placed in Lesznowola (new separate building from men which are also detained in the facility).

Detention centres for foreigners are located in:

Source: Border Guard, 1 February 2022, 29 March 2022, 25 January 2023, 7 March 2023, 12 February 2024, Headquarters 21 March 2024.Information from different Border Guard units, 2026.

According to the Border Guard, it is possible to change room upon justified demand, depending on availability and safety reasons.[9]

In 2025, the following number of applications for international protection were submitted from detention centres: 188 in Przemysl, 167 in Białystok, 189 in Biala Podlaska,  419 in Lesznowola and 164 in Ketrzyn.

“Arrest for Foreigners” (areszt dla cudzoziemców)

There is only one arrest for Foreigners centre in Przemyśl. As of the end of 2025, there were 24 places in Przemyśl for men and women.[10] 80 people were placed there throughout 2025.[11] The building is single unit with a separate entrance. The facility is covered by video surveillance that includes residential cells, public areas and the outside area 24 hours per day.[12]

An asylum applicant can be placed in a more rigorous detention centre / arrest for foreigners only if there is a risk that they will not obey the rules in force in a guarded centre or the applicant has already disobeyed these rules.[13] These detention centres are more prison-like than guarded centres. An asylum applicant placed in such a centre cannot freely move around (they are closed in the ward). In practice, it means that detainees have to stay in a cell for most of the day and have limited access to additional activities. Asylum applicants have limited access to the internet and the phone. They have to knock at the door to be taken to the toilet, in some cases having to wait for a long period of time.[14]

The Commissioner for Human Rights has pointed out that the very mode of placing third-country nationals in arrest for foreigners centres raises concerns. The risk that a person may not adhere to the rules of stay is considered to be a sufficient ground for placing in this type of facility. However, the concept of “risk” is vague. If it does not have to be assessed on the basis of the facts of a specific case, it may lead to abuse of detention.[15]

Previously, the NPM analysed court decisions on the detention of foreigners in the Guarded Centre and Detention Centre for Foreigners in Przemyśl. It found that arguments deemed sufficient to bypass guarded centres and place directly in the arrest for foreigners centre included crossing the border in violation of the law, lack of documents or the assumption that Poland was supposed to be a transit country for the person. It did not appear from the documentation that the persons actively resisted arrest or demonstrated in any way that they would not comply with the regulations of the guarded centre. According to the Commissioner, the risk of non-compliance with the rules of stay in a guarded centre should be real and examined on a case-by-case basis, based on the specific attitude and behaviour of the foreigner.[16]

[1] Commissioner for Human Rights, Krajowy Mechanizm Prewencji KMP.572.6.2023.MD, Raport Krajowego Mechanizmu Prewencji Tortur z wizytacji Strzeżonego Ośrodka i Aresztu dla Cudzoziemców w Przemyślu, 12 January 2024, available in Polish here.

[2] Information provided by different divisions of  Border Guard, 2026.

[3] Information BG, Przemyśl 10 March 2023, Krosno 3 March 2023.

[4] Previously, the minimum was 4 sqm.

[5] CPT, Report to the Polish Government on the visit to Poland carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 21 March to 1 April 2022, 22 February 2024, available here.

[6] Information provided by Border Guards Headquaters, March 2026.

[7] Data received from Chief Commander of Border Guard as a response to request for public information no. KG-OI-VIII.0180.192.2025, September 2025 The Ombudsman ‘The issue of capacity in secure centres for foreigners. Response from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration’, 1 October 2025,  available in Polish here.

[8] Since 1 February 2024 – 93 places in detention centre in Przemyśl.

[9] Information provided different Border Guards Units, 2026.

[10] Commissioner for Human Rights, Krajowy Mechanizm Prewencji KMP.572.7.2023.KK, Raport Krajowego Mechanizmu Prewencji Tortur z wizytacji Strzeżonego Ośrodka dla Cudzoziemców w Białej Podlaskiej, 4 January 2024, available in Polish here. Information provided by the Bieszczadzki Border Guard Unit, 2025.

[11] Information provided by the Border Guards Headquaters, March 2026.

[12] Information provided by BG, 10 March 2023.

[13] Article 88a(2) Law on Protection.

[14] Commissioner for Human Rights, Krajowy Mechanizm Prewencji KMP.572.6.2023.MD, Raport Krajowego Mechanizmu Prewencji Tortur z wizytacji Strzeżonego Ośrodka i Aresztu dla Cudzoziemców w Przemyślu, 12 January 2024, available in Polish here.

[15] Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Visit in detention centre in Przemyśl’, 8 February 2022, available in Polish here.

[16] Commissioner for Human Rights, Cudzoziemcy zbyt łatwo trafiają do aresztu – zamiast do ośrodka. Wystąpienie do MSWiA, Foreigners are too easily taken into custody – instead of a centre. Submission to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, available in Polish here, NPM, Report on a visit in Przemysl, 30 January 2023, available in Polish, here.