Publication date: October 29, 2024
International protection is granted pursuant to the provisions of the Polish Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners on the territory of the Republic of Poland to persons who: meet the conditions for granting refugee status or do not meet the conditions for granting refugee status, but qualify for subsidiary protection. Article 3 of this Act enumerates the forms of protection that may be granted to a foreigner. It includes: granting refugee status, granting subsidiary protection, granting asylum and granting temporary protection. Applications for granting international protection are decided in the first instance by the Head of the Office for Foreigners. A person who wants to submit an application to the Head of the Office for Foreigners for granting international protection must report to the appropriate Border Guard body. If the application is to also concern other persons, e.g. minor children, the applicant’s spouse, these persons must also be present when submitting the application. The office’s decision on granting international protection – refugee status or subsidiary protection should be made within 6 months of the date of submission of the application, which – in special cases – may be extended to 15 months. In some cases, documents are considered in an accelerated procedure (within 30 days).
The conditions for granting refugee status are specified in Article 13 of the above Act. It states that “A foreigner shall be granted refugee status if, due to a well-founded fear of persecution in the country of origin on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership in a specific social group, he or she cannot or does not want to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country”. It also regulates the meaning of persecution. As indicated by the article, persecution must, due to its nature or repetition, constitute a serious violation of human rights, in particular rights whose derogation is inadmissible in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, drawn up in Rome on 4 November 1950, or be an accumulation of various actions or omissions, including those constituting a violation of human rights, the impact of which is as severe as persecution. Furthermore, paragraph 4 specifies what persecution may consist of, namely:
1) the use of physical or psychological violence, including sexual violence;
2) the application of legal, administrative, police or judicial measures in a discriminatory manner or of a discriminatory nature;
3) initiating or conducting criminal proceedings or punishing in a manner that is disproportionate or discriminatory;
4) no right to appeal to a court against a disproportionate or discriminatory penalty;
5) initiating or conducting criminal proceedings or punishing for refusal to perform military service during a conflict, if performing military service would constitute a crime or actions referred to in Art. 19 sec. 1 item 3;
6) acts directed against persons because of their gender or minor status.
Article 15 regulates the granting of subsidiary protection. It states that a foreigner who does not meet the conditions for granting refugee status is granted subsidiary protection if returning to the country of origin could expose him to a real risk of suffering serious harm through:
1) imposition of the death penalty or execution,
2) torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
3) a serious and individual threat to life or health resulting from the widespread use of violence against civilians in a situation of international or internal armed conflict – and due to this risk he or she cannot or does not want to avail himself or herself of the protection of his or her country of origin.
Entities that may commit persecution within the meaning of the discussed Act are listed in Article 16. They include:
1) public authorities of the country of origin;
2) groups or organizations controlling the country of origin or a significant part of its territory;
3) entities other than those indicated in points 1 and 2, where the entities referred to in points 1 and 2, including international organisations, are unable or unwilling to provide protection against persecution or risk of serious harm.
Moving on to the issue of employing a foreigner covered by international protection, according to the regulations in force in Poland, visitors with refugee status have exactly the same rights as Poles. They can live in Poland legally, but also, among other things, travel, study, use public health services, receive social welfare support, start a business or take up employment. In the case of waiting for international protection, a foreigner cannot take up work for the first 6 months of the procedures. They have the right to do so when they are covered by international protection or if the procedure is prolonged – it lasts more than half a year and it is not due to the foreigner’s fault. In both cases, they are exempt from the need to obtain a work permit. Therefore, employing a person – covered by international protection or waiting for the application to be considered for more than 6 months – means that the superior must proceed in a similar way as in the case of employing Poles. It is worth noting that refugee status is granted for an indefinite period and the grounds for the possibility of depriving this status are listed in Article 21 of the Act on Granting Protection to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland. In summary, a foreigner who has been granted refugee status has the right to work without a permit in the territory of the Republic of Poland, which results from Article 87 of the Act on the promotion of employment and labor market institutions. Moreover, the use of these rights has not been made dependent on having a valid residence card.
The situation is similar in the case of granting indefinite protection. The only difference is that the residence card in the case of granting refugee status is valid for 3 years and in the case of granting indefinite protection it is valid for 2 years. However, it does not affect the possibility of working in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
In the case of a foreigner enjoying temporary protection, this foreigner may perform work without the need to have a work permit and undertake and conduct business activity in the territory of Poland on the same terms as Polish citizens.
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