flash news: #foreigners
According to the latest announcements from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, the government has initiated preparations to amend the so-called 'Special Act for Ukrainian Citizens' to extend its validity for another six months, until September 2024.
Concurrently, amendments to the current regulations are expected, with a focus on new assistance rules for Ukrainian citizens residing in Poland. These adjustments aim to align with the current situation and needs in the Polish and European markets.
Currently, foreigners who are not covered by the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Citizens in Connection with the Armed Conflict in Ukraine and who belong to the category of displaced persons listed in the EU Council's Executive Decision on the Existence of a Massive Inflow of Displaced Persons from Ukraine can enjoy temporary protection in Poland. This gives them a number of rights, including the right to work and stay in Poland. Confirmation of the exercise of temporary protection is a certificate issued by the Office for Foreigners.
On January 16, a Regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration amending a regulation on visas for foreigners was published in the Journal of Laws. According to the new regulation, visa stickers of foreigners who obtain visas to exercise their rights under the Pole Card will bear code "23" instead of code "18", which was previously applicable in such cases.
On 1 December 2023, a regulation of the Minister of the Interior and Administration was published in the Journal of Laws extending controls on the Polish-Slovak border until at least 2 January 2024. Border controls have been regularly extended since 4 October of this year: they are the Polish authorities' response to the threat posed by illegal migration along the so-called Balkan route.
After suspending the possibility of applying for Polish visas for several weeks, the Polish diplomatic mission announced last week that from the beginning of December it will be possible to apply for national visas at five designated visa centres. According to the official communiqué, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland is resuming cooperation with the VFS Global visa centres. The outlets where visa applications will be available are located in Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow. Booking of available dates is already underway on the websites of the designated visa centres.
Due to the serious threat of illegal immigration, on 4 October 2023 border controls were reinstated on the Polish-Slovak section of the national border. Initially, the controls were in force until 13 October 2023, but there have already been two extensions and the current is in place until 22 November 2023. On Friday 17 November 2023, the website of the Government Legislation Centre published a draft regulation of the Minister of Interior and Administration. Under it, the third extension of Polish-Slovak border controls is to apply from 23 November 2023 to 3 December 2023.