Фото: Reform.news
Poland granted international protection to 127 Belarusian citizens in April, according to statistics from the Office for Foreigners.
A total of 115 Belarusian citizens received refugee status, while 12 were granted subsidiary protection. In April, five Belarusians were also denied international protection and 18 cases were suspended. Belarusian citizens accounted for 79% of all positive decisions on granting protection. Overall, the office issued 161 positive decisions during the month, 351 negative decisions (mainly concerning Ukrainian citizens), while 112 cases were suspended.
In April, 450 applications for international protection covering 538 individuals were submitted, including 148 Belarusian citizens.
The Office for Foreigners noted a decline in interest in international protection. Compared with April 2025, the number of applications submitted fell by 53%.
Between January and April, Poland granted international protection to 499 Belarusian citizens, including 145 who received refugee status and 354 who were granted subsidiary protection. International protection was denied to 14 Belarusians, while 79 cases were suspended. The recognition rate for international protection among Belarusians stands at 97%.
Overall, during the first four months of the year, the Office issued 642 positive decisions on international protection, 1,684 negative decisions and suspended 754 cases. The highest number of refusals concerned Ukrainian citizens.
As of May 1, the Office for Foreigners had 8,100 international protection cases pending. The average processing time for an application was 277 days. In the first instance, applications concerning 2,860 Belarusian citizens were under consideration, while 91 cases were being reviewed in the second instance.
According to the Office, more than 2 million foreign nationals hold valid residence documents in Poland, including 1.56 million Ukrainian citizens.
As of May 1, 137,716 Belarusian citizens held such documents in Poland. Their number decreased by 1,627 compared with April 1.
As of May 1, temporary residence permits were held by 82,441 Belarusian citizens, permanent residence permits by 41,297 people, subsidiary protection by 10,224 people, refugee status by 1,042 people, EU long-term resident status by 2,332 people, temporary protection by 208 people, and other statuses by 172 people.
During the first four months of this year, the Office for Foreigners issued 8,049 temporary residence permits, 709 permanent residence permits and 22 EU resident statuses to Belarusian citizens. Refusals were issued in 775 temporary residence permit applications, 275 permanent residence permit applications and 43 EU resident status applications. Another 454 cases were suspended.
In 65% of cases, temporary residence permits were granted to Belarusians on the basis of employment, in 24% of cases for family reunification, in 7% of cases on other grounds and in 4% of cases for education.
A total of 52,200 Belarusian citizens reside in the Mazovian Voivodeship, 13,300 in Podlasie, 12,000 in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, 11,100 in Pomeranian Voivodeship, 11,000 in Greater Poland Voivodeship and 9,800 in Lesser Poland Voivodeship.