425 MPs voted in favor of the Council of Ministers' request for the Sejm to consent to extending the temporary suspension of the right to submit an application for international protection, 17 were against and one abstained.
The extension of the temporary suspension of the right to asylum is to apply from November 17 this year. for the next 60 days.
The regulation on the temporary limitation of the right to submit an application for international protection at the border with Belarus entered into force on March 27, 2025. According to the law, the limitation is valid for 60 days, but with the consent of the Sejm at the request of the Council of Ministers, it may be extended, which has happened nine times so far.
The government cites dangerous situations at the border
In the justification for the motion, which was submitted to the Sejm on October 29, the government pointed out that the reasons for introducing restrictions on the law have not ceased, migration is still being instrumentalized, and the activities undertaken as part of it constitute a serious and real threat, among others. for state security.
The authors of the application added that during the situation of instrumentalization, dangerous incidents regularly occurred during which aggressive foreigners attacked Polish patrols - they threw stones, bottles, smoldering branches, bricks and sticks with knives and nails attached.
It was also noted that "Belarusian state services actively participated (covertly or openly) in attacks on soldiers, policemen and border guards.
"There were numerous cases of direct attacks by representatives of the Belarusian services by pointing firearms, throwing stones at Polish services present on the border, blinding them with lasers or strong stroboscopic lights, thus preventing migrants from trying to cross the border illegally," the justification said.
The authors of the application also drew attention to the attempts carried out under the supervision of the Belarusian services to prepare and use tunnels running under the border barrier to transfer groups of foreigners to Poland.
Statistics after the introduction of restrictions
Since the introduction of the restriction on the right to submit applications for international protection until October 15, 2026, applications from 496 foreigners have not been accepted. However, applications were accepted from 201 foreigners from the so-called sensitive groups.
The regulation is issued on the basis of the so-called the asylum act, which the government adopted in December 2024. It is intended to counteract the phenomenon of exploitation of migration by Belarus, which, in cooperation with Russia and international criminal groups, organizes the transfer of migrants to the European Union.
Despite the temporary restriction of the right to submit an application for international protection at the border with Belarus, the border guard may accept applications for this protection from unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and persons who may require special treatment, especially due to their age or health condition. It will also not apply to a person if, in the opinion of the border guard, there are circumstances that "clearly prove that he or she is at real risk of suffering serious harm in the country from which he or she came directly" to Poland.
Social organizations involved in helping refugees are against regulations limiting the right to submit applications for international protection. In their opinion, the regulations are inconsistent with, among others: with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, in particular with Art. 56 section 2, guaranteeing foreigners the possibility of applying for refugee status, and with international obligations, such as the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
