Office for Foreigners

Confidentiality

Persons who apply for asylum are covered by a special protection. Personal details of a foreigner allowing to determine if a procedure for granting or terminating asylum has concluded or if the foreigner was granter or rejected asylum are not disclosed to or obtained from entities if there is a reasonable basis for believing that they partake in persecution or cause significant harm.

Language of the procedure

The procedure for granting asylum is carried out in Polish. If required, Polish translations of foreign documents admitted as evidence under a procedure for granting international protection or asylum are provided by the Head of the Office for Foreigners. In the event of the need to receive additional information from an applicant, the Head of the Office for Foreigner has the right to request him or her to appear for a hearing or to file explanations. Hearing shall be carried out in a language understandable for the foreigner, in the presence of an interpreter provided by the authority which handles the procedure.

Decision

The procedure for granting asylum is concluded by issuing a decision. The decision on granting asylum is issued within 6 months after the date on which the application was filed (the time limit may be extended for up to 15 months). The aforementioned time limit relates to the procedure handled by the Head of the Office for Foreigners in the first instance. An application for re-examination of the decision issued in the first instance may be submitted to the same authority. Without using the right to file an application for reconsideration of the case, a party may lodge a complaint with the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw via the Head of the Office for Foreigners.

Deliveries

Under the procedure for granting asylum, letters shall be delivered to natural persons to the address indicated by them, or to the place where the addressee can be found. Deliveries may also be made electronically.