As part of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's visit to Poland, representatives of the Office Kristina Rikhter and Franak Viacorka joined the Interior Ministry working group meeting, during which Poland made an announcement to Belarusians.
The Office for Foreigners of Poland released a statement about a new type of temporary residence permit for Belarusians who have humanitarian visas – a humanitarian residence permit. The new procedure enters into force on July 9. The legal basis is par. 9 p. 1 of Art. 186 of the Law “On Foreigners”.
Kristina Rikhter: “Residence permits of this type will be issued in case the applying citizen cannot return to Belarus. And it excludes the possibility of traveling to Belarus. Violation of this regulation may be regarded by the Polish authorities as a violation of the rules for issuing such residence permits and you may face a fine with a ban on entry into the EU”.
The Deputy Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took part in the meeting of the working group. She announced the readiness to accept visa applications from August 1 in Warsaw. Starting September, it will also be possible in Bialystok, Lublin and Poznan.
Humanitarian visas will be available to citizens of Belarus who:
- arrived from Ukraine after February 24 and had been legally staying in Ukraine before February 24;
- already have humanitarian Polish visas and are in Poland.
The Foreign Ministry will consider expanding the eligibility criteria for Belarusians to obtain visas in Poland.
