Kristina Rikhter, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, commented on the announced decision of the Polish Ministry of Interior to change the visa issuance procedures for Belarusians with Karta Polaka (Pole’s Card).
Kristina Rikhter: “Currently, the Ministry’s draft resolution is in the public consultation stage and needs to be approved by the subject committees. At the moment, it is neither signed nor adopted.
However, we can already say that this step holds significant value for Belarusians with Polish roots. Previously, Belarusians holding a Karta Polaka had D18 marks on the visa stickers in their passports. This used to allow the regime to see that someone is of Polish origin and has a Karta Polaka, which it considers a reason for additional checks. The border authorities even encouraged some Belarusians to renounce the document “voluntarily”.
With the announced changes, visas will be assigned the code D23. This means that it will be harder to distinguish their holders from other categories of visa recipients, such as participants in the Poland Business Harbor program and their family members, as well as tourists.
For Belarusians, this is indeed a significant change because just crossing the border with this type of visa could lead to scrutiny from the regime. We have raised this issue during the working group meetings at the Polish Ministry of Interior and are pleased that our proposal will be implemented.
The Lukashenka regime has always been hostile towards individuals of Polish descent. After 2020, all Polish schools were shut down, while leaders of Polish associations, like Andrzej Poczobut, were sentenced to imprisonment.
Changes in the visa issuance procedures for Belarusians with Polish roots will be a step in the right direction, protecting the Polish minority in Belarus from persecution”.
