More asylum seekers in Poland amid Belarus border crisis

The number of asylum seekers in Poland nearly doubled in the first half of this year, in part due to illegal crossings from Belarus, according to a report on Tuesday.

Poland is now seen as a new promised land for foreigners, according to a newspaper, with the number of asylum applications nearly doubling in the first half of this year, largely due to illegal crossings from Belarus.

Image: Maciej Zielonka/Unsplash.com/CC0

The prolonged crisis at Poland's eastern border has led to far greater demand for international protection in the country, with the number of applicants surging by 79 percent to 5,800 in the first six months of 2024, the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper reported.

Many of these applicants have entered Poland via Belarus, according to the Office for Foreigners, as cited by the Polish daily.

Compared to last year, there has been a noticeable increase in applicants from African countries, such as Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, as well as from the Middle East, including Syria and Afghanistan.

However, citizens of Ukraine and Belarus made up the largest groups of applicants in first half of the year, at 1,750 and 1,477 respectively, followed by Russians, numbering 547.

By the end of June, the Polish Office for Foreigners had issued decisions for 4,700 applicants, 3,000 of whom met the conditions for granting international protection.

Those were primarily citizens of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

Meanwhile, 320 Russians, 50 Belarusians and 45 Indians had their applications rejected in the first half of the year, according to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

(mp/gs)

Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna/PAP/IAR