Recent statistics on applications for international protection in Poland

According to the information of the Office for Foreigners, the number of people applying for international protection in Poland has significantly increased during the period between January 1 and October 3, 2021.

Statistics show that 5,219 people have submitted applications during the indicated period. For comparison, there were 1,976 asylum applicants during the same period previous year. For the first time Afghans have become the numerically largest  group of asylum seekers (1,681, the 45-fold increase in comparison to 2020), followed by the citizens of Belarus (1,411), Russia (817), Iraq (489) and Ukraine (193). The officials also highlighted that there was also a visible increase in the number of applications submitted by unaccompanied minors, which mainly concerns Afghan citizens. In total, in the period from September 1 to October 3, 2021, 1,411 foreigners applied for international protection (40% were Afghans). 
According to the Office for Foreigners, the majority of applications submitted by the citizens of Afghanistan were registered at Border Guards posts and migrant detention centres located near the Polish border (Podlaski Border Guard Regional Unit in Białystok, Warmia and Mazury unit of the Border Guard in Kętrzyn, the Guarded Centre for Foreigners in Lesznowola).  

Kseniya Homel 
NIEM’s Field Researcher 
The Migration Policy Programme
Institute of Public Affairs

Resources: 
Information from the Office for Foreigners [6.10.2021]