Government planning amnesty for illegal immigrants
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
20.06.2011 09:49
According to media reports, the government is set to legalise the stay of thousands of immigrants currently within Polish borders, although it is not known exactly how many of them there are in the country.
Non-governmental organisations have been pushing for a wide-reaching amnesty on illegal immigrants currently residing in Poland, whose number is thought to vary wildly – between 40,000 and 400,000.
“The provisions of the bill have been drawn up and have been approved by members of the cabinet,” Rafal Rogala, head of the Office For Foreigners, a government institution handling immigration and refugee issues, told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
The news comes as Monday marks the UN sponsored International Refugee Day.
The amendment to immigration law will mean that foreigners will be able to apply for the right to remain in Poland for up to three years at a time, and not two, as is currently the case.
Foreign students who successfully complete their first year of studies will also be given the right to remain for a further two years, not one.
Work permits are also to be issued along with the right to remain, rather than separately.
In order to be covered by the amnesty, immigrants must prove that they have been living in Poland continuously since 20 December 2007, and they should still be illegal aliens at the moment the new bill comes into effect.
Foreigners who were refused to be granted refugee status and ordered to leave Poland’s territory are also eligible for the amnesty, having to prove continuous residence since 1 January 2010. (jb)