flash news: #foreigners
A regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration came into force on 1 January 2026 extending until 30 June 2026 the period during which Belarusian citizens can apply for a Polish travel document for foreigners.
What does this mean in practice?
- Who can benefit from this solution? Belarusian citizens who do not have a passport or other valid travel document, but who have:
- a temporary residence permit (regardless of the basis for its issuance),
- a permanent residence permit,
- an EU long-term residence permit,
- a residence permit on humanitarian grounds
- or subsidiary protection.
- No fees – Belarusian citizens are still not required to pay a fee for a Polish travel document for foreigners.
- Simplified procedure – the Office for Foreigners indicates that it is still possible to obtain a travel document without having to prove that it is impossible to acquire a passport from the authorities of the country of origin.
This solution is intended to ensure that Belarusian citizens have access to a document enabling them to travel in situations where it is impossible to renew their passport at the consulate.
As of 1 June 2025, county administration offices were obliged to refuse to initiate EU Blue Card proceedings for Ukrainian residents who were enjoying temporary protection on the application date as a result of amendments to the Aliens Act. Due to the lack of relevant changes to the so-called special Ukrainian legislation this effectively meant that Ukrainians with this status could not apply for an EU Blue Card either.
Four new executive regulations to the Act on the Conditions for the Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners in Poland came into force on 1 December.
The changes include a simplified procedure, new fee rates, clarification of cases allowing work without a permit, and new scope of required documents.
The beginning of December marks the end of the six-month period for replacing the executive acts governing the employment of foreigners, which were issued on the basis of the Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions Act (this deadline was established in Article 113 of the Conditions for the Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland Act, which came into force on 1 June 2025).
On 18 November 2025, the Sejm Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs considered the Senate's amendments to the amendment to the Act on Foreigners concerning the digitisation of residence permit procedures and voted in favour of adopting them all.
Yesterday (12 November 2025), the Mazovian Provincial Office in Warsaw posted a notice on its website stating that the inPOL appointment booking calendar had been disabled as of 7 November 2025.