Country Report Poland
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Country Report Poland Dorota Kupiszewska, Beata Nowok and Marek Kupiszewski A. Administrative sources and procedures A.1. Registration of the resident population The population is registered in the Universal Electronic System of Population Register (Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludności, PESEL) that is under the responsibility of the Department of State Registers within the Ministry of Interior and Administration. The PESEL system is based on a three-level structure1: municipality (gmina) register file - Local Database (LBD); voivodeship (województwo) register file - District/Voivodeship Database (TBD/WBD); the main PESEL system – Central Database (CBD) run by the Ministry of Interior and Administration. The entry of a new person into the system due to birth or immigration is based on information received directly from the municipality concerned. All updated information goes to the CBD from the LDB in the municipality through the voivodeship and the TBD/WBD. All information from/to the municipality is sent by electronic form in standardised format or, if a municipality is not computerised, the data are sent on paper. All information exchanged between voivodeships and the Ministry is transferred electronically (by the governmental network called PESELNET). All permanent and temporary (for a period exceeding two months) residents of Poland, except foreigners without a residence card, are registered in the PESEL system and are therefore attributed a PESEL number. Included are: Polish citizens and foreigners with permanent residence in Poland; 1 Poland is divided into 16 voivodeships (województwo) and there are around 2500 municipalities (gmina) in Poland, out of which around 2000 have been computerised. T H E S I M Polish citizens with permanent residence abroad, who are registered for a temporary stay only (more than two months) in Poland; Foreigners with a residence card who are registered for a temporary stay only (more than two months) in Poland. Other persons may be included if they need a PESEL number for purposes specifically listed in the law. In addition municipalities also run a file (electronic or in a paper form) of persons registered for a temporary stay shorter than two months and foreigners registered for a temporary stay exceeding two months who do not hold a residence card. The municipalities have also a file (electronic or in a paper form) of persons who have reported their departure abroad for a temporary stay of over two months. All the persons described above are not included in the PESEL as part of the legal or de jure population of Poland. In Poland, besides the unique permanent residence it is possible to declare an additional temporary residence. A temporary resident is a person who has arrived into a dwelling for a limited period exceeding two months with the intention of returning to his/her permanent place of residence. A permanent resident is a person who declares their intention to stay indefinitely in the new dwelling with the status of owner/occupier or tenant. Therefore, for example, students or other persons in shared accommodation are considered living in temporary residences. A.2. Registration of international migrations Polish citizens going abroad for a temporary stay for a period exceeding two months are obliged to report their departure to the municipality in which they have a permanent residence and fill in the form Zgłoszenie wymeldowania z miejsca pobytu czasowego ponad 2 miesiące (Notification of deregistration from a place of a temporary stay exceeding two months). When they return they have to report their arrival. They do not fill in any form when returning after a temporary stay abroad in the same permanent residence. If they want to give up a residence in Poland and settle abroad they fill in the form Zgłoszenie wymeldowania z miejsca pobytu stałego (Notification of deregistration from a place of permanent stay). Polish citizens are obliged to register for temporary or permanent residence if they stay at the same address longer than three days. They have to report this fact to the municipality within four days and this applies also for those returning from abroad after giving up a permanent residence abroad. However, this information is entered into the PESEL system only if they register for a permanent stay or a temporary stay exceeding two months. If they register for permanent residence they fill in the form 578 Country Report: Poland Zgłoszenie pobytu stałego (Notification of a permanent stay). If they register for temporary residence exceeding two months they fill in the form Zgłoszenie pobytu czasowego trwającego ponad 2 miesiące (Notification of a temporary stay exceeding two months) and declare an intended duration of their stay. If the actual duration of their stay is the same as their intended stay, they do not have to report their departure. Otherwise, they have to report their earlier departure and fill in the form Zgłoszenie wymeldowania z miejsca pobytu czasowego ponad 2 miesiące (Notification of deregistration from a place of a temporary stay exceeding two months). When persons register for a permanent or a temporary stay exceeding two months their stay must be confirmed by an owner of the dwelling or a person that has a legal title to the dwelling. All foreigners have to report their arrival to the municipal office within 48 hours of arrival in the municipality and not later than 48 hours after crossing the Polish border. Foreigners are entered into the PESEL system if they register for a permanent stay or if they register for a temporary stay exceeding two months, in each of these cases the registration being based on possession of an appropriate residence permit. Then, they have to follow the same procedures for registration and deregistration as Polish citizens but additionally when they register they have to present their residence document or permit. A.3. Registration of Aliens The Office for Repatriation and Aliens is responsible for the Residence System (System Pobyt). The System Pobyt is a national electronic data system that consists of registers concerning foreigners, dedicated to each kind of permission to stay, such as visas (but not those issued by a consulate), fixed- time residence permits and permanent residence permits, and other administrative decisions and events. All types of visas and permits are specified in the Aliens Act of 13th June 2003 (Aliens Act of 13th June 2003, Journal of Laws 2003, No. 128, item 1175, as amended). Those relevant to the new Regulation are as follows: residence visa (short-term or long-term), i.e. authorisation to enter the country and reside continuously or reside for multiple consecutive periods for a maximum of: three within six months in the case of a short-term visa; one year within the visa’s period of validity in the case of a long- term visa. 579 T H E S I M Among other reasons, these visas are issued for tourism, work, sport events, cultural activities, training, and temporary protection. A residence visa may be prolonged once under specified conditions: fixed-time residence permit, granted for a period of up to two years, with the possibility of extensions, each for a period not exceeding two years. This temporary residence is mostly issued for employment (when there is a declared intention of employing the foreigner), professional training under an EU programme, family reunification with a Polish spouse or with an employed migrant, or to conduct artistic activities. A fixed-time residence permit is issued also to foreigners who have been granted refugee status (valid for two years), subsidiary or temporary protection (valid for one year). Foreigners with a fixed-time residence permit receive a residence card valid for the period of validity of the permit; settlement permit (permanent residence permit) valid for ten years. A settlement permit may be granted without additional conditions after ten years of an uninterrupted stay in Poland. One may also be granted earlier in specific cases: e.g. eight years in the case of a refugee, three years for family reunification upon demonstration of the existence of permanent family or economic ties with Poland. A settlement permit is also granted to an alien who has been granted asylum (which is distinct from refugee status - see A.4); Repatriates and the members of their closest families constitute a special category. A repatriate is a foreigner recognised as a person of Polish descent that before the date of entry of the Act on Repatriation into force had been living permanently in the East (in the countries specified in the Act, in particular the Asian part of the former USSR) who has come to Poland based on an entry visa for the purpose of repatriation. At the moment of crossing the Polish border he/she acquires Polish citizenship and becomes eligible for permanent residence. Members of his/her close family are granted settlement permits. EEA citizens have to apply for a residence permit if they want to stay in Poland for more than three months. Depending on the intended duration of stay they need: a temporary residence permit – granted for up to one year mainly for the purpose of work (from three to twelve months) or study (one year); a residence permit – granted for five years, extendable repeatedly for subsequent five year periods. 580 Country Report: Poland Residence and temporary residence permits issued to EEA citizens cover family members (excluding relatives in the case of students). In the process of granting a residence permit or a temporary residence permit, a EEA citizen also obtains a EEA citizen's residence card, while family members who are not EEA citizens obtain documents of residence. Generally, an application for the first residence visa must be lodged outside Poland. The application shall be submitted to a consulate and the Consul is the competent authority to deal with such an application.