Working Papers Reception Policies, Practices and Responses Poland
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Working Papers Global Migration: Consequences and Responses Paper 2020/45, March 2020 Reception Policies, Practices and Responses Poland Country Report Marta Pachocka, Konrad Pędziwiatr, Karolina Sobczak-Szelc, Justyna Szałańska Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw © Marta Pachocka, Konrad Pędziwiatr, Karolina Sobczak-Szelc, Justyna Szałańska Reference: RESPOND Deliverable 4.1. This research was conducted under the Horizon 2020 project ‘RESPOND Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond’ (#770564). This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Commission. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the RESPOND Project consortium authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Suggested citation: Pachocka, M., Pędziwiatr, K., Sobczak-Szelc, K., Szałańska, J. (2020). ‘Reception Policies, Practices and Responses. Poland – Country Report’, Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond Project (#770564, Horizon2020) Report Series, Available at: https://www.respondmigration.com/wp-blog/. This document is available for download at: www.respondmigration.com Horizon 2020 RESPOND: Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond (770564) 2 Contents Acknowledgements 5 List of figures 6 List of Tables 7 List of Abbreviations 8 About the Project 9 Executive Summary 10 Introduction 13 Methodology and Sources 15 1. Legal Regulations and Policies of Reception: A Multi-level Perspective 27 1.2. National Legal and Institutional framework 29 1.3. Housing and Allowances 36 1.4. Healthcare (Medical) Services 46 1.5. Education 49 1.6. Labour Market 54 2. Reception Practices 56 2.1. Housing and Allowances 56 2.1.1. Housing outside the Centres for foreigners 56 2.1.2. Housing in the Centres for foreigners 60 2.2. Healthcare (Medical) Services 67 2.3. Early Access to Education 72 2.3.1. Asylum-Seeking Children in Schools 72 2.3.2. Access to Education for Adults 78 2.4. Early Access to the Labour Market 82 2.5. Encounter with Officials, Civil Actors, and the Receiving Society 86 Conclusions: Challenges, Prospects, and Policy Recommendations 91 Appendices 96 References and Sources 101 4 Acknowledgements This report includes findings from desk research and qualitative interviews conducted as part of the project RESPOND—Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors. However, we are grateful to several people who have provided us with valuable support. We express our very great appreciation to the external reviewers representing various institutions involved in migration and asylum governance: Marta Górczyńska (Helsinki foundation for Human Rights), Anna Górska (Institute of Public Affairs) and Dominik Wach (Warsaw family Support Centre and University of Warsaw). We would like to specially thank the Work Package 4 Team from the RESPOND consortium, including Ayhan Kaya from Istanbul Bilgi University and Alexander K. Nagel from the University of Göttingen. We would also like to acknowledge the support in language editing provided by Brien Barnett and Angelica Jaje. To this end, it is important to emphasize that the preparation of this report—strongly based on the qualitative research material from interviews—would not have been possible without the involvement of members of the Polish team of the RESPOND project, who were responsible for reaching respondents, conducting meso- and micro-level interviews, and their translation, transcription, and coding. These were Karolina Sobczak-Szelc, Marta Pachocka, Justyna Szałańska, Monika Szulecka, Konrad Pędziwiatr, Gagik Grigoryan, and feras Daboul. 5 List of Figures Figure 1 Map of border crossings and Border Guard facilities in Poland ............................. 20 figure 2 Location of guarded (detention) centres for foreigners in Poland (ośrodek rodzinny – centre for families, ośrodek męski – centre for men, małoletni bez opieki – unaccompanied minors) ................................................................................................................................ 21 figure 3 Location of centres for foreigners in Poland in early 2020 (including reception centres, residence centres and detentions centres) .......................................................................... 22 figure 4 Social assistance provided by the Office for foreigners to persons seeking international protection in Poland ........................................................................................ 39 6 List of Tables Table 1 Sample of micro-level interviews in Poland ............................................................ 17 Table 2 Sample of meso-level interviews in Poland ............................................................ 23 Table 3 Development of migration and asylum laws and policies – overview ...................... 32 Table 4 List of public authorities involved in the migration and asylum governance ............ 34 Table 5 Allowances for asylum seekers living outside the centres for foreigners ................. 40 Table 6 foreigners in the case of whom proceedings for international protection have been initiated and who are entitled to accommodation in the centres for foreigners or who are being paid cash allowance to live outside the centres ................................................................... 40 Table 7 The number of asylum seekers covered by medical care provided by the Office for foreigners and the cost of medical services in 2015-2019 .................................................. 48 Table 8 The number of requested certificates and decisions issued in this regard .............. 55 Table 9 Asylum-seeking children (aged 6-17) in schools in Poland ..................................... 73 Table 10 Main legislative acts relevant to asylum procedures, reception conditions and detention in Poland ............................................................................................................. 96 Table 11 Main implementing decrees and administrative guidelines and regulations relevant to asylum procedures, reception conditions and detention in Poland .................................. 97 Table 12 Directives and other CEAS measures transposed into national legislation in Poland ........................................................................................................................................... 98 7 List of Abbreviations Abbreviation full name AIDA Asylum Information Database AMIf Asylum, Migration and Integration fund BG Border Guard DSA Department for Social Assistance (of the Office for foreigners) Dz.U. Dziennik Ustaw (in Polish); Journal of Laws (in English) EASO European Asylum Support Office ECRE European Council on Refugees and Exiles ECtHR European Court of Human Rights EDAL European Database of Asylum Law EU European Union fRONTEX European Border and Coast Guard Agency HFHR Helsinki foundation for Human Rights IGOs Intergovernmental Organisations IOM International Organization for Migration IOs International Organisations MFA Ministry of foreign Affairs MFLSP Ministry of family, Labour, and Social Policy MIA Ministry of the Interior and Administration MNE Ministry of National Education MSs Member States NGOs Non-governmental Organisations NHF National Health fund OF Office for foreigners Paragraph Par. RESPOND Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond Supreme Audit Office SAO t.j. Tekst jednolity (in Polish); Consolidated text (in English) UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees WP1/2/3/4/5 Work Package 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 z późn. zm. z późniejszymi zmianami (in Polish); with amendments (in English) 8 About the Project RESPOND is a Horizon 2020 project which aims at studying the multilevel governance of migration in Europe and beyond. The consortium is formed of 14 partners from 11 source, transit and destination countries and is coordinated by Uppsala University in Sweden. The main aim of this Europe-wide project is to provide an in-depth understanding of the governance of recent mass migration at macro, meso and micro levels through cross- country comparative research and to critically analyse governance practices with the aim of enhancing the migration governance capacity and policy coherence of the EU, its member states and third countries. RESPOND will study migration governance through a narrative which is constructed along five thematic fields: (1) Border management and security, (2) Refugee protection regimes, (3) Reception policies, (4) Integration policies, and (5) Conflicting Europeanization. Each thematic field is reflecting a juncture in the migration journey of refugees and designed to provide a holistic view of policies, their impacts and responses given by affected actors within. In order to better focus on these themes, we divided our research question into work packages (WPs). The present report is concerned with the findings related to WP4, which focuses specifically on reception policies, practices and humanitarian responses to the current refugee crisis. Despite efforts to achieve harmonization (especially promoted by the 2016 CEAS and by the ENP), relevant differences exist in this field in the countries