A stateless person who has a family in Poland ought to receive a residence permit on humanitarian grounds The grounds to issue humanitarian stay override the grounds for a tolerated stay.

The Chief of Border Guard in Warsaw issued a humanitarian stay permit for our client (decision issued on the 10th of March 2020, number WW/345/D-ZPH/2019).

The foreigner lives in Poland for ten years. Almost eight years ago, he started a family with a citizen of Russia who lives in Poland permanently. They have three children. The foreigner speaks Polish fluently and is well integrated into the Polish society. Due to the lack of proper documents, the Border Guard could not have deported him . Consequently, the Border Guard initiated the procedure for tolerated stay. During the proceedings before Polish Border Guard , the Association for Legal Intervention inticated that due to his family status and the well-being of children under his care, the foreigner should be given permission for residence for humanitarian reasons and not the permission for tolerated residence. Permission for residence for humanitarian reasons would give him more freedom in terms of travel and also more opportunities for strengthening his ties with Poland.

The Border Guard agreed with us claiming that the refusal to issue humanitarian stay ‘would result in depriving children of their right to full and harmonious grow up, respecting for their dignity and subjectivity. What is more, the refusal would be a violation of the children’s right to life and health protection, their right to be raised as a part of a family, their right to fair social rights, and also their right to education’. Chief of Border Guard in Warsaw acknowledged that the grounds to issue humanitarian stay override the grounds to issue a tolerated stay.


Association for Legal Intervention joined the case as a civil society organization. Association was represented by the lawyer Aleksandra Pulchny.

Udostępnij