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Association for Legal Intervention Association for Legal Intervention

Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej działa na rzecz osób dyskryminowanych lub zagrożonych wykluczeniem społecznym udzielając im pomocy prawnej i wsparcia integracyjnego.

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Detention

What is detention?

Migrants coming to Poland may be incarcerated even if they have not committed any crime. In situations specified under legal regulations they can be placed in detention centers for migrants, i.e. in detention.

Migrants placed in detention centers are deprived of their liberty and have limited contact with the outside world. The maximum standard duration of the visit of the family members is 90 minutes. Migrants may not own or use mobile phones with video or audio recording. In practice, the majority of mobile phones are being recaptured. Access to the Internet, and thus often contact with the family, is also restricted. Newcomers are not allowed to use their electronic devices. In such detention centers, they have to adapt to existing schedules. At the appointed time, meals are served and the presence is inspected in the morning (counting).

Before being admitted, as well as many times during their stay in the detention center, migrants, including children, are subjected to a personal search. They have to take off their clothes, and then their personal belongings and body are inspected for possession of prohibited goods. More about the conditions and regime in the centers can be found in our reports on the monitoring of the centers conducted in 2012 and 2014.

Read more →
What is detention? →
Location of detention centers →
Who could be placed in detention? →
Reasons for detention →
Duration of detention →
Procedure of placing an individual in detention →
Who should not be detained? →
Detention of children →
Legal framework →

Alternatives to detention

Alternatives to detention (ATD) are measures imposed on migrants which, as a rule, are less repressive than detention and still allow the migration authorities to retain control over them. According to both Polish law and European standards, alternative measures have priority over detention, which means that each time an immigrant is considered for placement in a detention center, it should be justified why in a given case less repressive alternatives would not be sufficient.

According to the Polish law, the alternatives to detention are:

  • reporting to a designated authority (Border Guard),
  • payment of cash collateral in a specified amount
  • obligation to reside in a designated place
  • placing the travel document or other identity document in deposit

Read more →
Alternatives to detention →
Engagement-based alternatives to detention →
European Alternatives to Detention Network →
No Detention Necessary Pilot Project →

Hostages of the System: stories from detention

As part of the “Hostages of the System” campaign, we present the stories of people who spent time in detention centers for foreigners in Poland. Using online communication tools, we would like to start a public discussion about detention and alternative measures to detention. In our opinion, the right to detain foreigners is too often abused.

Those touching accounts were penned down by Magdalena Olszewska, a writer and journalist. Stories were illustrated by Daniel Chmielewski.

Some names and details are changed. Our clients wish to remain anonymous.

Read stories →

Hamid →
Yoofi →
Raisa →
Malika →
Nyan →

Detention Key cases News Our work childrens rights 2023 Supreme Court Children and youth Detention children` rights compensation

Supreme Court to clarify rules on detention of migrants

8 September 20238 September 2023
The detention of refugees does not have a “repressive function, nor is its purpose to protect the borders of the Republic of Poland or the external borders of the European Union, or indeed to combat the problem of illega…
Detention Key cases News 2023 Regional Court Detention procedural safeguards

The Court: detention should always be a solution of last resort

19 June 202319 June 2023
The Regional Court in Olsztyn (decision of April 3, 2023, ref. no. VII Kz 150/23), decided to release a Sri Lankan refugee from a guarded centre for migrants. We filed a Friend-of-the-Court (amicus curiae) opinion in thi…
Detention Key cases News 2023 Supreme Court Detention

Supreme Court: Compensation for detention independent of migrant’s culpability

19 June 202319 June 2023
The culpability of a migrant by, for example, leaving Poland illegally does not affect whether he or she is authorised to receive compensation for placement in a guarded centre. Moreover, the mere illegal departure from…
Detention Key cases News Uncategorized 2023 Children and youth Detention children` rights family life health

Compensation for wrongful detention of a post-violence family of three

19 June 202319 June 2023
Courts cannot invoke considerations of procedural promptness to fail to make key findings regarding the migrant’s experience of violence or the impact of detention on the child’s welfare. Furthermore, when th…

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Issues

  • Refugees
  • Migration
  • Returns
  • Detention
  • Children and youth
  • Integration
  • Racism and discrimination
  • Labour market

Last articles

  • Supreme Court to clarify rules on detention of migrants 8 September 2023
  • Migrants in the refugee procedure are not allowed full access to the file on their case – our intervention 7 September 2023
  • The lack of a translator as a reason for repealing a negative decision on asylum 17 August 2023
  • The Court: detention should always be a solution of last resort 19 June 2023
  • Supreme Court: Compensation for detention independent of migrant’s culpability 19 June 2023
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