New Law in Poland and Case Studies
Proposed New Law

The new law, which provides for the possibility of temporary restrictions on the right to asylum, was passed on 27 March 2025, with broad support from all major political parties.

• It was passed by the Sejm (the lower house of Parliament) on 21 February: link
• It was then passed by the Senate (the upper house of the Parliament) on 13 March without any amendments: link
• The law was ratified by the President on 27 March.

Key provisions of the law:

• It enables the Council of Ministers to introduce a regulation restricting the right to apply for international protection, at the request of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. The law provides the framework, while the specific details are set out in the regulation.
• A restriction can be in place for a maximum of 60 days at a time, but can be extended repeatedly if the original reasons persist. In practice, this could make the restriction indefinite.
• The regulation will define the specific section of the border to which the restriction applies. Normal rules apply elsewhere.
• The restriction will, in principle, not apply to:
  • Unaccompanied minors
  • Pregnant women
  • People requiring special treatment, especially due to age or health
  • People at risk of serious harm in the country they came from (e.g. Belarus)
  • Citizens of the state applying instrumentalization (e.g. Belarusians)
• However, even these groups may be denied asylum if border guards used “direct coercive measures” due to violent border crossings. The lack of oversight and vague criteria mean this clause could be broadly applied.

Immediately following the ratification of the law on 27 March, the Council of Ministers introduced a regulation suspending the right to apply for asylum at the Poland-Belarus border for 60 days, as foreseen by the law.

The main concern is not only the developments in Poland and the erosion of a fundamental right, but the likelihood that other countries will adopt similar laws. We are already observing worrying signals from Greece, and informal reports from Cyprus, Finland, Italy, and Spain suggest that the Polish model may be replicated.