Polish authorities have withdrawn international protection from several hundred foreign nationals in recent years, with Russians making up by far the largest share of those affected. According to new data from Poland’s Office for Foreigners, obtained by Rzeczpospolita, nearly 90 percent of all cases in which refugee or asylum status was revoked since 2020 involved Russian citizens.
Between January 2020 and October 20, 2025, Polish authorities issued 410 decisions to strip individuals of international protection — including refugee status, asylum, or subsidiary protection. Of those, 336 concerned Russian nationals. Ukrainians accounted for 38 cases, while 15 involved citizens of Belarus. The largest number of revocations was recorded in 2020, when 107 people lost protection. The figure then fell to 64 in 2021 and 42 in 2022, before climbing again to 75 in 2023 and 71 in 2024. As of October 2025, 52 additional foreigners had already lost protection this year.
Spokesperson for the Office for Foreigners, Jakub Dudziak, told Rzeczpospolita that in roughly 70 percent of cases, protection was withdrawn because the circumstances that justified granting it no longer existed or had changed. “In most instances, the reasons for granting international protection ceased to apply — either the individuals could safely return to their country of origin, or the situation there improved,” Dudziak explained. About 15 percent of decisions, however, were made on national security grounds. Under Polish law, motions to revoke refugee or asylum status can be submitted by the Border Guard, the Police, the Internal Security Agency (ABW), or the Ministry of Justice.
The data reflects a broader trend across Europe, where countries are reassessing the status of individuals who were granted protection during earlier conflicts or political upheavals. In Poland’s case, Russians have long been the largest group seeking asylum — more than 33,000 of them applied for protection between 2016 and 2025, compared to nearly 22,000 Ukrainians and around 15,500 Belarusians.
At the same time, Poland’s government is moving to tighten rules for obtaining citizenship. Two separate legislative proposals — one from the ruling coalition and another from the opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) — aim to make the process considerably more restrictive.
The government’s draft, prepared by the Ministry of Interior and Administration, would require at least eight years of continuous residence in Poland to qualify for citizenship: three years with temporary residence and five years with permanent residence. Applicants would also need to demonstrate permanent tax residency in Poland and pass a mandatory citizenship test.
The PiS proposal goes even further, demanding a clean criminal record and a continuous 15-year legal stay in the country. For foreigners applying through marriage to a Polish citizen, the minimum duration of marriage and residence would increase to six years.
According to official figures, approximately 160,000 foreigners currently hold permanent residence in Poland. Ukrainians make up the largest group (about 80,000), followed by Belarusians (over 60,000) and Russians (6,300).
The moves come amid ongoing debates about migration, national security, and integration in Poland. While officials argue that the stricter rules are meant to ensure that citizenship and protection are granted responsibly, critics warn that they may disproportionately affect refugees and long-term residents who have built their lives in the country.
For now, the figures reveal a clear trend: Russia’s citizens remain the most scrutinized group within Poland’s asylum system, and the tightening of naturalization rules suggests that the Polish state is preparing to take an even firmer stance on migration and security in the years ahead.
