Asylum requests can be filed either while the applicant is physically present in Poland or abroad. The application must be addressed to the Director of Overseas Citizenship and Immigration Services. Others, such as the applicant’s spouse or young children, may also be included in the application. A formal waiver from the applicant’s spouse is required before the applicant can file an asylum claim for him or herself or their minor children. Such approval constitutes the aforementioned parties’ power to authorize the applicant to act on their behalf.

Although there is no specific form for requesting asylum, the following information should be included:

• specific information about the asylum seeker and any third parties on whose behalf the seeker is acting
• name of the person the applicant is acting for and their country of origin,
• a description of the significant circumstances that led to the asylum seeker’s situation.

A foreigner who wants to stay in the Republic of Poland and apply for asylum must have his or her fingerprints and picture taken. If the person is still outside of Poland, he or she must attach a photo to the application. After entering Poland on a national visa to take part in an asylum hearing or because they have been granted asylum, he or she must have his or her fingerprints taken.

The person in charge of the Border Guard department in the Capital City of Warsaw is in charge of taking fingerprints and photos. If a foreigner doesn’t meet the above requirements, his or her request for asylum will be ignored.

As part of the process for getting asylum, unaccompanied minors also have the right to get a temporary Foreigner’s Identity Certificate and to get help from the government.