Refugees in Poland

Since 1989, the number of people applying for refugee status in Poland has risen from about 1,000 to 10,000 each year; about 1–2% of the applications were approved.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), almost 1.5 million people fled to neighboring Poland.

[citation needed] The communist government allowed refugees only from countries affected by "class struggle" (such as Greece, Chile or Vietnam).

[4] That number roughly doubled by late 1990s, and Polish government passed new laws as part of preparation for Poland's accession to the European Union.

[4] About 85% of the individuals who apply for refugee status or asylum leave Poland, traveling to Western Europe, before the Polish agency makes a ruling, leading to their request being cancelled.

[6] The 2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis began sometime around 7 July 2021 when Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko threatened to "flood" the EU with human traffickers, drug smugglers, and armed migrants.

[7] Later, Belarusian authorities and state-controlled tourist enterprises, together with some airlines operating in the Middle East, started promoting tours to Belarus by increasing the number of connections from the Middle East and giving those who bought them Belarusian visas, ostensibly for hunting purposes.

Social media groups were additionally offering fraudulent advice on the rules of crossing the border to the prospective migrants, most of whom were trying to reach Germany.

[9] Belarus refused to allow Polish humanitarian aid for the migrants, which would have included tents and sleeping bags.

By 6 September 2022, according to the UNHCR, almost 7.2 million Ukrainian refugees left the territory of Ukraine, with the vast majority initially fleeing to the countries closest to its western border.