Poland extends asylum restriction at Belarus border for another 60 days

Poland’s Council of Ministers has extended by 60 days the temporary restriction on the right to lodge an application for international protection at the state border with the Republic of Belarus. The decision, adopted on 15 September 2026, is published in the Dziennik Ustaw of 16 September 2026 as Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1217. The extension takes effect on 18 September 2026.

The regulation was signed by Prime Minister D. Tusk and issued under Article 33a(5) of the Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners on the territory of the Republic of Poland (Dz. U. z 2026 r. poz. 862). It keeps in force, for a further 60 days, a measure that has applied at the Belarusian border since March 2025.

A ninth extension of a measure dating from March 2025

The restriction was first introduced by the Council of Ministers’ regulation of 27 March 2025 (Dz. U. poz. 390). It has since been prolonged by successive regulations:

• 23 May 2025 (Dz. U. poz. 673)
• 24 July 2025 (Dz. U. poz. 992)
• 17 September 2025 (Dz. U. poz. 1256)
• 18 November 2025 (Dz. U. poz. 1581)
• 16 January 2026 (Dz. U. poz. 58)
• 18 March 2026 (Dz. U. poz. 376)
• 18 May 2026 (Dz. U. poz. 660)
• 13 July 2026 (Dz. U. poz. 945)

The new act is the ninth extension of the original measure. Every prolongation has kept the same territorial scope — the state border with the Republic of Belarus — and the same 60-day duration, so the regime has now been in force for roughly 18 months.

Legal basis and entry into force

The regulation is issued under Article 33a(5) of the 2003 protection act, which allows the Council of Ministers to extend a temporary restriction on lodging international protection applications by regulation. The text contains only two paragraphs: the extension of the restriction and the entry-into-force clause.

Under § 2, the regulation enters into force on the day of its publication, 16 September 2026. The 60-day extension of the restriction itself begins on 18 September 2026, the date fixed in § 1.

What the restriction means at the border

The measure concerns the right to submit an application for international protection at the state border with the Republic of Belarus. It is temporary by design: each prolongation is capped at 60 days and requires a fresh regulation from the Council of Ministers, which is why the measure has been renewed repeatedly rather than made permanent.

The key elements of the act are:

• Issuing body: Council of Ministers, signed by Prime Minister D. Tusk
• Legal basis: Article 33a(5) of the Act of 13 June 2003 (Dz. U. z 2026 r. poz. 862)
• Scope: state border with the Republic of Belarus
• Duration: 60 days from 18 September 2026
• Publication: Dziennik Ustaw of 16 September 2026, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1217

The regulation was published in Warsaw on 16 September 2026 as item 1217 of the Dziennik Ustaw, the official journal of the Republic of Poland.

For readers, the practical effect is that the temporary restriction on lodging applications for international protection at the Belarusian border will stay in force for another two months, with the next decision on whether to prolong it falling to the Council of Ministers before the period expires.

Source: Dziennik Ustaw, no. 1217 of 16 September 2026, Section I (official reference: Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1217).