According to Article 351(2) of the Act on Foreigners, a tolerated stay permit is granted to a
foreigner if return to the country of origin is unenforceable for reasons that cannot be attributed
either to the authorities or to the foreigner concerned. Therefore, a stateless person may be
granted this form of status if return to the country of origin is not possible. This is the only “practical
solution” offered to stateless persons.
3.3.2.2 QUESTIONS OF PROOF
The Border Guard service confirmed to UNHCR that there are no internal guidelines on
determining nationality, including statelessness, but there are a set of methods that are typically
used by the Border Guard service for determining the identity of foreigners. These include
contacting diplomatic posts of the state indicated by the foreigner, contacting the Polish diplomatic
posts in the state indicated by the foreigner, database checks (Integrated Information System
ZSE VI,90 Interpol, EURODAC, Visa Information System, Pobyt), a linguistic analysis, a personal
interview and other methods such as an initial identification questionnaire for foreigners that have
indicated Iraq, Syria or Yemen as their countries of origin.
In the course of identification procedures, the Border Guard service gathers the following data:
information on previous places of residence, place of birth, knowledge of the language, documents
(including copies) issued by the authorities of the country of origin that may confirm identity and
full personal data, including the previous address in the state indicated by the foreigner. Persons
concerned are required to participate in the identification procedures by filling out questionnaires
and other documents, contacting family members or other persons in the country of origin to assist
with providing documentary evidence of nationality, being interviewed by consular services or
experts on countries of origin, giving fingerprints, cooperating with the competent Border Guard
Unit, and being interviewed by the Border Guard service.
The foreigner concerned is informed about the results of the identification procedure and upon
request he or she may be informed about the types of identification activities undertaken by the
Border Guard service. The individual concerned is entitled to question the facts determined, in
writing or orally, with the return officer or social case officer in the Guarded Centre for Foreigners.
However, one person interviewed for the purposes of this mapping study requested such
information upon being detained in the Guarded Centre for Foreigners and was asked to fill
in questionnaires for the consular services. The person concerned, belonging to the Rohingya
minority, filed a written request to the Identification and Return Unit asking for information about
the identification activities undertaken so far and their results. He was informed in writing that
the identification procedure is undertaken based on Article 325(1) of the Act on Foreigners and
that determining identity is outside of the scope of the Code of Administrative Procedure and is
not a part of the administrative procedure resulting in the issuance of an administrative decision.
Therefore, the Border Guard replied that they are not obliged to provide such information and,
indeed, no such information was provided.
Additionally, questioning the facts established in the identification procedures with the assistance
of a case manager in a Guarded Centre for Foreigners does not seem to be a remedy that is in any
way formally recognized. Therefore, the only formal remedy remaining would be an appeal against
90
Zintegrowany System Ewidencji 6 (Integrated System of Evidence 6), more information available at:
https://bit.ly/2lHssLB
UNHCR POLAND, SEPTEMBER 2019
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