3.3.1.2 QUESTIONS OF PROOF Pursuant to Article 30(1) of the Act on Protection,75 the obligation to establish the identity of the applicant rests with the competent Border Guard Post. In practice, the responsibility to establish the identity (including nationality) of the applicant is shared between the Border Guard service and the Office for Foreigners. The Office for Foreigners76 has no internal guidelines on how to conduct identity verification. The Office enquires with the competent Border Guard Unit about the progress of identification procedures and can carry out its own investigation in parallel. Identity is initially verified based on the EURODAC and national databases (AFIS,77 Pobyt78) checks, as well as documents provided by the applicant. If the authenticity of the documents provided is not questioned (by the Border Guard Officer), identity is established based on them. It is also possible to establish the identity based on the copies of documents if they are not questioned and are consistent with other information since applicants may have difficulties providing originals.79 Subsequently, the authenticity of the documents is verified by the Country of Origin Unit80 or directly with foreign diplomatic posts81 based in countries of origin. The fact that the person concerned applied for international protection is not disclosed. If an applicant has no identity documents, information on countries of origin and visas or residence permits is verified in close cooperation with the Division of Consular Systems of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which has access to all visa applications lodged with the Polish Consular Offices since the year 2000. The applicant may also be interviewed regarding his or her identity and knowledge about his or her country of origin. During the interview, the interpreter who is a native speaker of the language concerned, may conduct a linguistic analysis to determine the origin of the applicant. Additionally, the Office for Foreigners employs external units conducting specialized linguistic analyses.82 Generally, Polish law requires that facts established in the case be substantiated. In exceptional cases it is sufficient that certain facts be found probable, which is a lower standard of proof. The Act on Protection contains specific provisions regarding evidential issues and circumstances that can be taken into account if the applicant has no evidence substantiating his or her claim for protection (there are certain indicators of credibility mentioned in the law such as cohesion and credibility of the facts presented and a detailed explanation of the lack of documentary evidence). The lack of citizenship needs to be substantiated in the course of the procedure for granting international protection. In this regard, the Office for Foreigners takes into account the law of the potential 75 Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Poland, Journal of Laws 2016, Item 1836, further referred to as the “Act on Protection”. 76 The information provided below concerning the identification procedures in the course of international protection procedures was provided by the Office for Foreigners. 77 Automated Finger-print Identification System, more information available at: https://bit.ly/2mjTrgD 78 The national collection of registers, records and lists, more information available at: https://bit.ly/2lT4E7C 79 Identity Document cards, passports, school certificates, employment documents, birth certificates, documents concerning judicial or administrative proceedings, other documents provided by the applicant. 80 Unit operating within the Office for Foreigners. 81 Embassies or other types of diplomatic missions. 82 Swedish company Verified AB (http://verified.se/index.html), Dutch COI (The COI unit of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service – Office for Country Information and Language Analysis). UNHCR POLAND, SEPTEMBER 2019 29