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An alien is granted the refugee status if due to a substantiated fear of persecution in his/her country of origin because of race, religion, nationality, political views or membership in a certain social group he/she may not or does not want to use the protection of that country. The refugee status is also granted to a minor child of an alien that was granted the refugee status in the Republic of Poland that was born in this territory.

An alien is declined the refugee status when:

1) There is no substantiated fear of persecution in his/her country of origin;

2) He/she uses the protection or aid of United Nations' bodies of agencies other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the condition that in given circumstances the alien has the practical and legal possibility to return to the territory where such protection or aid is available and there is no threat to his/her life, personal safety or freedom;

3) there are grounds to believe that he/she has committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity within the meaning of international law, he/she is guilty of acting against the objectives and rules of United Nations, he/she has committed a crime other than political outside the territory of the Republic of Poland prior to submitting the application for granting the refugee status;

4) he/she is considered as having rights and duties connected with holding Polish citizenship by the authorities of the Republic of Poland.

An alien is declined the refugee status also when there are serious grounds to believe that he/she has instigated or otherwise taken part in committing the crimes or acts enumerated under (3).

An alien that has submitted another application for granting the refugee status may be declined the refugee status if the fear of persecution is based on circumstances triggered by him/her on purpose after being declined the refugee status in the first place.

The decision on granting the applicant the refugee status encompasses also the person on behalf of whom the applicant acts. If the circumstances indicated under (2) - (4) pertain to the person on behalf of whom the applicant acts, the decision denies granting the person the refugee status.

The decision denying granting the applicant the refugee status due to the circumstances referred to under (1) also denies the refugee status to the person on behalf of whom the applicant acts.

The decision denying granting the applicant the refugee status due to the circumstances referred to under (2) - (4) grants the refugee status to the person on behalf of whom the applicant acts if the circumstances do not pertain to that person and the applicant meets the conditions to be granted the refugee status.

In case the applicant or the person on behalf of whom the applicant acts are denied the refugee status the decision grants them:

1) Complementary protection, or

2) Consent to tolerated stay if there are no circumstances justifying granting complementary protection.

An alien is granted complementary protection in case his/her return to the country of origin may subject him/her to real risk of serious harm by being sentenced to death or being executed, tortured, treated inhumanely or humiliated, punished, he/she may be under serious and individual threat to his/her life or health resulting from widespread violence against civilians in the situation of an international or internal military conflict and due to that risk he/she may not or does not want to use the protection of his/her country of origin.

An alien is declined complementary protection when:

1) There is no real threat of him/her being seriously harmed;

2) There are grounds to believe that he/she has committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity within the meaning of international law, he/she is guilty of acting against the objectives and rules of United Nations, he/she has committed a crime within the territory of the Republic of Poland or he/she has committed an act considered a crime according to Polish law outside the country's territory or he/she is a threat to the country's security or society.

An alien is also declined complementary protection if there are grounds to believe that he/she has instigated or otherwise participated in committing a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity within the meaning of international law, in acts contrary to the objectives and rules of United Nations, in committing a crime within the territory of the Republic of Poland or in an act considered a crime according to Polish law perpetrated outside the country's territory.

The alien who has committed an act other than those listed above that is considered a crime according to Polish law and punished by imprisonment before he/she has entered the territory of the Republic of Poland may be declined complementary protection if he/she has left the country of origin just to avoid being punished.

In the course of the proceedings for granting the refugee status the permit for tolerated stay to the alien is issued if their expulsion:

1) may be effected only to a country where their right to life, freedom and personal safety could be under threat, where they could be subjected to tortures or inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, or could be forced to work or deprived of the right to a fair trial, or could be punished without any legal grounds - within the meaning of the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed in Rome on 4^th November 1950. 

2) would infringe on their right to family life within the meaning of the Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed in Rome on 4th November 1950 or would infringe on the rights of the child specified in the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the United Nations General Assembly of 20 November 1989 to a degree that would significantly inhibit psychophysical development of the child unless the further stay of the alien on the territory of the Republic of Poland endangers the state's defence and national security or public security and order

If the authority conducting the proceedings intends to grant an alien the refugee status, complementary protection or a permit for tolerated stay, it applies to the Head of the Internal Security Agency, and other bodies if necessary, for delivery of information on whether there are any circumstances that would prevent the applicant, or the person the applicant represents, from being granted protection.

If there are no circumstances that would constitute the grounds for granting a refugee status, complementary protection or permit for tolerated stay, the refusal to grant the refugee status to the applicant or the person representing him/her includes the decision to expel the alien, except for the situations when the alien:

1) has a residence permit for a fixed period, a permit to settle, a long-term resident's EC residence permit, the right of residence or the right of permanent residence according to the Act of 14 July 2006 on entering the territory of the Republic of Poland, residence and departure from this territory of the EU Member States citizens and their family members, or a permit for tolerated stay,

2) is temporarily detained, is serving a sentence of deprivation of liberty or a preventive measure in the form of a ban to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland has been applied,

3) is obliged to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of the decision to expel him/her, the execution of which was stayed before,

4) is a spouse of a Polish citizen or a alien who has a permit to settle or a long-term resident's EC residence permit.

The alien is obliged to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland within 30 days from the day of the delivery of the final decision to refuse granting the refugee status if:

1) the decision includes an order of expulsion,

2) carrying out the decision of expulsion was stayed, whereas the decision to refuse granting the refugee status does not include an order to grant complementary protection or a permit for tolerated stay.

If prior to the expiration of the above mentioned period of time the alien notified the Head of the Office about their intention to voluntarily return to their country, the period of time is prolonged up to the day when the alien should leave the territory of the Republic of Poland in a way organized by the Head of the Office.

The authority that issues the decision in the course of the proceedings to grant the refugee status shall notify the applicant in writing and in the language that they understand on the outcome of the proceedings, its course and the deadline for lodging an appeal against it.