The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration gave BiznesAlert.pl numbers that do not match the data released by the German Federal Police on 24 June. The figure provided by the Polish Ministry (3,578) is lower by over a thousand than what the Germans are saying (4,605). The answer to this surprising gap may lie in the fact that the Polish border guard does not have accurate information about who and how many people are transferred from the German side of the border – writes Aleksandra Fedorska for BiznesAlert.pl.
- In mid-October 2023 Germany introduced one-sided stationary controls on its border with Poland. Since then, checks have intensified at the border and throughout the region.
- Most expulsions concern citizens of Ukraine, which has been confirmed by the Polish and German sides. The Federal Police explains that expulsions to Poland are also a consequence of the ban on entry to Germany that can be imposed on convicted criminals and when the immigration authorities temporarily revoke the freedom of movement of these people.
- The Office for Foreigners points out that once the foreigners are admitted to Poland, further administrative procedures are carried out, depending on the specific situation of the foreigner, which may relate to, among others, acceptance of the application for international protection in Poland.
- The Federal Police believes that the Republic of Poland is essentially obliged to take back people who have been refused entry to Germany under the restored border controls, and this without any additional conditions or formalities – says Aleksandra Fedorska.
In mid-October 2023 Germany introduced one-sided stationary controls on its border with Poland. Since then, checks have intensified at the border and throughout the region. In the case of foreigners and the absence of relevant documents entitling them to stay in Germany, expulsion to Poland, referred to as „return from the border”, is applied.
Most expulsions concern citizens of Ukraine, which has been confirmed by the Polish and German sides. The Federal Police explains that expulsions to Poland are also a consequence of the ban on entry to Germany that can be imposed on convicted criminals and when the immigration authorities temporarily revoke the freedom of movement of these people. In the summary of reasons for the expulsion of Ukrainian citizens to Poland from Germany during the period from January 1 to May 2024, as many as 13 people were classified by the police as a „threat to public order, internal security, public health, or international relations.” The Federal Police did not explain why this particular group of people had gone to Poland and not to Ukraine.
The situation of those expelled who do not come from Ukraine is even more complicated. The Federal Police admitted that in addition to Ukrainians, Syrians, Georgians, Afghans and Turks are also being expelled to Poland. According to documents obtained by Biznesalert.pl, among those expelled are also people who declare Moroccan and Somali citizenship.
Administrative process
Appearing in the files of the Federal Police and the Polish border guard, Abderrahman Jammal from Morocco on 13-15 May 2024 was qualified in a document issued in Frankfurt am Oder as a person (…) ”without a residence permit [in Germany] and without a passport, who entered the territory of Germany without permission.” Abderrahman Jammal refused to sign the document, which obliged him to leave Germany. As part of this document, the German administration announced a two-year ban on Abderrahman Jammal from entering the country. Two days later, at 5:45 pm on 15 May 2024, Abderrahman Jammal was handed over to the Polish border guard at the border bridge in Guben. The Polish border guard stated in its protocol, which is available to the editorial office, that the transfer occurred on the basis of a simplified readmission carried out by the Federal Police in Forst on the bridge in Guben. These villages are located about 80 kilometers from Frankfurt am Oder.
„The German side reported that a foreigner illegally crossed the Polish-German border in the area of the border bridge in Zhytovany-Coschen on 13.05.2024 at about 4.30 pm,” according to the protocol of the Polish side. The Polish border guard provided Mr. Jammal with a list of places of assistance in the lubuskie Voivodeship. Then he went to Zielona Góra, where a social cooperative and a charity organization helped him.
Roma Mucha is a social activist in Zielona Góra. She works for the „Miejsce na Ziemi” foundation. Mrs. Mucha spoke in detail about the local administrative structures being overloaded and the border guard that is facing the problem of expulsions from Germany. „At one point, the border guards even handed over a private house address belonging to foundation activists so that people expelled from Germany could find shelter there,” Ms. Mucha reports.
What is next on the Polish side?
The Office for Foreigners points out that once the foreigners are admitted to Poland, further administrative procedures are carried out, depending on the specific situation of the foreigner, which may relate to, among others, acceptance of the application for international protection in Poland. Once the application is accepted, the foreigner may be referred to the reception centre of the Office for Foreigners or the guarded centre for foreigners to initiate proceedings on the foreigner’s obligation to return.
The spokesman for the head of the Office for Foreigners has pointed out that the Office only conducts proceedings on the basis of the so-called Dublin procedures, the Dublin II regulation determines the responsibility of an EU country for verifying the application for international protection. In the first five months of this year, Poland issued 560 positive decisions on German applications under the Dublin procedures. „However, the data on positively considered applications are not the same as the number of foreigners transferred to Poland,” the spokesman said.
Polish and German figures don’t add up
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration gave BiznesAlert.pl numbers that do not match the data released by the German Federal Police on 24 June. The figures provided by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs (3,578) are lower by over a thousand than what the Germans are saying (4,605). The answer to this surprising information gap may lie in the fact that the Polish Border Guard does not have accurate information about who and how many people are returned from the German side. The Federal Police believes that the Republic of Poland is essentially obliged to take back persons who have been refused entry to Germany under the restored border controls, and this without any additional conditions or formalities. The conditions of transfer contained in the bilateral readmission agreement between Germany and Poland shall not apply in cases of refusal of entry. While efforts should be made to physically transfer individuals to the appropriate Polish authorities, if this cannot be guaranteed due to staffing, organizational, or other reasons, enforcing the decision is still permissible. Therefore, the German side can transfer people to Poland even without the presence of Polish border guards.