In Poland, the number of applications for international protection has decreased by 66% over the year, marking the largest drop among EU countries. At the same time, Ukrainians remain the largest group of applicants, but the majority of decisions regarding them are negative. This was reported by Polskie Radio, according to UNN.
In the first four months of 2026, 2.2 thousand applicants for international protection were recorded; this is 66% less than in the same period last year, Katarzyna Siwak from the Office for Foreigners told the PAP agency.
She added that this is the largest percentage decrease in the number of applications in the entire European Union.
According to the Office for Foreigners, the number of applicants for international protection in the first four months of 2026 remains stable, averaging 545 people per month. This is the lowest figure for the entire analyzed period of 2024–2026.
Among the reasons for the decrease, the department cites Ukrainian citizens opting out of refugee status procedures in favor of temporary residence permits, as well as further restrictions on the right to submit applications for international protection at the border with Belarus.
According to the Office, the largest number of applications are submitted by citizens of Ukraine - 37%, Belarus - 30%, and Russia - 9%. In total, these three countries account for 76% of all applications for international protection.
In the first four months of this year, the rate of positive decisions on applications averaged 28%.
At the same time, for citizens of Belarus, this figure was 97% - mainly in the form of subsidiary protection, for Tajikistan - 59%, Russia - 8%, Ukraine - 5%, and Afghanistan - 7%.
For citizens of Ukraine, 78% of decisions were negative.