Statement regarding issues with admission to Polish universities for Belarusians

We, the union of forty four democratic youth organisations and initiatives of Belarus, were created to consolidate Belarusian youth organisations and civil society initiatives to represent, promote, and protect common interests, realising the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and other constitutional rights, represented by the governing body – the Board of “RADA” we make the following statement:

Recently, Belarusian students have encountered difficulties in obtaining visas for studying at Polish universities. There have been cases where new or current students were unable to obtain a visa or received it after a six-month wait.

At the same time, there are no announcements or instructions for Belarusian citizens on the official pages of Polish consulates explaining new rules or additional requirements for obtaining student visas. The lack of transparency and timely information creates significant difficulties for students, who cannot prepare for the submission of documents in advance.

Last year, Poland faced a visa scandal. The essence of the scandal was that some groups of foreign students used Polish student visas to gain access to the EU labor market, without actually intending to study. In response, the Polish authorities tightened controls, requiring universities to verify educational documents and conduct interviews. Although the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized in an official statement that no new rules had been introduced for students, increased scrutiny could lead to stricter visa issuance rules, which negatively impacted foreign students.

Against the backdrop of this scandal, there is discussion about tightening the Polish law on foreigners, which may include new requirements for foreign students, such as mandatory exams equivalent to the Polish secondary school diploma and certificates proving language proficiency. Although these legislative changes have not yet been officially introduced, Polish educational authorities are already demanding Centralized Examination certificates from Belarusian students.

Previously, the recognition of educational documents only required a diploma, apostille, and document translation, but now Polish educational institutions are demanding additional documents from Belarusian schools. However, the Belarusian authorities have significantly restricted the issuance of these documents, making their acquisition almost impossible.

In response, Polish authorities began requiring Belarusian students to provide Centralized Examination results obtained no more than two years ago to confirm their secondary education. However, many students do not have current Centralized Examination results, and some do not take the exam at all. For those who have been living abroad for several years, having left Belarus due to political repression, taking the Centralized Examination is physically impossible. Returning to Belarus is dangerous for many, as they face political persecution. This situation creates serious obstacles for the academic future of many young people who have already taken significant steps toward obtaining education in Poland.

In this regard, the Belarusian National Youth Council RADA calls on:

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland to ensure transparency in the visa issuance process for Belarusian students, considering the difficulties created by the Belarusian authorities, and to provide timely information on any new rules or requirements.

• The Voivodeship Education Authorities (Kuratorium oświaty) to show greater flexibility towards Belarusian applicants and their admission documents, which are difficult or impossible to obtain due to obstacles from the Belarusian authorities.