Contemporary migration policy in many states, including Poland, is based not only on mechanisms meant to prevent unauthorised entry of foreigners but also on tools ensuring their effective return to their states of origin. One of the key instruments utilised to this end are readmission agreements‎ which regulate the terms for transferring and accepting persons residing without authorisation within the territory of the signatory states. Within the bounds of this system there exist two main modes of procedure: simplified readmission and full readmission. 

What is readmission?

Readmission is a form of international cooperation aimed at streamlining the procedures related to returning foreigners who are illegally residing in the territory of a state to their country of origin, to a transit country or to a country that has agreed to take them in. Readmission serves the purpose of ordering migration matters and improving the effectiveness of enforcing residence law. 

Readmission agreements regulate the scope of subjects (nationals of states party to the agreement, third persons and stateless persons), terms and mode of readmission as well as the scope of time assigned to carrying out the procedures. 

Simplified readmission – a quick response to crossing the border illegally

Simplified readmission applies to cases when a foreigner has crossed a mutual border without authorisation and may be handed over to a party of the agreement without the need to submit a formal application. The only condition is that the transfer must take place within a short time limit from the discovery of the illegal entry – usually 48 hours, but in the case of Lithuania it was shortened to 24 hours.

Simplified readmission is characterised by an informal procedure – the transfer is carried out based on a handover protocol, without the need to engage any central authorities. An application for accepting the return and the protocol are written down by the officers of the Border Guard who are overseeing the transfer. 

Full readmission – a procedure involving central authorities

In the cases when the simplified procedurę cannot be utilised, e.g. when the foreigner was apprehended deep inside the country, many days after their illegal entry – a full readmission‎‎ is applied. In this mode it is necessary to submit a formal readmission application through an appropriate central authority that monitors migration issues to its equivalent in the recipient country – in Poland that task is handled by the Board for Foreigners of the Head Office of the Border Guard. 

Full readmission may only take place once the formal application has been accepted by the party responsible for taking in the foreigner and it includes both administrative and bureaucratic procedures. Despite a more complex form, it remains an effective tool of migration policy. 

Polish practices and international cooperation

Poland has signed a number of bilateral and multilateral readmission agreements, e.g. with Ukraine, Russia and Vietnam. Thanks to the multilateral agreements it is also possible to apply the European Travel Document for the Return of Illegally Staying Third-country Nationals, which proves especially helpful in the case of foreigners without valid documents. Poland has utilised this mechanism during returns to Sri Lanka. 

Simplified readmission in practice – an example of cooperation with Germany

If a person is present on the territory of Germany without a valid permit and it is established that they previously resided in Poland, German authorities inform the Polish side that the person will be returned according to the simplified readmission procedure. Poland is obliged to respond to the notification within 24 hours and the transfer itself must take place within 48 hours from when it was received. 

The transfer of the migrant takes place at the border, preferably in close proximity to the place at which it was initially crossed. Both Polish and German authorities take part. At the time of the transfer an appropriate handover protocol‎ is drawn up which documents the handling of the entire operation according to the terms of the readmission agreement. 

Sources:

1. Response to Parliamentary Question No. 5119 concerning the acceptance of illegal migrants returned to Poland from EU countries by Polish authorities 
2. Agreement between the Governments of the Schengen Group countries and the Government of the Republic of Poland on the acceptance of persons staying without authorisation, dated 29 March 1991 
3. Report on the implementation of programs supporting voluntary returns and the reintegration of foreigners in their countries of return in Poland, December 2009, pp. 33–34 
4. Protocol on determining the technical conditions for the transfer of persons at the border between the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany in connection with the implementation of the Agreement between the Governments of the Schengen Group countries and the Government of the Republic of Poland on the acceptance of persons staying without authorization of 29 March 1991, and the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on cooperation regarding the consequences of migration movements of 7 May 1993 
5. Order No. 61 of the Chief Commander of the Border Guard of 30 April 2014 on the organizational regulations of the Foreigners’ Affairs Department of the Border Guard Headquarters, Official Gazette of the Border Guard Headquarters, 2014, item 80