Immigrants from Belarus staying in poland on a temporary basis

Citizens of the Republic of Belarus have been able to come to Poland under the relevant international agreements and bilateral agreements made between Poland and Belarus. Immigrants from these cou ntries constituted the sec ond largest (after Ukrainians) group of citizens of the former Soviet Union coming to Poland. According to the Central Statist ical Office data, the following groups of immigrants coming for a temporary stay to Poland can be ident ified: 1) holders of settlement and temporary residence permits; 2) holders of work permits; 3) students; 4) refugees. The holders of residence permits and work permits constituted the largest group. After Poland adopted the Geneva Convention of 1951 and the New-York Protocol of 196 7 relating to the status of refugees, the number of Belarusians appl ying for such a status increased slightly, but very few applicants were granted subsidiary protection or a tolerated stay permit. Belarusian immigrants staying in Poland are not troublesom e to Poles they rarely violated the law and their stay in Poland was not considered a problem for the Polish society.