PolandPoland Refugee Travel Document: Two 35 × 45 mm Photos, Where to Apply and Who Pays
Refugees in Poland apply to the Office for Foreigners for the Geneva travel document with two 35 × 45 mm colour photos.
Key points
4 points- Only people with refugee status get the Geneva travel document (genewski dokument podróży, GDP); it goes to the Head of the Office for Foreigners.
- Bring two current biometric photos: colour, 35 × 45 mm, not older than 6 months, face 70–80 % of the picture, plain light background.
- Renewal: apply 30 days before the old document expires; fingerprints are taken from age 12.
- People with subsidiary protection apply to the voivode for the Polish travel document for a foreigner, valid 1 year, fee 350 zł.
Looking for the Poland refugee travel document? In Poland it is called the genewski dokument podróży (GDP) — the travel document of the 1951 Geneva Convention. The Office for Foreigners (Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców, UdSC) says only a person with a decision granting refugee status can apply for it. A person with subsidiary protection can get a residence card, but not the GDP.
Where and when to apply
- The application goes to the Head of the Office for Foreigners. Hand it in at the Submission Office, ul. Taborowa 33, Warsaw, or send it by post to the Office’s Client Service Office at the same address (02-699 Warszawa).
- For a renewal or a next document, apply 30 days before the current one expires.
- If any required document is missing, the Office will ask you to add it within 7 days; otherwise the application is left unexamined.
- Fingerprints for the GDP are taken from applicants who are 12 or older, at an appointment the Office sets.
Documents to bring
- The completed application form for the Geneva travel document (the Office publishes the form and a filled-in sample).
- Two current biometric photos.
- A current registration certificate (zaświadczenie o zameldowaniu).
- Documents that confirm the data and circumstances given in the application.
The Office lists a fee only for the next residence card (100 zł); no fee is listed for the GDP itself.
Photo rules from the Office for Foreigners
| Rule | UdSC requirement |
|---|---|
| Size | 35 mm × 45 mm |
| Quality | undamaged, in colour, sharp |
| Age of photo | taken no earlier than 6 months before you apply |
| Framing | from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders; the face fills 70–80 % of the photo |
| Background | plain, light |
| Pose | frontal, looking straight ahead, eyes open and not covered by hair, mouth closed, natural expression, eye line parallel to the top edge |
| Head and glasses | no head covering and no dark glasses |
PolandRefugee Travel Document · requirements · check a photo
Exceptions: a person with an eye condition may submit a photo in dark glasses together with a document confirming the disability (or a statement). A person who covers the head for religious reasons may submit such a photo with a statement of belonging to a religious community, as long as the face is fully visible.
Subsidiary protection: the Polish travel document for a foreigner
With subsidiary protection, a permanent residence permit, an EU long-term residence permit or humanitarian stay, you can apply for the polski dokument podróży dla cudzoziemca if you have no travel document and cannot get one from your country. The Poznań voivodeship office explains that this application goes to the voivode where you live, with 2 current photos, and that the document is valid for 1 year for multiple border crossings. For applications from 29 July 2022 the fee is 350 zł (175 zł reduced).
Making the photos at home? Prepare a 35 × 45 mm photo on our Poland refugee travel document photo page and print two copies.
05Questions
5 answers01Who can get the Geneva travel document in Poland?
Only a person with a decision granting refugee status. Subsidiary protection holders get a different one. The voivode issues them the Polish travel document for a foreigner.
02How many photos do I need?
Two current biometric photos, 35 × 45 mm, in colour, not older than six months.
03Where do I send the application?
To the Head of the Office for Foreigners: in person at ul. Taborowa 33 in Warsaw, or by post to the Client Service Office at the same address.
04When should I apply for a new GDP?
30 days before the current document expires.
05How long is the Polish travel document for a foreigner valid?
One year. If you applied on or after 29 July 2022, you pay 350 zł, or a reduced 175 zł.
06Official sources
- Office for Foreigners (UdSC) — Application for residence cards or the Geneva travel document for people with refugee status or subsidiary protection
gov.pl - Office for Foreigners (UdSC) — Fotografie (photo requirements, PDF)
gov.pl - Wielkopolska Voivodeship Office in Poznań — Polish travel document for a foreigner
migrant.poznan.uw.gov.pl
Author: Yevhen Kravchenko. Published . Checked against official sources on .
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