With effect from 1 September 2026, the Minister of the Interior and Administration extended for a further 90 days the prohibition on staying within a designated zone along the Polish-Belarusian border. The extension was made by a ministerial regulation signed on 24 August 2026 (Journal of Laws, Item 1129), and will remain in force until the end of November 2026.
The buffer zone was originally introduced on 12 June 2024 pursuant to Article 12a(2) of the Act of 12 October 1990 on the Protection of the State Border, which permits the establishment of temporary restricted-access areas in the border zone to ensure the safety of officers, soldiers, and other personnel carrying out border-protection duties. Together with restrictions on access to asylum at the Polish-Belarusian border, in force since 27 March 2025, the measure reportedly aims to address continued migratory pressure from Belarus and to combat migrant smuggling.
- Ministry of the Interior and Administration | Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji (26 August, 2026), Rozporządzenie Ministra Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji z dnia 24 sierpnia 2026 r. w sprawie wprowadzenia czasowego zakazu przebywania na określonym obszarze w strefie nadgranicznej przyległej do granicy państwowej z Republiką Białorusi [Regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of 24 August 2026 on the introduction of a temporary ban on staying in a specific area in the border zone adjacent to the state border with the Republic of Belarus],