Subsidiary protection is a specific type of international protection granted in cases where a foreigner's return to their home country poses a risk of suffering serious harm. The authority before which proceedings concerning granting international protection are conducted is the Head of the Office for Foreigners. Decisions of the Head of the Office for Foreigners may be appealed to the appellate authority, the Council for Refugees. If an applicant for international protection does not meet the criteria for obtaining refugee status, they may be granted subsidiary protection. Pursuant to Article 15 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on Granting Protection to Foreigners within the Territory of the Republic of Poland (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1264), subsidiary protection is granted to a foreigner who does not meet the criteria for refugee status and whose return to their country of origin would pose a real risk of suffering serious harm due to:

1. imposing the death penalty or carrying out an execution
2. torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
3. a serious and individual threat to health or life resulting from the widespread use of violence against civilians in a situation of international or internal armed conflict.

A foreigner granted subsidiary protection is granted the right to reside in Poland. The residence title, which is subsidiary protection, is generally indefinite, but the validity period applies to the documents issued in connection with it. In the case of subsidiary protection, a residence card is issued for a two-year period. A foreigner who has received such a card has free access to the Polish labor market, and therefore, an employer can employ such a foreigner without the need to obtain additional documents (work permit, declaration of entrustment of work). After the residence card expires, the foreigner is issued another card, also for the same period.

It's important to remember that subsidiary protection is not the same as refugee status, although the difference between the two residence titles is minor. Obtaining refugee status requires meeting more specific criteria, so the Head of the Office for Foreigners issues more decisions granting subsidiary protection than granting refugee status. According to the 1951 Geneva Convention, a refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country." This means that refugee status applies to individuals seeking refuge abroad due to persecution or fear of persecution. The list of grounds for granting subsidiary protection, however, is significantly more extensive. In simple terms, every refugee qualifies for subsidiary protection, but not every person granted this protection can be granted refugee status. In both cases, the foreigner has similar rights and obligations; the main difference is that the refugee receives a residence card for three years, not two as in the case of subsidiary protection, and additionally receives the Geneva Travel Document, valid for two years from its issuance.

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