Steep increase in requests for asylum in Poland before borderless travel: UNHCR

The number of people seeking asylum in Poland increased dramatically in the months before the country joined the EU's passport-free zone, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.

More than 4,900 people, mainly from Chechnya and Ingushetia in the Russian Federation, requested asylum in Poland in the first 11 months of 2007, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Around 70 percent of the demands were made between July and the end of November, said William Spindler, a spokesman for the agency.

"The most likely reason for the increase in new arrivals is Poland's accession to the Schengen zone ... and fears that it will lead to stricter border controls," he told reporters.

Spindler said Poland was the only country among the new Schengen area members to have seen such an increase over the last half year.

Poland together with eight other nations joined the EU's so-called Schengen area on Friday, meaning citizens can travel by land or sea between the 24 European nations without facing border checks. The move has triggered fears of a flood of illegal immigrants that could create a European crisis similar to the United States' concerns along its border with Mexico.

The EU has tightened up controls on its new eastern borders to prevent infiltration by criminal gangs, illegal immigrants, and even terrorists.

Spindler said more people were encouraged to seek refuge in Poland by smugglers "intentionally spreading rumors among potential asylum seekers that their access to Polish territory would be hampered after 21 December."

The rush has led to overcrowding of Poland's reception centers, Spindler said.

UNHCR does not have figures of how many asylum seekers have been allowed to stay in Poland this year, Spindler said.

In 2006, 67 percent of the 4,430 who asked for asylum in the country were admitted either as refugees or under some form of temporary protection, he told the AP.

"Poland is one of the main destinations in the European Union for citizens of the Russian Federation, most of whom come from Chechnya and Ingushetia," he said.