The Warsaw-Modlin branch of Poland’s Border Guard has broken up a criminal network that created shell construction firms to secure work permits and visas for migrants from Asia and Africa. Three Polish nationals and two Ukrainians were arrested on 15 June following a months-long probe supervised by the Legionowo District Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators say the suspects registered bogus companies, filed fictitious employment contracts with provincial labour offices, and sold the resulting work-permit decisions to migrants from Turkey, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh and Pakistan for thousands of euros each. Once equipped with Polish visas, beneficiaries could travel freely across the 27-state Schengen Area, effectively turning Poland into a gateway for secondary movement. The scheme highlights an emerging compliance risk for multinational employers that rely on third-party agencies to source labour in Poland’s tight construction market.
![Five Charged as Polish-Ukrainian Ring Used Fake Construction Jobs to Obtain Work Visas]()
In this climate of heightened scrutiny, VisaHQ can help companies navigate Poland’s legitimate work-permit and visa channels by offering verified application support, document verification and real-time tracking through its dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/), reducing the risk of compliance breaches tied to unscrupulous intermediaries.
Authorities are now cross-checking recent permit applications tied to the suspects; genuine contractors may face audits to prove that foreign workers are actually on site and on payroll. Under Poland’s Penal Code, facilitating illegal border crossings for profit carries up to eight years’ imprisonment. The defendants have been placed under police supervision, barred from contacting one another and had their passports seized pending trial. The case comes amid EU pressure on Poland to clean up its visa practices after last year’s scandal. HR managers are urged to use only vetted immigration advisers and to conduct spot checks on subcontractors’ corporate records.
In this climate of heightened scrutiny, VisaHQ can help companies navigate Poland’s legitimate work-permit and visa channels by offering verified application support, document verification and real-time tracking through its dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/), reducing the risk of compliance breaches tied to unscrupulous intermediaries.
Authorities are now cross-checking recent permit applications tied to the suspects; genuine contractors may face audits to prove that foreign workers are actually on site and on payroll. Under Poland’s Penal Code, facilitating illegal border crossings for profit carries up to eight years’ imprisonment. The defendants have been placed under police supervision, barred from contacting one another and had their passports seized pending trial. The case comes amid EU pressure on Poland to clean up its visa practices after last year’s scandal. HR managers are urged to use only vetted immigration advisers and to conduct spot checks on subcontractors’ corporate records.
