In the early hours of 20 June, criminal investigators from the county police headquarters in Tczew and officers of the Border Guard executed a coordinated operation targeting foreigners who had overstayed visas or violated residence rules. A 24-year-old Ukrainian national was found to be living and working without a valid permit and was handed over to Border Guard custody for deportation proceedings. Local officials said the sweep is part of a wider campaign across northern Poland aimed at stamping out informal employment networks that sprang up during the post-pandemic labour crunch. Since May, more than 270 foreigners have been checked in the Pomeranian voivodeship; 39 have received return decisions, most for administrative overstays rather than criminal activity.
For those seeking to navigate Poland’s constantly evolving visa and residence requirements, VisaHQ offers an online platform that simplifies every step of the application or renewal process and issues timely reminders before permits expire—services that can help employers and employees alike stay fully compliant during future inspections. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/poland/
For employers, the case is a reminder that inspections now routinely involve both the Labour Inspectorate and law-enforcement bodies. Fines range from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000 per worker, and companies can be barred from hiring third-country nationals for up to three years. Immigration advisers recommend that HR departments audit work-permit expiry dates at least 60 days in advance and ensure that employees carry digital copies of their residence cards—Border Guard teams increasingly use mobile readers that query the MOS (Moduł Obsługi Spraw) database in real time. Although the individual impact is limited, such raids signal stricter compliance expectations ahead of the EU-wide Entry/Exit System (EES) go-live in October 2026, when border-overstay data will feed automatically into Schengen information systems.
For those seeking to navigate Poland’s constantly evolving visa and residence requirements, VisaHQ offers an online platform that simplifies every step of the application or renewal process and issues timely reminders before permits expire—services that can help employers and employees alike stay fully compliant during future inspections. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/poland/
For employers, the case is a reminder that inspections now routinely involve both the Labour Inspectorate and law-enforcement bodies. Fines range from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000 per worker, and companies can be barred from hiring third-country nationals for up to three years. Immigration advisers recommend that HR departments audit work-permit expiry dates at least 60 days in advance and ensure that employees carry digital copies of their residence cards—Border Guard teams increasingly use mobile readers that query the MOS (Moduł Obsługi Spraw) database in real time. Although the individual impact is limited, such raids signal stricter compliance expectations ahead of the EU-wide Entry/Exit System (EES) go-live in October 2026, when border-overstay data will feed automatically into Schengen information systems.
