Officers from the Karpacki Border Guard Unit revealed on 7 October 2026 that a week-long labour-compliance operation in Małopolskie and Świętokrzyskie provinces uncovered 22 cases of foreigners working without the required permits or residence titles. The inspections targeted hotels, metal-processing plants, construction sites and rail-track projects in Kraków, Tarnów and Kielce. Nationals of India, Colombia, Vietnam, Belarus, Peru, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Indonesia were among those found to be working unlawfully. The SG issued immediate return decisions to 14 individuals, each coupled with a one-year Schengen re-entry ban, and imposed on-the-spot fines of PLN 1,000 (€215). Employers were cited for failing to notify provincial authorities of employment start- and end-dates, neglecting to translate contracts into a language the worker understood and, in several cases, for paying below the statutory minimum. Fines of PLN 500–1,000 were levied, and several files have been forwarded to labour-court prosecutors. Poland’s demand for industrial and service-sector labour has risen sharply since 2024, prompting companies to recruit aggressively in Asia and Latin America. Yet the country’s Foreigners Act requires a work-permit or intra-company-transfer (ICT) permit for nearly all non-EU nationals. Recent audits show that many SMEs remain unaware that even short-term project work triggers a permit obligation. For mobility teams the message is clear: Polish authorities are moving beyond document checks at airports and now proactively enter worksites. HR directors should review their notification practices, ensure multi-language contracts are issued and keep digital copies of all labour documents on site. Failure to comply can generate criminal exposure for managers under Article 120 of the Foreigners Act and derail time-sensitive projects. Practical tip: when contracting staffing agencies, require a copy of each worker’s TRC (temporary-residence card) or national-visa sticker and cross-check its validity on Poland’s e-VOA portal. Setting up quarterly internal audits may cost less than a single fine and the reputational damage of a televised SG raid.
Source: Onet.pl
