Officers of the Carpathian Border Guard inspected a tourism company in Poland’s Tatra region on 9 October and discovered that a 39-year-old Bangladeshi national had been working front-of-house without the required work and residence permits. The individual was issued a return order and a multi-year Schengen re-entry ban, while the employer faces administrative fines of up to PLN 30,000 (€6,900) under the Act on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions. The case highlights intensifying compliance checks in the hospitality sector ahead of the winter ski season. According to Border Guard statistics, inspections of tourism businesses in Małopolskie are up 38 % year-on-year, reflecting government pledges to curb irregular labour that may distort competition. For multinational hotels and tour operators, the message is clear: ensure that third-country national staff hold valid single permits or seasonal-work visas and that notification obligations to the labour office are met. Companies using temporary-work agencies should request updated permit copies and keep them on site. The incident also underlines immigration-related liabilities for directors; Polish law allows penalties not only for the immediate employer but also for entities that ‘benefit’ from illegal work, including parent companies. HR teams planning to bring non-EU staff for the high season should budget eight to ten weeks for processing due to stricter document scrutiny at voivodeship offices.
