Speaking in a short video released on X on the morning of 20 October 2026, Prime Minister Donald Tusk unveiled a snapshot of the first ten months of his administration’s migration record. According to the prime minister, Polish consulates have issued roughly 87 % fewer national and Schengen visas than in the comparable period of 2022, while removals of people without legal stay have risen by 200 %. Tusk blamed what he called the “catastrophic” open-door policy of the previous government for creating a back-log of fictitious work and study visas that were allegedly used as an entry ticket to the EU’s border-free Schengen area. In his remarks he highlighted that work permits are down 69 % and student visas 65 % year-on-year, arguing that the new, tighter screening rules introduced in January are now fully operational at Polish consulates worldwide. The government has also stepped-up interior enforcement. Border Guard statistics quoted by the prime minister show zero successful illegal crossings from Belarus so far this year, compared with more than 20,000 in 2022. Interior Ministry sources say most recent deportations involve overstayers from Georgia, Uzbekistan, India and Nigeria. For employers the sharp contraction in visa and work-permit supply is already being felt. HR managers in the IT, agriculture and logistics sectors report longer lead times when recruiting third-country nationals and are turning to EU-wide intra-company transfer schemes to fill gaps. Meanwhile universities have begun marketing English-language programmes more aggressively within the EU to offset the fall in non-EU enrolments. In Brussels the new numbers will add fuel to the debate over the proposed EU Talent Pool, which Poland, Denmark and Italy have been championing as an alternative to large-scale asylum arrivals. Business-immigration advisers are urging companies to check start-dates for inbound assignees carefully and to budget extra time for security interviews now routinely required during Polish visa appointments.
Source: Polskie Radio – English Section
