The Polish government is planning significant changes to its migration policy. Due to the proposed measure, citizens of Colombia, Venezuela, and Georgia will lose the ability to work in Poland under the visa-free regime.
The move comes amidst claims of abuse of existing regulations. Data from the authorities indicate that the visa-free regime is increasingly being used as a channel for labor migration, rather than short tourist stays, as originally intended. Due to these findings, visa-free travel has ceased to serve its original purpose, according to the state services involved.
According to a draft regulation from the Polish Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy, cited by Do Rzeczy, people arriving in Poland from these three countries must obtain a work visa before their arrival.
More and more Colombians have shown interest in working in Poland in recent years. Data presented by “Rzeczpospolita” shows that in 2023, 12,335 work legalization documents were issued, rising to 40,370 a year later. In 2025, this number remained at over 39,000.
However, inspections show that this increase is accompanied by abuse. Last year, of the 6,681 Colombian citizens inspected, 1,570 were found to be residing illegally in Poland, almost a quarter. In 2025, of the 3,828 people inspected, 1,784 were found to be working illegally, nearly half.
Additionally, last year 1,664 deportation decisions were issued against Colombians, but only 627 were implemented.
In the case of Georgian citizens, the services also report a large scale of violations. In 2025, nearly 29 percent of those checked were found to be working illegally.
The Border Guard says a pattern has emerged where arriving foreigners declare they are visiting for tourism purposes but are unable to provide accommodation or a destination. In one case, it was revealed that documents confirming their stay were purchased for approximately 500 Georgian lari (€160).
At the same time, according to police data, Georgians committed 2,714 crimes in Poland in 2024. The findings also indicate that some Georgian citizens are involved in smuggling migrants through Poland to Germany. Data has shown them to be highly overrepresented in criminal statistics in recent years, particularly regarding robbery, extortion, and drug trafficking.
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