3 Albanian Travellers Denied Entry to Poland Due to Overstaying in Schengen Area

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Three Albanian citizens who traveled from Tirana to Krakow-Balice were denied entry to Poland upon arrival due to overstaying in the Schengen area.
• Despite presenting valid biometric passports, during passport control, it was discovered that each individual had overstayed in the Schengen countries.
• Since the immediate departure to Tirana was not possible on the same day, they were temporarily placed under observed rooms.

Three people from Albania traveled to Krakow-Balice on a scheduled flight from Tirana but, upon arrival, faced entry restrictions in Poland due to overstaying in the Schengen zone.

Despite presenting valid biometric passports issued by the Albanian authorities during passport control, the officers revealed that each of them had exceeded the permitted length of stay in the Schengen countries.

As reported by Polish media, foreigners could only enter Poland with a long-term visa or any other residence document.

Due to the fact they had overstayed their permitted period to remain in the Schengen Zone, the Commander of the Border Guard Post in Kraków-Balice decided to individually prohibit entry into the Republic of Poland for the three of them. As the immediate departure to Tirana was not possible on the same day, the individuals were placed in rooms designated for foreigners facing refusal of entry to Poland.

However, on the morning of December 4, they flew to the capital of Albania.

Following relevant legal regulations, a foreigner’s stay in the Schengen area, based on a valid biometric passport without the requirement for a visa, is limited to a maximum of 90 days within any 180 days.

Indeed, for durations exceeding 90 days, such as those involving studying, working, or residing in a Schengen country, individuals are required to apply for a national visa tailored to the specific regulations of that particular country.

In July 2020, a similar situation unfolded when 219 Albanians, who had either exceeded their visa-free stay of three months in France or submitted unjustified asylum applications, were repatriated to Albania through the initiative of the French authorities.

Two distinct flights facilitated the return of these individuals, with 110 of them being repatriated from Metz, France, having overstayed the permissible 3-month period. An additional 109 persons were sent back on a chartered flight from Lyon, France, following French asylum centers’ rejection of their asylum applications. Among the repatriated Albanians were family members, including children.

At the same time, another 19 Albanians were returned from Germany, all due to their asylum requests being rejected for similar reasons.

Moreover, in March 2020, a total of 49 Albanians were also repatriated from France and Luxembourg due to the rejection of their asylum requests. The operation, coordinated by the Albanian Border Police in collaboration with police authorities in France and Luxembourg, targeted Albanian nationals whose asylum claims were deemed unfounded.

Five individuals were repatriated from Luxembourg, while the remaining 44 were repatriated from France.