Poland’s Former Minister Arrested for Accelerating Work Visa Issuance in Exchange for Money

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Poland has arrested its former deputy foreign minister, Piotr Wawrzyk.
• Wawrzyk has been arrested for accelerating work visa issuance to foreigners in exchange for bribes.
• In addition to the former minister, another eight individuals have also been charged.

The former deputy foreign minister of Poland, Piotr Wawrzyk, has been arrested following the cash-for-visas scandal.

Announcing the news, Poland’s anti-corruption agency, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), said that Wawrzyk, who served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from January 2021 until August 2023, has been arrested on charges of accelerating work visa processing in exchange for money.

He breached his powers. The detained individual faces charges for making unjustified interventions to expedite visa procedures and for disclosing information classified as official secrets to an unauthorised person.

CBA

According to CBA, Wawrzyk exceeded his powers in the performance of his assignments, violating the ministry’s procedures related to the registration and handling of visa documents. Moreover, as CBA noted, the former minister was also involved in intermediation.

The investigation of the cash-for-visas is still ongoing, with CBA revealing that in addition to the former minister, another eight individuals have also been charged, bringing the total to nine.

Poland’s cash-for-visas scandal was revealed in August of last year. Back then, it was reported that many nationals of third countries who needed a work visa in order to be permitted entry into Poland for work purposes were granted the document in return for bribes.

While the opposition parties claimed that around 350,000 work visas were issued in exchange for money, the number allegedly stands at about 250,000 visas.

When the scandal took place, it was revealed that third-country nationals paid about €5,000 to jump the queue at the Polish consulates abroad and thus get the document faster.

Immediately after, the Polish authorities took measures, and just recently, it was revealed that the number of issued work visas has significantly dropped since summer.

Data provided by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that in the last six months of 2023, the number of work visas granted to foreigners fell to 6,500 from 15,100 in the first six months of the year.

Speaking for Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, the Foreign Ministry said that in the third quarter of 2023, the consulates of Poland issued around 4,800 work visas. The Ministry further revealed that in the fourth quarter of 2023, the country’s consulates issued about 1,600 visas to foreign nationals.

Poland issued work visas through its Business Harbor Programme. The main goal of the latter is to attract highly educated workers, mainly Information Technology specialists, to the country.