Polish media reported that as of June 1, the Polish government has implemented stricter immigration rules, enhancing scrutiny of foreign students and economic immigrants. The new regulations empower local authorities to block certain occupational immigrants from applying for work permits, and raise the language and education requirements for foreign students, with the aim of curbing immigration abuse and strengthening national security.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized that this measure is a step towards regaining control over immigration and enhancing the safety of Polish citizens.
According to a report from Rzeczpospolita, official data shows that the number of foreign students in Poland exceeded 100,000 in 2023, accounting for about 9% of all students. The government under the PiS administration (up to December 2023) has accused the system of being abused, with some individuals using student visas as a backdoor entry to Poland or other EU countries.
An audit by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) revealed that due to incomplete visa records and the Foreign Ministry retaining data for only one year, as many as 17,000 student visas have been difficult to verify for authenticity.
The new immigration regulations indicate that in addition to reducing the issuance of student visas, future applicants must have at least a B2 level of language proficiency and pass high school graduation exams. The new rules also require universities to verify student qualifications and report no-show students to the consulate; the maximum percentage of foreign students is set at 50% of enrolled students, exceeding which will lead to a suspension of enrolling foreign students.
The new policy also affects economic immigrants. Local authorities have the power to establish a list of occupations for which permits cannot be issued to foreign nationals, to reflect local labor market demands. The fines for employing illegal immigrants have been increased from the previous 1,000 to 30,000 zlotys (approximately 8,000 to 24,000 New Taiwan dollars) to 3,000 to 50,000 zlotys.
Despite the tightening policies, Poland is still concurrently implementing the EU Blue Card Directive, offering greater mobility and residence rights to high-skilled third-country nationals.
Poland is currently one of the countries in the EU with the highest influx of immigrants, with the main immigrant groups consisting of Ukrainians (67.3%), Belarusians (11.5%), and Georgians (2.3%).
(Source: Central News Agency)