Many foreigners who initially enter Poland legally later become illegal migrants. The Polish state is struggling with various facets of this phenomenon: forged documents, illegal employment, and residence without authorization to stay in the country. The scale of these abuses is clearly growing, while the influx of refugees continues on a massive scale, warns Gazeta Polska.
Data from the Border Guard, cited by Hubert Kowalski, paint a grim picture. In the first quarter of this year, the number of people residing illegally in Poland increased by 16 percent, and the number of fake documents used by foreigners and uncovered by the Border Guard rose by as much as 35 percent. The most dramatic figure was a record-breaking 140 percent surge in counterfeit visas. The most commonly falsified documents were found among citizens of Ukraine, Syria, Georgia, and Belarus.
Disturbing details were shared with Gazeta Polska by Major Krzysztof Grzech from the press team of the Border Guard’s Chief Commander. He reported that the Border Guard detained more than 3,900 individuals whose entry into Poland had been legal but who were later found to be residing illegally. Among them were people whose permitted stay had expired, but also those who “came to Poland on a student visa but never studied. Their purpose of arrival was therefore different from the one declared.”
The Colombian Problem and a Sharp Rise in Crime
The author draws particular attention to the rapidly growing Colombian population in Poland. Their numbers rose from just 108 in 2015 to more than 16,000 in 2025. Although they still make up a small percentage of all foreigners, they already rank among the top nationalities detained for illegal residence and employment. Unfortunately, as the article states, the rise in their presence in Poland “is also linked to a rapidly expanding wave of border-related and other crimes.” Kowalski cites shocking reports that in recent months Colombians have committed high-profile crimes in Poland, including murder, gang rape, and even a terrorist act commissioned by Russian intelligence services.
Daily Interventions by the Border Guard
The article lists numerous examples of recent Border Guard operations. Officers detained 22 foreigners of various nationalities, including citizens of Colombia, Nigeria, Georgia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In Łódź, 12 people were detained, mainly from Guatemala and Colombia, while in Kraków a 22-year-old Nepalese woman was caught entering Poland on the basis of a revoked Croatian residence card.
These incidents are only the tip of the iceberg, illustrating the complex and multi-dimensional problem Poland is currently facing.