Poland’s Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) announced on 12–13 December the discovery of a 1.5-metre-high tunnel near Narewka, Podlaskie province, used by smugglers to move at least 180 migrants under the Belarusian frontier. Electronic vibration sensors—installed earlier this year to complement the 180-kilometre steel barrier—triggered a rapid response that led to 130 arrests and the seizure of two getaway vans.
It is the fourth tunnel found in 2025, confirming that criminal networks are adapting to physical fencing by literally going underground. Warsaw’s response has been immediate: €18 million in emergency funds will be diverted to deploy ground-penetrating radar, heat-seeking drones and AI-enabled acoustic arrays along the most vulnerable wooded sectors. A joint task force with Frontex and Europol will map cross-border telecoms traffic in an effort to disrupt facilitator networks.
For mobility stakeholders the incident highlights two realities. First, asylum and irregular-migration pressure on Poland remains structurally high, meaning stricter document checks for all third-country nationals—including legitimate business travellers—entering from the east. Second, companies relocating non-EU talent through the Polish-Belarus route should anticipate unpredictable delays as individual vehicles are pulled for secondary inspection.
![Poland Uncovers Smuggling Tunnel on Belarus Border, Accelerates High-Tech Surveillance Roll-out]()
Employers with Belarus-based staff now face a tougher calculus: obtaining Polish national visas in Minsk can already take six weeks, and land-border entry points could see rolling closures during tunnel-detection sweeps. Alternative routing through Lithuania or direct flights to Warsaw may prove faster despite higher costs.
VisaHQ’s Poland page (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) can ease some of these bottlenecks by providing real-time visa requirements, electronic application support and expedited courier submission for documents heading to consular posts worldwide. HR teams juggling last-minute rerouting decisions can tap the platform’s country experts to identify the quickest filing options and avoid costly border surprises.
The episode also reignites the political debate in Brussels about funding for EU external borders. Polish officials argue that the tunnel discovery vindicates their investment in hard infrastructure and advanced sensors, pressing for a larger share of the €6.8 billion EU Border Management Fund in 2026–27.
It is the fourth tunnel found in 2025, confirming that criminal networks are adapting to physical fencing by literally going underground. Warsaw’s response has been immediate: €18 million in emergency funds will be diverted to deploy ground-penetrating radar, heat-seeking drones and AI-enabled acoustic arrays along the most vulnerable wooded sectors. A joint task force with Frontex and Europol will map cross-border telecoms traffic in an effort to disrupt facilitator networks.
For mobility stakeholders the incident highlights two realities. First, asylum and irregular-migration pressure on Poland remains structurally high, meaning stricter document checks for all third-country nationals—including legitimate business travellers—entering from the east. Second, companies relocating non-EU talent through the Polish-Belarus route should anticipate unpredictable delays as individual vehicles are pulled for secondary inspection.
Employers with Belarus-based staff now face a tougher calculus: obtaining Polish national visas in Minsk can already take six weeks, and land-border entry points could see rolling closures during tunnel-detection sweeps. Alternative routing through Lithuania or direct flights to Warsaw may prove faster despite higher costs.
VisaHQ’s Poland page (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) can ease some of these bottlenecks by providing real-time visa requirements, electronic application support and expedited courier submission for documents heading to consular posts worldwide. HR teams juggling last-minute rerouting decisions can tap the platform’s country experts to identify the quickest filing options and avoid costly border surprises.
The episode also reignites the political debate in Brussels about funding for EU external borders. Polish officials argue that the tunnel discovery vindicates their investment in hard infrastructure and advanced sensors, pressing for a larger share of the €6.8 billion EU Border Management Fund in 2026–27.
