The 7th Carpathian Border Detachment warned on Sunday that ‘hundreds of cars’ were queued at key crossings into Poland, with the Krakovets and Shehyni checkpoints in Lviv Oblast bearing the brunt. As of 11:00 on 21 December, 500 vehicles were waiting to enter Ukraine at Krakovets alone, while outbound queues topped 160 cars and 22 buses.
Border guards processed almost 67,000 people in the region over the previous 24 hours, a record-high driven by labour migrants and students heading home for Christmas. Officials urged travellers to use the eCherha online slotting system or plan journeys for early morning or late evening to avoid peak congestion. The tool is not yet available at Krakovets or Shehyni, creating additional pressure as buses arrive without fixed time slots.
![Krakovets and Shehyni checkpoints see 500-car queues as festive rush strains Polish-Ukrainian border]()
If you discover that your passport, residence card, or transit paperwork needs updating before you set off, VisaHQ can streamline the process. The service lets you complete Polish visa and document applications online, arrange courier pick-ups, and track progress in real time—saving you a potentially costly extra stop at the border (https://www.visahq.com/poland/).
To speed clearance times, the Polish and Ukrainian services have opened extra inspection lanes and deployed additional staff, but capacity remains limited by narrow approach roads and a shortage of parking bays. Logistics companies reported delays of up to five hours for light commercial vans carrying e-commerce parcels into Poland.
Mobility advisers recommend that employers stagger holiday leave for Ukrainian staff based in Poland, encourage the use of less-busy crossings such as Nyzankovychi or Smilnytsia, and ensure vehicle documents are in perfect order to avoid secondary inspections. Failure to plan could see travellers spending Christmas Eve in a border queue rather than at home.
Border guards processed almost 67,000 people in the region over the previous 24 hours, a record-high driven by labour migrants and students heading home for Christmas. Officials urged travellers to use the eCherha online slotting system or plan journeys for early morning or late evening to avoid peak congestion. The tool is not yet available at Krakovets or Shehyni, creating additional pressure as buses arrive without fixed time slots.
If you discover that your passport, residence card, or transit paperwork needs updating before you set off, VisaHQ can streamline the process. The service lets you complete Polish visa and document applications online, arrange courier pick-ups, and track progress in real time—saving you a potentially costly extra stop at the border (https://www.visahq.com/poland/).
To speed clearance times, the Polish and Ukrainian services have opened extra inspection lanes and deployed additional staff, but capacity remains limited by narrow approach roads and a shortage of parking bays. Logistics companies reported delays of up to five hours for light commercial vans carrying e-commerce parcels into Poland.
Mobility advisers recommend that employers stagger holiday leave for Ukrainian staff based in Poland, encourage the use of less-busy crossings such as Nyzankovychi or Smilnytsia, and ensure vehicle documents are in perfect order to avoid secondary inspections. Failure to plan could see travellers spending Christmas Eve in a border queue rather than at home.
