Poland’s foreign missions have begun their annual Christmas shutdown, with embassies in Cairo, Riyadh, Manila and dozens of other capitals closing from 24 to 28 December. Consular sections will not accept visa, passport or legalisation applications during the closure, and appointment calendars on the e-Konsulat platform have been locked.
While the shutdown is in effect, travellers can still make constructive use of the downtime: VisaHQ’s dedicated Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) lets applicants pre-fill forms, upload supporting documents and receive expert feedback so everything is ready for submission the moment counters reopen.
![Polish Consulates Worldwide Close 24-28 December – Visa Processing Paused Over Holiday Period]()
Impact on applicants: • National-visa applicants facing 90-day-stay deadlines must wait until at least 29 December to submit biometrics; overstays caused solely by the closure are unlikely to incur penalties but still require explanatory letters. • Companies planning January start dates for third-country nationals should anticipate a minimum one-week slip in onboarding schedules.
Work-arounds: Urgent humanitarian and repatriation cases can contact the Polish MFA’s 24/7 duty officer (+48 22 523 8880). Some Schengen partner embassies (e.g., Austria, Hungary) will continue limited outsourcing-centre appointments for category-C visas that allow entry to Poland, but travellers must verify that their itineraries respect the “main-destination” rule.
Good to know: The closures coincide with Poland’s first year of recognising 24 December as a statutory public holiday, meaning all domestic voivodeship offices and Border Guard customer counters are also shut. Normal visa operations resume on Monday, 29 December, but heavy backlogs are expected.
While the shutdown is in effect, travellers can still make constructive use of the downtime: VisaHQ’s dedicated Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) lets applicants pre-fill forms, upload supporting documents and receive expert feedback so everything is ready for submission the moment counters reopen.
Impact on applicants: • National-visa applicants facing 90-day-stay deadlines must wait until at least 29 December to submit biometrics; overstays caused solely by the closure are unlikely to incur penalties but still require explanatory letters. • Companies planning January start dates for third-country nationals should anticipate a minimum one-week slip in onboarding schedules.
Work-arounds: Urgent humanitarian and repatriation cases can contact the Polish MFA’s 24/7 duty officer (+48 22 523 8880). Some Schengen partner embassies (e.g., Austria, Hungary) will continue limited outsourcing-centre appointments for category-C visas that allow entry to Poland, but travellers must verify that their itineraries respect the “main-destination” rule.
Good to know: The closures coincide with Poland’s first year of recognising 24 December as a statutory public holiday, meaning all domestic voivodeship offices and Border Guard customer counters are also shut. Normal visa operations resume on Monday, 29 December, but heavy backlogs are expected.
