Indian applicants contesting a Polish visa refusal have been given a mere three-day window—29 to 31 December—to lodge reconsideration requests, and must do so in person at the Consular Section of the Polish Embassy in New Delhi between 14:00 and 15:00. VFS Global centres have been instructed not to accept appeals during this period.
The notice, issued just after Christmas, has caught many Erasmus-bound students and IT service engineers off-guard because year-end courier and notary services are operating on holiday schedules. Under Polish law, a request for reconsideration must be filed within 14 days of receiving a refusal; missing the deadline forces applicants to file a lengthier, costlier appeal in Warsaw.
Mobility consultancies are advising travellers to assemble updated invitation letters, insurance evidence and bank statements immediately and to expect long queues at the embassy counter. Companies deploying staff to Katowice’s IT parks or Łódź manufacturing sites are being told to budget extra time for possible refusals and build contingency plans for remote onboarding.
![Polish Embassy restricts visa-appeal filings to in-person submissions, 29-31 Dec]()
For those struggling with the tight schedule—or looking to avoid similar surprises in future—VisaHQ offers a practical safety net. The firm’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) keeps abreast of shifting Polish and wider Schengen rules, assists with document collection and legalisation, and can arrange express courier or in-person submissions on a client’s behalf, helping applicants meet critical reconsideration or appeal deadlines even during holiday disruptions.
The episode underscores the importance of monitoring embassy holiday calendars across Europe. Similar year-end closures could jeopardise Schengen appeals for other destinations, prompting stakeholders to press for more digital submission channels.
The Consulate says normal operations will resume on 2 January, when VFS is expected to reopen its appeal service.
The notice, issued just after Christmas, has caught many Erasmus-bound students and IT service engineers off-guard because year-end courier and notary services are operating on holiday schedules. Under Polish law, a request for reconsideration must be filed within 14 days of receiving a refusal; missing the deadline forces applicants to file a lengthier, costlier appeal in Warsaw.
Mobility consultancies are advising travellers to assemble updated invitation letters, insurance evidence and bank statements immediately and to expect long queues at the embassy counter. Companies deploying staff to Katowice’s IT parks or Łódź manufacturing sites are being told to budget extra time for possible refusals and build contingency plans for remote onboarding.
For those struggling with the tight schedule—or looking to avoid similar surprises in future—VisaHQ offers a practical safety net. The firm’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) keeps abreast of shifting Polish and wider Schengen rules, assists with document collection and legalisation, and can arrange express courier or in-person submissions on a client’s behalf, helping applicants meet critical reconsideration or appeal deadlines even during holiday disruptions.
The episode underscores the importance of monitoring embassy holiday calendars across Europe. Similar year-end closures could jeopardise Schengen appeals for other destinations, prompting stakeholders to press for more digital submission channels.
The Consulate says normal operations will resume on 2 January, when VFS is expected to reopen its appeal service.
