Releasing its annual enforcement data on 26 January 2026, the Polish Border Guard revealed that almost half of the 600 people charged in 2024 with organising or facilitating irregular migration were Ukrainian nationals. Officials described the trend as a spill-over from the Belarus-engineered migrant crisis that erupted in 2021 and has since morphed into a sophisticated smuggling market stretching from the Caucasus to Germany.
The prosecutions typically involve so-called “couriers”—foreign residents of Poland who, for a €500–€1,000 fee, pick up asylum-seekers who have crossed the Belarusian or Slovak frontier and drive them towards Germany’s Saxony region. The Border Guard said many Ukrainians were recruited via Telegram groups and promised easy money, only to face sentences of up to eight years under Article 264 of Poland’s Criminal Code.
For employers holding intra-company transferee permits for Ukrainian staff, the statistics ring alarm bells. Immigration advisers warn that any criminal conviction voids the right of residence and work, exposing companies to sudden labour shortages and reputational damage. Firms are advised to run fresh compliance audits, reiterate zero-tolerance policies and confirm that employees driving company vans across borders understand the legal risks.
![Poland Says 280 Ukrainians Prosecuted in 2024 for Facilitating Irregular Migration]()
At this juncture, companies scrambling to verify the paperwork of Ukrainian transferees may find it useful to outsource the red tape. VisaHQ’s Poland desk (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) offers end-to-end assistance with work permits, residence cards and visa renewals, helping HR teams keep foreign staff compliant while avoiding the delays that can lead to inadvertent overstays or illegal work.
Warsaw also pointed to the continuing relevance of its 186-kilometre steel border fence with Belarus and a new network of underground-sensor arrays slated for 2026 deployment. Human-rights groups criticised the government for framing migrants as a security threat, arguing that tougher penalties for facilitators do little to address root causes such as conflict and economic collapse.
The data release comes amid negotiations between Poland and Germany on joint patrols along the Oder River, and as the European Commission prepares a spring package of reforms to the Schengen Borders Code aimed at harmonising penalties for migrant smuggling.
The prosecutions typically involve so-called “couriers”—foreign residents of Poland who, for a €500–€1,000 fee, pick up asylum-seekers who have crossed the Belarusian or Slovak frontier and drive them towards Germany’s Saxony region. The Border Guard said many Ukrainians were recruited via Telegram groups and promised easy money, only to face sentences of up to eight years under Article 264 of Poland’s Criminal Code.
For employers holding intra-company transferee permits for Ukrainian staff, the statistics ring alarm bells. Immigration advisers warn that any criminal conviction voids the right of residence and work, exposing companies to sudden labour shortages and reputational damage. Firms are advised to run fresh compliance audits, reiterate zero-tolerance policies and confirm that employees driving company vans across borders understand the legal risks.
At this juncture, companies scrambling to verify the paperwork of Ukrainian transferees may find it useful to outsource the red tape. VisaHQ’s Poland desk (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) offers end-to-end assistance with work permits, residence cards and visa renewals, helping HR teams keep foreign staff compliant while avoiding the delays that can lead to inadvertent overstays or illegal work.
Warsaw also pointed to the continuing relevance of its 186-kilometre steel border fence with Belarus and a new network of underground-sensor arrays slated for 2026 deployment. Human-rights groups criticised the government for framing migrants as a security threat, arguing that tougher penalties for facilitators do little to address root causes such as conflict and economic collapse.
The data release comes amid negotiations between Poland and Germany on joint patrols along the Oder River, and as the European Commission prepares a spring package of reforms to the Schengen Borders Code aimed at harmonising penalties for migrant smuggling.
