Poland’s Border Guard reported on 9 February that two British nationals were refused entry at Kraków–Balice International Airport after officers found pages missing from their passports. The travellers, arriving on separate Ryanair flights from Manchester and London-Stansted, were bound for a four-day trade-fair visit but were denied admission under Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code, which requires valid, undamaged travel documents.
According to the Karpacki Border Guard unit, officers observed that visa pages had been removed – a common sign of tampering. Because the United Kingdom is now treated as a “third country”, the passengers were not entitled to rectify the issue inside the Schengen Area and were returned on the next available flight. Airlines face fines of up to PLN 15,000 (about €3,300) per passenger for carrying travellers without proper documents.
Travel planners looking to eliminate last-minute surprises can run a quick compliance check through VisaHQ’s Poland portal, where step-by-step tools and live support help verify passport integrity and Schengen entry rules before tickets are booked; see https://www.visahq.com/poland/ for details.
![British travellers turned back at Kraków Airport over damaged passports]()
The incident is a reminder to mobility managers that post-Brexit passport rules are being enforced rigorously in Poland. Passports must be issued within the past 10 years, remain valid for at least three months beyond the intended date of departure and be fully intact. Torn covers, loose bindings or missing pages are grounds for immediate refusal, even for travellers who have commercially important meetings scheduled.
Businesses sending staff to the Kraków technology corridor – the country’s second-largest foreign-investment hub – should reinforce document checks at the booking stage. Travellers should renew early and carry physical proof of hotel reservations, medical insurance and return tickets to avoid additional questioning triggered by the EU Entry/Exit System that is being piloted at the airport.
Border Guard officials added that 17 other entry refusals were issued nationwide last week, mostly for passport irregularities and overstays. With new EU deportation rules on the horizon, document scrutiny is only expected to intensify.
According to the Karpacki Border Guard unit, officers observed that visa pages had been removed – a common sign of tampering. Because the United Kingdom is now treated as a “third country”, the passengers were not entitled to rectify the issue inside the Schengen Area and were returned on the next available flight. Airlines face fines of up to PLN 15,000 (about €3,300) per passenger for carrying travellers without proper documents.
Travel planners looking to eliminate last-minute surprises can run a quick compliance check through VisaHQ’s Poland portal, where step-by-step tools and live support help verify passport integrity and Schengen entry rules before tickets are booked; see https://www.visahq.com/poland/ for details.
The incident is a reminder to mobility managers that post-Brexit passport rules are being enforced rigorously in Poland. Passports must be issued within the past 10 years, remain valid for at least three months beyond the intended date of departure and be fully intact. Torn covers, loose bindings or missing pages are grounds for immediate refusal, even for travellers who have commercially important meetings scheduled.
Businesses sending staff to the Kraków technology corridor – the country’s second-largest foreign-investment hub – should reinforce document checks at the booking stage. Travellers should renew early and carry physical proof of hotel reservations, medical insurance and return tickets to avoid additional questioning triggered by the EU Entry/Exit System that is being piloted at the airport.
Border Guard officials added that 17 other entry refusals were issued nationwide last week, mostly for passport irregularities and overstays. With new EU deportation rules on the horizon, document scrutiny is only expected to intensify.
