The European Commission on 20 February unveiled a draft “Smart Borders & Secure Mobility” package that would allow national consulates to issue multi-entry Schengen visas valid for up to five years to applicants who clear an enhanced security and compliance screening. Although pitched as an EU-wide reform, the proposal has special resonance in Poland, where business-visa demand from India, China and the Gulf almost tripled in 2025 and consular appointment slots in Mumbai and New Delhi routinely sell out within minutes.
Under the plan, travellers with a spotless security record who have used at least two previous Schengen visas lawfully could receive a five-year visa that renews automatically in a digital wallet app, eliminating the need for annual biometrics. Poland’s foreign ministry said it “strongly supports” the idea because it dovetails with Warsaw’s own 2026 consular-digitalisation drive and would free staff to focus on first-time applicants and humanitarian cases.
For businesses and travellers needing immediate support while the new regime is phased in, VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) can manage everything from appointment scheduling to documentation reviews and status tracking. The agency’s digital tools already sync with Polish consulate requirements and will be updated to accommodate the forthcoming five-year e-visa, allowing companies to keep staff mobile and compliant without tying up internal resources.
![EU floats five-year multi-entry Schengen visas for ‘trusted travellers’; Poland backs plan to cut consular queues]()
The package pairs longer visas with tougher enforcement tools: the EU Entry/Exit System—now confirmed to go live in June 2026—will log each crossing, and member states will gain simplified procedures to suspend visa-waiver privileges for non-cooperative third countries. Migration researchers caution that the offers may be offset by stricter detention rules for overstayers.
For Polish corporates, the biggest upside would be faster rotation of project teams and fewer last-minute trip cancellations caused by consular backlogs. However, mobility managers must prepare for a two-track system in which VIP travellers enjoy friction-less entry while ordinary staff still need physical visa stickers until at least 2027. Compliance teams should also note that Poland plans to link the new EU trust-traveller database with its national ‘Zezwolenia24’ work-permit portal, enabling automatic alerts when a long-stay assignment triggers local tax or social-security thresholds.
The regulation requires approval by the European Parliament and the Council; Polish MEPs across party lines signalled they will lobby to shorten the pilot phase from two years to one so that high-volume hubs like Warsaw Chopin Airport can benefit sooner.
Under the plan, travellers with a spotless security record who have used at least two previous Schengen visas lawfully could receive a five-year visa that renews automatically in a digital wallet app, eliminating the need for annual biometrics. Poland’s foreign ministry said it “strongly supports” the idea because it dovetails with Warsaw’s own 2026 consular-digitalisation drive and would free staff to focus on first-time applicants and humanitarian cases.
For businesses and travellers needing immediate support while the new regime is phased in, VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) can manage everything from appointment scheduling to documentation reviews and status tracking. The agency’s digital tools already sync with Polish consulate requirements and will be updated to accommodate the forthcoming five-year e-visa, allowing companies to keep staff mobile and compliant without tying up internal resources.
The package pairs longer visas with tougher enforcement tools: the EU Entry/Exit System—now confirmed to go live in June 2026—will log each crossing, and member states will gain simplified procedures to suspend visa-waiver privileges for non-cooperative third countries. Migration researchers caution that the offers may be offset by stricter detention rules for overstayers.
For Polish corporates, the biggest upside would be faster rotation of project teams and fewer last-minute trip cancellations caused by consular backlogs. However, mobility managers must prepare for a two-track system in which VIP travellers enjoy friction-less entry while ordinary staff still need physical visa stickers until at least 2027. Compliance teams should also note that Poland plans to link the new EU trust-traveller database with its national ‘Zezwolenia24’ work-permit portal, enabling automatic alerts when a long-stay assignment triggers local tax or social-security thresholds.
The regulation requires approval by the European Parliament and the Council; Polish MEPs across party lines signalled they will lobby to shorten the pilot phase from two years to one so that high-volume hubs like Warsaw Chopin Airport can benefit sooner.
