Border Guard officers from the Łódź station, backed by the regional labour inspectorate, carried out a surprise pre-dawn audit on 8 April at a parcel-sorting warehouse that employs dozens of foreign agency workers. Details released on 10 April show 46 workers from Latin America, South Asia and Eastern Europe were screened; one Colombian national was detained for overstaying his visa-free allowance and lacking sufficient funds. The man received an administrative decision ordering return and a six-month ban on re-entering Poland or any other Schengen country. The labour inspectorate is now checking whether the temporary-work agency met sponsorship and wage obligations; penalties can reach PLN 30,000 (€6,600) per improperly documented worker.
![Łódź Warehouse Sweep Finds Overstay and Triggers Six-Month Schengen Re-Entry Ban]()
Companies concerned about potential fines or deportations can turn to VisaHQ for end-to-end support with Polish work permits, national visas and Schengen compliance. Through its dedicated Poland page (https://www.visahq.com/poland/), the service offers real-time eligibility checks, document pre-screening and courier submission, giving HR teams and foreign hires a single, secure dashboard to track every step.
Poland’s post-pandemic logistics boom has driven demand for warehouse labour, with staffing firms recruiting aggressively in South America and Asia. Authorities say some agencies rely on tourists converting status inside Poland, increasing the risk of overstays. Since January, the Nadwiślański Border Guard has performed 123 workplace raids, identifying 189 status violations—already 40 % higher than the same period last year. Corporate mobility managers should expect more joint inspections, especially in e-commerce and food-processing hubs. Best practice includes auditing vendor chains, ensuring workers carry valid residence evidence on-site, and budgeting extra time for work-permit renewals now that standard processing in Łódź exceeds six months.
Companies concerned about potential fines or deportations can turn to VisaHQ for end-to-end support with Polish work permits, national visas and Schengen compliance. Through its dedicated Poland page (https://www.visahq.com/poland/), the service offers real-time eligibility checks, document pre-screening and courier submission, giving HR teams and foreign hires a single, secure dashboard to track every step.
Poland’s post-pandemic logistics boom has driven demand for warehouse labour, with staffing firms recruiting aggressively in South America and Asia. Authorities say some agencies rely on tourists converting status inside Poland, increasing the risk of overstays. Since January, the Nadwiślański Border Guard has performed 123 workplace raids, identifying 189 status violations—already 40 % higher than the same period last year. Corporate mobility managers should expect more joint inspections, especially in e-commerce and food-processing hubs. Best practice includes auditing vendor chains, ensuring workers carry valid residence evidence on-site, and budgeting extra time for work-permit renewals now that standard processing in Łódź exceeds six months.
