GMI Legal Update: Mandatory visas for Colombian citizens coming to Poland for work

According to the announcement on the website of the Polish Embassy in Bogota, Polish authorities have decided that from August 15, 2024, Colombians coming to Poland for work must have visas.

Thus, the entry of a Colombian citizen to Poland for work is no longer permitted under visa-free travel, regardless of whether the arriving Colombian citizen has a work permit and regardless of whether the planned period of work exceeds 90 days.

Arguably, Colombian citizens who entered Poland on the basis of visa-free travel and started working on the basis of a work permit before August 15, 2024, are allowed to continue working legally. Of course, before the visa-free travel limit is exhausted, they should leave the country or apply for residence permits to extend their right of residence.

There are significant doubts around the possibility of working in Poland by citizens of Colombia who crossed the external border of the Schengen area without a visa in a country other than Poland and only reached Poland by crossing an internal Schengen border. The EU regulations which allow for the introduction of an exception to the visa exemption set forth rules on crossing the external borders of the Union.