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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Four people, including a former deputy foreign minister from the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, have been indicted over alleged corruption in the issuing of visas. Hundreds of immigrants from Asia may have benefited from the scheme, which caused a scandal when it came to light in 2023.
The quartet, who also include two other former foreign-ministry officials, are accused of abusing their power to help people obtain Polish visas, which also provide access to the European Schengen area.
If convicted, the defendants could face maximum prison sentences of eight or 10 years. One of them has pleaded guilty, while the three others, including the former deputy minister, say they are innocent.
Do sądu trafił dziś drugi akt oskarżenia w sprawie tzw. afery wizowej.
Prokurator oskarżył cztery osoby o popełnienie w latach 2022–2023 łącznie 12 przestępstw.
Wśród oskarżonych są Edgar K. oraz Piotr W., były wiceminister spraw zagranicznych. ⬇️https://t.co/idZrNSvWbE
— Prokuratura (@PK_GOV_PL) December 30, 2025
The so-called visa scandal emerged publicly in September 2023, shortly before parliamentary elections in which the PiS government was seeking a third term. However, the party lost its parliamentary majority and was removed from power.
The affair also prompted the resignation of the deputy foreign minister with responsibility for overseeing the consular and visa systems, who is named by prosecutors only as Piotr W. under Polish privacy law.
Piotr W. is among those indicted today, accused of abusing his powers and disclosing official information to an unauthorised person. Meanwhile, his former aide, Edgar K. is facing nine charges of influence peddling.
Prosecutors say that Edgar K. acted as an intermediary in visa-related matters for over 600 people, in particular citizens of India, Nepal, Thailand and the Philippines, in return for which he received financial benefits totalling several hundred thousand zloty.
Piotr W. then “accelerated visa procedures for foreigners whose details he received from Edgar K., influencing in individual cases the content of visa decisions issued at Polish consular offices”, according to prosecutors. He did not receive financial benefits for those actions.
The two other individuals indicted today are the former director and deputy director of the foreign ministry’s consular department, named as Marcin J. and Beata B.
They are also accused of abusing their powers, including by “exerting unlawful pressure on activities in visa matters performed by consuls and undertaking unjustified interventions to accelerate visa procedures” at the behest of Piotr W.
Polish diplomats have told a commission investigating alleged corruption in the visa system under the former PiS government that the foreign ministry pressured them to issue visas.
Another witness reportedly admitted to involvement in such corruption https://t.co/lhzk36HLSv
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 28, 2024
Edgar K. has pleaded guilty and provided evidence that has helped inform the charges against the other three, who have pleaded not guilty.
The crimes Edgar K. is accused of carry a maximum jail sentence of eight years, while the other three could face up to ten years.
In August this year, six other people were also indicted as part of the same investigation. All face charges of influence peddling by paying or promising to pay Edgar K. for help in arranging visas. All but one of them has pleaded guilty.
Jest drugi akt oskarżenia w sprawie afery wizowej.
Obejmuje on cztery osoby, w tym byłego wiceministra spraw zagranicznych oraz byłych dyrektorów Departamentu Konsularnego MSZ.
Zarzuty dotyczą https://t.co/LtwVrPmZWH. płatnej protekcji oraz przekroczenia uprawnień przy…
— Waldemar Żurek (@w_zurek) December 30, 2025
When the visa scandal broke, Poland’s then opposition argued that it showed how the PiS government, despite its tough anti-immigrant rhetoric, was allowing large numbers of unregulated migrants into the country.
Those former opposition parties are now in power, and have overseen the investigations into the affair. Last year, two diplomats told a parliamentary investigatory commission that the foreign ministry had pressured Polish consulates to issue visas to Indian citizens.
Subsequently, the commission called for charges to be brought against senior PiS officials, including former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
However, Piotr W. remains the only member of the former PiS government to have so far been charged. But today the current justice minister, Waldemar Żurek, said the latest round of indictments “is not the end’ of the investigation, suggesting that more charges may follow.
A parliamentary committee investigating alleged corruption in Poland’s visa system under the previous government has adopted a final report.
It will notify prosecutors of suspected crimes by 11 people, including former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki https://t.co/RovQ8hTIF1
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 4, 2024
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: MSZ (under CC BY-SA 4.0)
Alicja Ptak is deputy editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She has written for Clean Energy Wire and The Times, and she hosts her own podcast, The Warsaw Wire, on Poland’s economy and energy sector. She previously worked for Reuters.
