Poland has stripped Georgian, Colombian and Venezuelan nationals of the right to work under visa-free travel, closing a route that employers across the country's construction, logistics and services sectors had relied on to bring in labour quickly. The regulation, signed by Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski on 10 August 2026, took effect on 15 August and applies specifically to people entering Poland for employment.
What Has Changed
From 15 August 2026, nationals of Georgia, Colombia and Venezuela can no longer rely on visa-free entry to take up work in Poland — even where they already hold a Polish work permit. A national visa or residence permit is now required in addition to the work permit before employment can begin.
- Who is affected: Citizens of Georgia, Colombia and Venezuela seeking employment in Poland.
- What still works: Visa-free travel remains available for tourism and other short-term, non-work purposes.
- Transitional relief: Workers from these three countries who began employment on the strength of a work permit while legally present visa-free, before 15 August 2026, may continue under the previous rules.
- Legal basis: The measure implements a delegation under Article 3(4) of Poland's Act on the Conditions for the Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners, following a draft first flagged by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy in February 2026.
Polish officials cited systematic misuse of visa-free entry for undeclared employment, overstaying, growth of the shadow economy, worker exploitation and human trafficking risk as the rationale, and classified the three countries as posing elevated migration risk.
What This Means for HR and Mobility Teams
Any organisation employing or planning to employ Georgian, Colombian or Venezuelan nationals in Poland needs to reassess its pipeline immediately. A valid work permit is no longer sufficient on its own — a national visa or residence permit obtained before entry (or before the worker takes up the role) is now a hard prerequisite. Employers who continue to rely on visa-free entrants from these three countries risk illegal employment findings against the company, not just the individual, under Polish labour law.
The transitional carve-out is narrow: it protects only workers who were already legally employed under visa-free status before 15 August 2026. New hires, contract renewals requiring a fresh start date, or postings that hadn't yet commenced by that date fall under the new rules with no grace period.
Action Steps
- Audit current and pipeline hires from Georgia, Colombia and Venezuela working or due to start work in Poland.
- Confirm which employees fall under the transitional exemption (employment visa-free and already underway before 15 August 2026) and document that status.
- For any new hire or unstarted assignment, initiate the national visa or residence permit application before entry — do not rely on an existing work permit alone.
- Update internal mobility checklists and vendor instructions to reflect the dual requirement (work permit plus national visa/residence permit) for these three nationalities.
- Monitor for further country additions — the regulation signals Poland's intent to tighten visa-free work routes more broadly where migration-risk concerns arise.
At xpath.global, our work permit and visa advisory team monitors Polish immigration policy in real time. Whether you have Georgian, Colombian or Venezuelan employees already in Poland or are planning to bring talent into the country, our specialists manage the full permit and visa process — keeping your HR team compliant and your assignments on track. Speak to our team.
"Sources: Georgia Today — 18 August 2026; Erickson Immigration Group — 3 April 2026; HRLaw.pl (Wardyński & Partners) — 3 March 2026"
