According to two Polish diplomats, the Consulate in Mumbai was pressured by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue visas to Indians even if they did not meet all the requirements. This revelation comes as part of an ongoing investigation into a visa scandal that was uncovered last year.
The former Polish consul in Mumbai, Damian Irzyk, and his deputy, Mateusz Reszczyk, testified that they were forced to grant visas to a large number of Indian citizens who claimed to be in the film industry and needed work-related visas. However, the diplomats raised concerns as the applicants did not seem to have any industry experience.
The visa scandal took place during the Law and Justice party’s rule, and it was later discovered that the Ministry had been issuing work visas in exchange for money, compromising the integrity of the visa system and potentially endangering national security. The former deputy foreign minister of Poland, Piotr Wawrzyk, was arrested earlier this year for his involvement in the scandal.
Wawrzyk has not yet made an official statement on the matter, but his associate confessed to taking bribes to help foreigners obtain visas. Despite this, Wawrzyk did not testify about his involvement.
In their testimony, Irzyk and Reszczyk revealed that the consulate was pressured to issue multiple-entry Schengen visas to Indian citizens in November 2022. The requests came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and were labeled as urgent, as the beneficiaries were scheduled to enter Poland in December.
Additionally, the diplomats were required to grant visas to another 83 Indians in December 2022, all claiming to be entering Poland for filmmaking. The Polish authorities have since suspended the Business Harbor Programme, which aimed to attract highly qualified workers, especially IT specialists, due to the irregularities found in the issuance of work visas. They will be working on addressing these issues before reinstating the program.
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