Poland has recently made the decision to suspend the Business Harbor Programme, which was created to attract foreign IT specialists to the country. The decision to suspend the program was made due to concerns over visa issuance, with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that visas were not being issued in a controlled manner.
The Business Harbor Programme has been under scrutiny over the past year, and the decision to suspend it was taken following a thorough assessment of the situation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the program did not meet expectations and that the number of visas issued was not consistent with the program’s objectives or market needs.
As a result of these irregularities, the program will remain suspended until the country can find a way to verify the individuals and companies benefiting from it. The Business Programme was launched in September 2020 to attract IT specialists and companies from Belarus, and was later expanded to include specialists and companies from other countries such as Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia.
The program offered a faster migration path for eligible IT specialists and companies, allowing them to move and work in Poland without strict rules and regulations. However, the program’s advantages led to a high number of applications from eligible countries. By September of last year, Poland had issued over 93,500 visas under the program.
However, the number of work visas issued decreased following allegations that the Polish government had issued visas in exchange for bribes. The scandal led to a significant drop in the number of work visas issued to foreigners.
Now that the program has been suspended, foreign IT specialists wishing to enter Poland for work purposes will have to undergo the general visa procedures. The authorities have also stated that they will continue working towards facilitating visa procedures for other industries dealing with shortages. For the latest on Poland’s Former Minister Arrested for Accelerating Work Visa Issuance in Exchange for Money, click here.
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