The regulation, issued by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, requires citizens of the three countries to secure a work visa on top of a standard work permit — closing a path that previously let them take jobs through visa-free travel. Workers already employed under the old system before the rule's effective date are exempt and may continue until their visa-free stay expires.
The three nations represent a small but fast-growing share of Poland's foreign workforce. Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) figures show 23,177 Colombians, 22,118 Georgians and 1,117 Venezuelans currently employed in the country.
Over the past decade, the Colombian population in Poland grew nearly 144-fold and the Georgian population 42-fold, part of a broader surge that has pushed the total number of insured foreign workers from roughly 293,000 in 2016 to 1.2 million by the end of 2025. Ukrainians remain by far the largest group, at more than 857,000.
Piotr Rogowiecki, an expert with the employers' group Pracodawcy RP, said his organization had opposed the measure during public consultations and warned it would do more harm than good.
"Immigrants are needed in the Polish labor market, and making things harder for citizens of these three countries accomplishes nothing good", he said.
Rogowiecki pointed to government projections showing Poland's workforce will shrink by about 200,000 people a year through 2060, a gap he said automation cannot close quickly enough. He said foreign workers largely fill roles Poles avoid, including in food processing, manufacturing and trucking, where he said some companies have vehicles sitting idle for lack of drivers.
Rather than restricting an entire nationality, Rogowiecki argued Poland could address security concerns through bilateral agreements allowing background checks on applicants' criminal records. He predicted workers from the affected countries will keep coming regardless, but face longer waits at government offices already struggling with understaffing — permits can currently take several months to process.
"We need to find the golden mean between the needs of the economy and security", he said. "If the economy starts to falter due to a lack of workers, we'll have lower tax revenue and fewer resources for domestic security".
The tightened rule comes as work-permit approvals have already been falling. Interior Ministry data show new permits issued to foreigners dropped 50% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, down from 173,000 in the first half of 2024 to 69,000 in the first half of 2026.
(jh)
Source: PAP