Important procedures are missing
"Rzeczpospolita" points out that Poland's visa programme.Business Harbour, created for IT professionals from Belarus and their families under Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, was introduced without following the required procedures. There was no consultation with the Ministry of abroad Affairs at the time, and the peculiar Services did not issue any opinions on the matter. specified arrangements were made by the Sejm's committee of enquiry on the alleged visa scandal.
According to ‘Rzeczpospolita’, these findings will be included in a study to be submitted on 26 November. The Commission plans to submit a notification of the failure of the then members of the government, including Prime Minister Morawiecki, Minister of improvement Jadwiga Emilewicz and Justyna Orłowska, manager of the GovTech Polska program, who were initiators and organizers of the Poland programme.Business Harbour.
Poland Program.Business Harbour was launched in September 2020 and was initially directed exclusively to Belarusians. It offered simplified relocation to Poland through a fast visa way for IT professionals, their families, as well as owners and employees of companies of various sizes. The Chancellery of the Prime Minister promoted the program, offering start-ups funding, and larger companies support in the form of services facilitating "soft landing" in Poland. A year later, the programme was modified to include citizens of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Armenia.
The powers were not important
‘Rzeczpospolita’ established that from the very beginning peculiar visas were issued to citizens of many countries outside the authoritative list, including India, Iran, Korea, Japan and Azerbaijan. The programme was to be implemented very chaoticly, and the intent was to make a visa itself, not to implement the programme.
Marek Sowa, in an interview with “Rzeczpospolita”, noted that although the PBH visa formally entitles him to work only in Poland, allowed the holder to decision freely around the Schengen area. The effect was that in any cases Indian citizens who had this visa traveled to the USA through Mexico.
Marek Sowa besides added that erstwhile granting visas under the programme there was no evaluation of the competence of candidates. If anyone was willing, they just granted him a visa. The MFA was given a top-down order, and the consuls were under pressure.
The State Investment and Trade Agency, which mediated between visa applicants and companies, carried out an audit of the programme only after the disclosure of doubts. As “Rzeczpospolita” learned, the audit ended with a announcement to the D.A. on the anticipation of committing a crime in late October. A spokesperson for the Agency, Marcin Graczyk, informed that after the notification the law enforcement authorities were already active and no further information could be provided.
