Poland has arranged new contracts with outsourcing companies, with third party visa application centers recommencing in countries where such services were previously used (this includes India, where VFS global visa centers reopened from January 2, 2024). However, the delays cited below continue to apply, with foreign nationals facing issues in booking appointments. Furthermore, the grace period is no longer in effect.

September 15, 2023: The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has terminated its contracts with outsourcing companies handling the submission of Polish visa applications in many countries. This will bring significant changes in the practical functioning of the process of obtaining Polish visas in countries where Polish consulates work with visa centers (consulates or another provider will likely take over processing), including a significant delay of visa processing times past the current three-to-six-month timeframe. A grace period is expected that will allow applicants to submit their visa applications to the visa centers until a certain date (though this has not yet been announced). We will publish an alert when related details are published.