Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration is proposing up to three years in prison for knowingly enabling or helping someone to remain in the country unlawfully, RMF24 reports, citing the newspaper Rzeczpospolita. The dispute centres on the scope of criminal liability: the provision quoted in the report would not require a financial or personal gain motive. That has raised concerns about the consequences for people providing humanitarian aid. It remains a proposal, not law in force.
According to the report published by RMF24 on 13 October, deputy interior minister Czesław Mroczek put forward the measure in comments on a draft amendment to the Criminal Code prepared by the Ministry of Justice. The proposed Article 264a § 1a would cover anyone who enables or facilitates another person’s continued stay in Poland while knowing that it is unlawful.
The key difference from the existing provision concerns the purpose of that assistance. As RMF24 explains, the current Article 264a provides for up to five years’ imprisonment for enabling or facilitating an unlawful stay with the aim of obtaining financial or personal gain. The proposed new paragraph quoted in the report contains no such requirement. It would therefore broaden the scope of criminal liability, despite carrying a lower maximum sentence.
Tackling smuggling or threatening humanitarian aid?
In comments to Rzeczpospolita cited by RMF24, Mroczek said the proposal was intended to close a legal loophole and make efforts to combat migrant smuggling more effective. Lawyer Radosław Baszuk takes a different view of its scope. In his comments to the newspaper, also cited by RMF24, he argued that the measure targets activists and residents of border areas who provide humanitarian assistance to foreign nationals.
Those concerns include whether the provision could cover giving someone a meal or a place to warm up. This is not an established consequence of the law being applied, but a critical assessment of the proposal’s possible effects. The news should not be understood as the introduction of a penalty simply for feeding a migrant.
At this stage, the measure is a change suggested in comments on a draft bill. For people assisting foreign nationals, what would matter is the final scope of the provision if it were enacted. The report therefore describes a dispute over the boundaries of proposed criminal liability, rather than new obligations under existing law.
