Lindsay's Lessons

Entering Poland can be nerve wracking. I will tell you right now their border guards are not friendly, do not appreciate small talk and are armed. With their lovely demeanour  the Straż Graniczna can make you quite nervous. 

Coming for a holiday or to visit a friend can result in very sweaty armpits as you go through passport control. 

However, that is fair. Why shouldn’t a sovereign state have the right to ensure those who enter its borders do so for a legitimate reason? Thanks to its vigilant border control, Poland has escaped much of the nonsense that has plagued much of Western Europe due to illegal immigration. Crime is quite low compared to other states. Do not attempt to enter Poland from the East and jump their border either. Their government has authorized border guards there to shoot live rounds. Every major European city I have visited – Paris, London, Barcelona, Athens, Vienna – all of these cities I have been harassed by African or Middle Eastern men who hang around major tourist sites like the Eiffel Tower or the Acropolis. They have come up to me and attempted to sell me things or even tried to put bracelets on me, things like that. When I tell them to leave me alone they keep at it. I will tell you where I have not been harassed: Warsaw and Budapest. Draw your own conclusions.

And here’s one more thing— this is from our own government’s (Canada’s) site  https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/poland

Mandatory registration

“Foreigners must register their stay in Poland within 48 hours of arrival if the stay is to exceed 14 days. Registration will normally be arranged by your hotel. If you are not staying in a hotel, your host, landlord or holder of the property deed of the residence must register your stay. You should confirm with your host that they have registered you when you arrive at your accommodations. “

So wait, you’re telling me that if you intend to stay longer than 2 weeks, Poland demands to know who you are and where you are and if you don’t do it someone will do it for you. Imagine that– knowing full well who enters your country, where they are and why they are there. Even to get an e-sim as a traveller to not incur data roaming charges you need ID. 

I surmise that if one overstays the SG comes to give you a ride to the airport in one of these nice vans. 

In contrast in Canada you can just come on in and stay for six months, we do not care where you go, what you are doing and if you overstay … well maybe we will find you, maybe not but nothing will happen. You’ll probably just get a ticket home or we will allow you to apply for refugee status and live off our taxpayers’ money.  And if you commit a crime, that’s cool. We will give you a lighter sentence to make sure you will not get deported. It really makes one shake his head at times. 

You would think border safety would be one of the top priorities of a sovereign state but we have been lucky enough in Canada to never know what it is like to have our sovereignty removed. We did not have to fight for our freedom unlike Poland. In Canada we had a gradual drift from the United Kingdom, signed a few documents and that was it. Their King still remains our head of state until this day. Poland does not take its territorial sovereignty for granted and nor should they as its neighbours have invaded on more than one occasion. They will not be complacent and Poland remains vigilant.

Learn from Poland. Be like Poland. 

Sources: https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1016&top=16