Tunisian Man Detained in Poland for Ilegal Stay and Plans to Enter a Sham Marriage for Securing Papers
According to the Bydgoszcz branch of the Border Guard, a state security agency patrolling the Polish border, the man was detained after he got there illegally, without holding any documents or means to cover his stay in this country, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The 32-year-old was attempting to enter into a fictitious marriage with a woman from this country in order to legalize his stay in Poland and therefore be allowed to reach other Schengen Zone countries as well.
“The inspection of the legality of stay undertaken by the Bydgoszcz Border Guard officers showed that the 32-year-old is staying in our country illegally, without any residence documents or financial means for his maintenance, and what is more – two months earlier he had crossed the state border from Germany to Poland breaking the law,” press officer of the Commander of the Vistula Border Guard Unit, Dagmara Bielec, pointed out in this regard.
When asked by officials, the man admitted that he has been travelling across European countries since August 2021 for work and tourism purposes. In addition, he was aware that after the expiry of the visa, which was valid for ten days, based on which he reached Greece, he was breaking the residence regulations that are effective in the Schengen Zone countries.
Bielec said that, unfortunately, this man didn’t find a job after over a year and a half, but he found a “wife” whom he met on social media.
“After less than a month of acquaintance with a 38-year-old citizen of the Republic of Poland, the foreigner came to Poland to legalize his relationship with her and thus his residence status,” Bielec pointed out in this regard.
After being interrogated by officials, the Polish woman admitted that it was the Tunisian national who first made contact with her, but she consented to the marriage herself one week before the planned wedding. Still, the 38-year-old didn’t meet the Tunisian national despite their plans to get married.
The man was detained for violating the provisions of the Act on Foreigners (Article 302(1)(1), 6, 10); thus, the Commander of the Border Guard in Bydgoszcz initiated a proceeding against him regarding the obligation to return.
Authorities in Poland are dealing with a large number of persons who attempt to enter and stay in this country in an unlawful way. Earlier this month, Polish officials announced that within a period of three days, the Podlaskie Branch of the Border Guard detained a total of 12 people who eased illegal border crossing from Belarus to Poland.
Recently, Polish authorities announced that they applied new changes to the Act on Foreigners regarding the return of foreigners residing illegally in EU countries.
