Poland added a Belarusian truck driver to the list of undesirable foreigners. He even wrote to the country's president

For about a year, Siarhei went on trips and did not suspect that he was on the list of undesirable foreigners. He only found out about it when he decided to change jobs. He was threatened with deportation from Poland to Belarus, but he could not return to his homeland due to political persecution. Siarhei told Most how this story ended.

In early 2021, Siarhei flew to Poland to work as an international driver. At that time, due to the pandemic, quarantine rules were in force in the country.

During airport control, Siarhei was asked about quarantine, but a colleague said it wasn't necessary for truck drivers. Siarhei believes that the employee indicated in the system that he had a place to serve quarantine.

Upon arriving at the company where he intended to work, Siarhei processed his documents. There was still time before his first trip, so he went to Belarus. But when he left Poland, he was informed at the border that he had violated quarantine.

Siarhei immediately paid a fine — about 50 dollars — and considered the matter closed. After returning to Poland, he started working.

Problems arose a year later when he decided to change jobs. It then turned out that due to the quarantine violation, the Belarusian was added to the list of undesirable foreigners in Poland and to the Schengen Information System (SIS). The Polish authorities began the procedure to annul his residence permit.

Then Siarhei turned to lawyers, who filed a court application to appeal the decision to include him in the SIS. The lawyers explained to the man that as long as the case was being considered, he could legally stay in Poland.

— But I couldn't leave its borders. So I had to leave the company where I worked as a truck driver and get a job at a local car workshop,— he says.

In a letter to the president, he wrote: he didn't know about the quarantine, paid the fine for violating it

While the case was being considered in court, Siarhei wrote a letter to the then President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, asking him to intervene in the situation. In the letter, he explained in detail why he considered the officials' actions illegal.

— I described everything as it was: I didn't know about the quarantine, I paid the fine for its violation,— he says.

Soon, Siarhei was contacted by the president's office. They explained that the appeal would be forwarded to the police at his place of residence, and they would investigate.

At the same time, Siarhei appealed to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's office, asking for clarification of the situation and explaining that in case of deportation to Belarus, he faced political persecution: he and his wife participated in protests, police officers came to their home and warned them about responsibility for extremism.

«I don't know what played a role»

At the same time, the Białystok police began an investigation into Siarhei. His wife was questioned.

— I contacted them myself and offered to come to the station so they could personally verify that I am a normal person: I work and don't break any rules. But they told me there was no need, that it was just a conversation with the police, — the man recalls.

He did not personally participate in the court hearings: he was represented by a lawyer by proxy.

While the case procedures were ongoing, the entry ban to the Schengen area expired in April 2024. To ensure that the record was no longer in the SIS, Siarhei sent a request to the competent authority of the General Police Headquarters in Warsaw. And he received an answer: the ban was lifted.

In parallel, he submitted documents for a new temporary residence permit based on his work at the car workshop. And when the ban expired, he again found a job at a transport company and attached the relevant document to his residence permit application. In November 2024, the man received a new residence card.

— I don't know what played a role: the lawyer's work, the letter to the president, or simply that the ban expired. But in the end, I was able to return to working as a truck driver and obtain a new residence permit based on my work,— says Siarhei.

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