Poland extends Schengen border checks until March 2027

Poland will keep passport checks at its internal Schengen borders with Germany and Lithuania in place until 30 March 2027. The Interior Ministry announced the latest six-month extension, running from 2 October 2026, at the start of September, a month before the current controls were due to expire on 1 October. For anyone travelling on the Warsaw–Berlin corridor by road, rail or coach, or crossing between Lithuania and Poland, document checks remain in force for the rest of the year and into next spring.

Which borders are affected?

The controls cover two of Poland’s internal Schengen frontiers: the border with Germany and the border with Lithuania, as listed in the Commission’s notifications register. According to Super Biz, the regulation published on 25 September provides for spot checks at 50 designated places on the German border and 13 on the Lithuanian border.

These are internal Schengen borders, not the external EU frontier. That matters for travellers: a stop at the Polish-German border is a document check, not an EES biometric registration, and nothing is logged to the EU’s Entry/Exit System. EES only applies when you enter or leave the Schengen area from a country outside it.

Poland’s borders with the Czech Republic and Slovakia are not covered by this notification. Road travel on those routes is unaffected by these specific controls. Germany’s own checks cover the German side of the same Polish-German border and run until 15 March 2027, so both sides of that frontier have active controls.

What does a check actually involve?

Officers ask for a passport or, for EU citizens, a national identity card. On international trains between Warsaw and Berlin, checks can happen on board, as officers walk through the carriages.

A phone photograph of your travel document is not accepted. Carry the physical document. Queues can build at peak times on the busiest road crossings, so drivers doing the Warsaw–Berlin run in a day should build in extra time.

Why is Poland running these checks?

Poland reinstated border controls on 7 July 2025 in response to irregular migration along the Belarus–Lithuania route. As LRT reported, the Interior Ministry says the route through Belarus and the Baltic states is still active, and that it wants to prevent secondary movement by people who enter the EU from Belarus and travel through Lithuania into Poland.

Since the controls began, the ministry says nearly 2,300 people have been denied entry, more than 1,300 have been returned under readmission procedures, and 130 people have been detained on suspicion of helping others cross illegally.

Poland was not among the nine countries that received formal Commission opinions in June 2026, which covered controls that had lasted more than 12 months. In those opinions the Commission recommended that the nine, including Germany, work towards phasing out and gradually lifting their checks.

How long can this go on?

Under the Schengen Borders Code, controls in response to a persisting serious threat are notified in blocks of up to six months, and the Commission says the total should in principle not exceed two years, with an additional prolongation possible in a major exceptional situation. Poland first introduced these controls in July 2025, so the March 2027 end date is well within that two-year ceiling.

Does this affect my Schengen day count?

No. Crossing between Poland and Germany, or between Lithuania and Poland, does not create an EES entry or exit event and does not affect your 90 days in any 180-day period. The day count runs from your arrival at the external Schengen frontier to your departure back across it. A road trip from Warsaw to Berlin and back is counted as uninterrupted time inside Schengen, not as two separate trips.

What about ETIAS?

ETIAS is not live yet and is not needed for any current trip. No action is required yet. Applications are not open.When it does launch, an approved ETIAS authorisation will cover the whole Schengen area, including Poland, in a single document. Poland’s internal border controls are separate from ETIAS entirely: ETIAS is an advance travel authorisation, checked before boarding, not a physical border inspection. You can track the current status at the ETIAS status page.

Practical checklist for travellers

• Carry your physical passport. A digital copy or phone photo is not sufficient. EU citizens can use a national identity card.
• Allow extra time on road crossings. The Warsaw-Berlin motorway route and crossings near Frankfurt an der Oder tend to be the busiest, so leave a margin at peak times.
• Trains carry document checks on board. International services on the Warsaw-Berlin and Vilnius-Warsaw routes may have checks during the journey. Have your passport accessible.
• No EES biometrics at these crossings. EES fingerprints and facial images are taken at the external Schengen frontier. If this is your first visit to the Schengen area since 12 October 2025, you will complete biometric enrolment at your port of entry into Schengen, not at any subsequent internal border. Crossing Poland’s internal borders creates no EES record.
• End date: 30 March 2027. The controls are in force until then, barring an earlier lifting or a further renewal notification.