In Poland, Ukrainians working in taxis may be required to undergo a new mandatory check
Poland plans to strengthen control over taxi drivers from countries outside the EU. Future taxi drivers will be required to confirm the absence of a criminal record not only in Poland but also in their home country. The reason is that current regulations do not allow checking whether a person has been convicted of serious crimes outside the European Union.
The Polish Ministry of Infrastructure is finalizing amendments to the legislation on road transport.
In particular, the most high-profile innovation will be the requirement for drivers from countries outside the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to submit a certificate of no criminal record not only from the Polish register but also from their country of origin.
The document will need to be translated into Polish by a sworn translator or through a consulate.
Why Poland decided to change the rules
Currently, to obtain the right to work as a taxi driver, a certificate from the Polish register is sufficient. However, this register does not contain information about convictions issued to citizens of other countries outside the EU.
Because of this, as Polish taxi organizations note, a situation arises where a person convicted in their country of serious crimes can formally be considered without a criminal record in Poland and obtain permission to transport passengers.
Polish media cite citizens of Georgia, Pakistan, and Ukraine as examples, regarding whom Polish authorities do not have access to information about possible convictions in their homeland.
What else will change
The government also plans to introduce a unified taxi driver identifier that will operate throughout the country. It will confirm the driver's right to work in passenger transportation.
In addition, the authorities want to block schemes by which companies circumvent penalties after losing their license. To do this, it is planned to change the procedure for issuing documents for vehicles used for taxi work.
Taxi drivers demand even stricter rules
Industry representatives support strengthening checks but believe this is not enough.
They propose additionally requiring drivers to:
- have at least conversational proficiency in Polish;
- know the area in which they work;
- have at least three years of driving experience.
Market participants also advocate creating a unified electronic database where information about drivers, licenses, vehicles, and medical examination results will be stored. In their opinion, this will allow faster detection of violators and increase passenger safety.
According to Polish media, the bill is expected to be submitted to the government for consideration soon, after which it will be forwarded to the Polish parliament.
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