From visa controversy to BBN? Grodecki’s past actions raise questions

According to information obtained by Niezalezna.pl, Bartosz Grodecki, who is expected to become the new head of Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN), was responsible for controversial visa regulations that the then-opposition later used to attack the PiS government. This is indicated in a report by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK). His recent activities have also raised eyebrows.

In recent days, Niezalezna.pl revealed that Bartosz Grodecki, a former deputy minister of the interior and administration, is set to take over as head of the National Security Bureau.

He drafted regulations later used by Tusk’s camp to attack PiS

Grodecki’s name appears in the Supreme Audit Office’s post-audit report concerning the supervision exercised by the Minister of Foreign Affairs over consular activities. According to the report, it was Bartosz Grodecki who authored the legal changes later used by Donald Tusk and the current December 13 coalition to attack Law and Justice (PiS) over the alleged “visa scandal.”

The NIK report states that on January 30, 2020, Bartosz Grodecki established and forwarded to Polish consuls controversial guidelines introducing a simplified visa procedure for foreign nationals employed in the Polimery Police investment project.

“On January 30, 2020, DK Director Bartosz Grodecki established and forwarded to Polish consuls guidelines concerning a simplified visa procedure for foreigners employed in the Polimery Police investment project, which violated Article 77(7) in conjunction with Article 77(1) of the Act on Foreigners and infringed upon the independence of consuls guaranteed under Article 13(4) of the Consular Law. Actions undertaken by DK Director Bartosz Grodecki constituted an overreach of his authority under Article 13(3) in conjunction with Article 13(2) of the Consular Law. 
The Director General of the Foreign Service, Rafał Wiśniewski, referring to the simplified visa procedure used for persons employed in the Polimery Police project, explained: ‘Concerning the Polimery Police project, consuls generally implemented the recommendations of the then leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicated through the DK department in claris correspondence DK.3307.3.2020/5 dated January 30 [2020 - NIK note] and subsequent claris correspondence.’
Under the claris correspondence dated January 30, 2020, signed by then-DK Director Bartosz Grodecki, Polish consuls were informed of a simplified visa procedure that included: [1] no requirement to schedule appointments through the e-konsulat system; [2] the possibility of submitting visa applications collectively through designated contact persons in particular countries; [3] issuing refusals only in cases where there were strong grounds, such as an entry in the SIS database or on the list of persons undesirable in Poland.
Further claris correspondence indicates that consuls in Manila, New Delhi, and Mumbai were requested to accept visa applications submitted by a single person (the designated contact point) or to allow applications to be filed by correspondence. […]
These guidelines regarding collective or correspondence-based submission of visa applications without the applicant’s personal presence violated Article 77(7) in conjunction with Article 77(1) of the Act on Foreigners. Under these provisions, a foreign national applying for a national visa is required to submit the necessary documents in person, and waiving this requirement may occur only in exceptional cases justified by the foreigner’s personal circumstances,” as stated in the NIK audit report.

The Supreme Audit Office also pointed out that, at Grodecki’s initiative, the rules governing the issuance of national visas and Schengen visas were aligned. The bill was submitted to the Sejm in July 2020.

“The amendments stemmed from the government bill amending the Act on Foreigners and certain other acts, aimed at adapting Polish law to changes introduced by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No. 810/2009, as well as introducing accompanying changes to procedures concerning the issuance, revocation, and invalidation of national visas governed by domestic law. The bill was submitted to the Sejm on July 7, 2020.
The leading ministry responsible for the amendment was the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, and the official responsible for the project was Bartosz Grodecki, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry.
The explanatory memorandum to the bill stated: ‘It is also proposed to repeal Article 66(6) and (7) of the Act on Foreigners. These provisions stipulate that a national visa for employment purposes […] is issued by the consul competent for the foreigner’s country of permanent residence. […] In practice, consular offices encounter difficulties in determining the permanent place of residence of foreigners applying for visas. Individuals residing in countries where they are not citizens sometimes cannot obtain documents confirming their residence status. Referring to the definition of “place of residence” under Article 25 of the Civil Code […] is not always helpful, as consuls often have no means of verifying both elements of the definition: actual presence in a given place and the intention of permanent stay there. The proposed amendment would result in applying the general rules concerning the jurisdiction of consular offices under the Visa Code,’” this was noted by the auditors.

He pushed housing access for migrants. The SAFE angle raises concerns

Since February 2026, Bartosz Grodecki has served as an advisor to the management board of RADMOR, a Gdynia-based company belonging to a defense group considered one of the potential beneficiaries of the EU SAFE loan program. It should be recalled that President Karol Nawrocki ultimately vetoed the SAFE legislation, proposing a Polish “SEJF 0 percent” initiative.

But that is not all. In 2020, under the supervision of Bartosz Grodecki, then deputy minister of the interior and administration, controversial policy documents were drafted.

One of them was titled “Poland’s Migration Policy – Directions of Action 2021-2022.” The document not only aligned Poland with Brussels’ migration agenda but also referred to migrants’ access to housing.