A 26-year-old Nigerian man has been arrested and detained in Krakow, Poland, after authorities discovered he was using a counterfeit residence card.

According to reports published by a Polish news outlet on Thursday, September 4, 2025, the man had attempted to verify his residency status when officials uncovered the fake document.

Investigations revealed that he had ordered the card online while still in the UK, paid €2,000 for it, and later received it by post. However, it was discovered that he had no legal basis for staying in Poland and had already been in the country illegally for four days.

The Commander of the Border Guard ordered him to leave Poland within 20 days and imposed a three-year ban from entering the entire Schengen Area.

He was also charged under Article 270 § 1 of the Polish Penal Code, which criminalises the use of counterfeit documents.

The Nigerian pleaded guilty to the offence and voluntarily accepted the penalty but declined to provide any further explanation.