The paper wrote that tens of thousands of people from around the world may have entered Poland under the pretense of studying.

“Many Students from Rwanda, Turkey or Zimbabwe seem to want to study in Poland, but during the first year they seem to lose interest in their courses. They sign up to the courses just to obtain a visa,” DGP wrote.

“The goal is to cross over into the Schengen zone. Student visas allow holders to stay in the EU as well as work legally. In reality, most of the students never start their studies, but still pay the university fees.”

The Information Processing Centre (OPI) reports that at the Higher School of Management and Administration in the southwestern city of Opole, foreigners account for as many as 61% of students, with many remaining in the first year of studies for many years, DGP wrote.

The Ministry of the Interior said it has tightened the system to crack down on visa fraud. Since 2019, students have had to have an offer of full-time study at a college listed by the ministry, though many schools do not enforce the procedures.