"Belarusian Folk Pastime." How the New System for Polish Visa Appointments Works
The Polish Visa Center — VFS Global company — has launched a new system for booking appointments to submit documents for a Polish visa. Instead of "catching slots," applicants are added to a verified waiting list. The publication Most tested the new system but was unable to register: the system kept issuing errors. Other Belarusians share similar experiences.
Illustrative photo. Photo: Most
From June 8, appointments for submitting documents to Polish visa centers in Belarus must be made in a new way. The applicant must undergo verification and join a waiting list. After available dates appear, they should receive a notification via email — then they can independently choose the date and time for submission. It looks like a simple queue where anyone interested will eventually get a spot. However, almost immediately after the launch, users began reporting problems.
Most tried to register in the new system using Belarusian numbers, both those in roaming and within Belarus. But each time, something didn't work.
First experience. A person is in Poland but uses a Belarusian number to create an account. This works — an email arrives from VFS Appointment System offering to activate the account. The email states that the link is valid for only two days from the registration date.
However, after clicking the activation link, a VFS Global page opens with the error "Session Expired or Invalid," meaning "Session expired or invalid." The service suggests logging in again, refreshing the page, clearing the browser cache, checking the internet connection, or trying a different browser. None of these steps yield results.
Message about the expiration of user registration with a Belarusian number in roaming. Screenshot: Most
Email to the specified address for account activation. Screenshot: Most
Message from VFS.GLOBAL after activation attempt. Screenshot: Most
Journalists also asked users located in Belarus to share their experiences. Three people encountered errors already during registration. Two of them also tried using a VPN for this purpose.
VFS Global messages appeared on screens: "Too many attempts. Please try again later" and "Something went wrong. Please try again later." All three claim they were attempting to book an appointment for the first time.
First user's registration attempt from Belarus
Second user's registration attempt from Belarus
Third user's registration attempt from Belarus
Who else didn't succeed?
Users on Threads describe similar experiences.
ellie_elf17 called visa appointments a "Belarusian folk pastime": according to her, she is already "collecting entries on waiting lists" for German, French, and Italian consulates, and now Poland has been added. In the comments, she writes that she has been waiting for an appointment at the German consulate since 2024 and "will not pay helpers."
Some users write that the system doesn't even allow them past the first steps.
aleksa_0503 showed the same message: "Too many attempts. Please try again later." And wrote that for her, "it doesn't even allow to register an account."
nameisanng published a screenshot with the message: "Your account is temporarily blocked due to multiple failed login attempts. Please try again in the coming days. If the problem persists, contact support."
taricijaguk writes that they cannot register on the website: the system reports that "the session has expired."
korbut_olya says that she tried both through the website and the app, but constantly sees either an error or a timeout message.
web_designerka writes that she encountered an error on the visa center website and could not proceed. She is also simultaneously waiting in line for German and Italian visas.
Who succeeded
There are users on Threads who managed to proceed further.
anuchyna.yuliya wrote that she was added to the waiting list. The screenshot shows a VFS message: "You have been added to the waiting list. We will notify you of status changes." In the comments, she explains her process: download the VFS app, select the city, category Schengen C Visa Mobile App, subcategory Other C visa, scan passport, complete camera verification, and confirm participation in the waiting list.
test__piar also wrote that after a day of attempts, she managed to register, but only for Gomel: according to her, the program did not allow selecting the Minsk visa center.
What else users are discussing
A dispute quickly arose in the comments: should the new queue reduce chaos or, conversely, only increase the load?
katyalekseyeva believes that people who join queues "just in case" create additional demand themselves and hinder those who genuinely need visas.
s.a.n.e.c.h.k.a_y.u.v.e.l.i.r writes that because of such appointments, people join the queue "just to have it."
soroka.rb, on the contrary, believes that users are simply trying to foresee everything in advance.
pashkachumak11 also writes that the logic is clear: got a visa — and immediately join a new queue.
From the comments and user-made screenshots, it is clear that the system has indeed started working, but is still unstable. Many cannot even create an account or encounter temporary blocking.
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Comments
А вось на польскую так і не змог злавіць слот. Без пасрэднікаў амаль немагчыма. І гэта было да 2020.