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“The visa scandal that is happening in Poland requires an investigation. I don’t want Poland to just let migrants through,” he said.

The Chancellor added that he would discuss the issue with the Polish government and raised the possibility of introducing border controls with Poland and other neighboring countries.

German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said temporary measures could be introduced on the border with Poland and the Czech Republic.

Both Scholz and Feser have previously opposed calls for border controls, and the comments suggest the government is under pressure to respond to growing numbers of illegal migrants.

More than 204,000 refugees sought asylum in the first eight months of this year, up 77% from the same period in 2022, according to government data. According to German police, in the first half of this year, more than 12 thousand illegal migrants were detained on the border with Poland.

The European Union is also looking into reports that migrants entered Poland on illegally issued work visas for which officials allegedly received bribes. Poland’s right-wing government has long criticized German migrant policies.