Your crossing
Where are you crossing and what time of year?
Early-morning (03:00-05:00) usually beats queues.
Result
Time, controls, and what's required.
Expected wait
~ 15-30 min
A2 Schengen motorway crossing, Tuesday 9:00, low volume. Routine passport control, no customs.
Bring ID card or passport; ID card is sufficient for EU/EEA.
Status (2026)
Open, normal flow
Documents
ID card or passport
Queue times are 2026 reference averages. Always check the operator's site on the day of travel.
How to read the result
Polish borders fall into three categories. Pick the right rule before you queue:
PL-DE · Świecko (A2)
The main car-corridor to Germany. 24/7 Schengen. Peak summer Saturdays can queue 90-180 minutes for cars, 60-90 minutes for coaches. Truck lane is up to 4 hours. Best time: Tuesday-Thursday 03:00-06:00 or 21:00-23:00. Bring your ID card (EU) or passport.
PL-DE · Kołbaskowo (DK10)
South of Szczecin. Road DK10 connects to Berlin via the A11. Less motorway, more truck traffic. Queue usually 20-60 min. There's a PKP / DB regional rail crossing at Szczecin Gumieńce if you'd rather not drive.
PL-DE · Olszyna-Forst (DK12)
Wrocław ↔ Berlin via the A4 / DK12. Smaller crossing, shorter queue (10-40 min). Road quality on the German side is variable. Local traffic, no electronic.
PL-CZ · Cieszyn (DK1)
Kraków ↔ Brno via Bielsko-Biała. 24/7 Schengen. Foot passengers allowed — useful for trains / buses on the Czech side. New Cieszyn-Chotěbuz bridge for cars is faster. ID card only for EU.
PL-CZ · Chałupki (DK12)
Wrocław ↔ Olomouc. Quiet road border, used by commuters. Queue 5-20 min. Slow on Mondays with Czech truckers returning home. The PKP rail crossing at Chałupki (line 158) is rarely staffed.
PL-SK · Barwinek / Muszynka
Two small crossings in the south-east. Schengen. Used by hikers and Tatras tourists. Queue 5-15 min. Both have free-flow traffic. Bring ID card. No transit documentation needed beyond that.
PL-LT · Budzisko (S8)
The main car-corridor to the Baltics. Warsaw ↔ Kaunas via Białystok. Schengen 24/7. Queue usually 10-30 min; spikes to 1-2 hours on Friday afternoons in summer. PKP trains between Białystok and Kaunas work, no border stamp.
PL-LT · Ogrodniki
Suwałki ↔ Vilnius. Smaller, used by locals and campers heading to the Curonian Spit. Queue 5-15 min. August weekend spikes to 60 min.
PL-UA · Dorohusk
Lublin ↔ Lviv via Hrubieszów. The main car-corridor. Non-Schengen, full passport + customs. 24/7. War-time flow rules apply — Ukrainian refugees and aid trucks are prioritised. Expect 30-120 min on a normal day, 3-6 hours during peak refugee movement.
PL-UA · Hrebenne
Rzeszów ↔ Lviv. Smaller, often quieter than Dorohusk. Non-Schengen. 30-90 min wait. PKP rail crossing to Kyiv is suspended since the 2022 invasion.
PL-UA · Medyka
Foot passenger + light-vehicle crossing, near Shehyni on the Ukrainian side. Non-Schengen. The busiest for foot refugees / humanitarian workers. 60-180 min. Some war-zone areas (Shehyni, Volytsia) are within shelling range — check before going.
PL-BY · Kuźnica / Terespol
Białystok-Grodno and Warsaw-Brest respectively. Non-Schengen for foreigners since 2020. Belarus effectively bans entry from Poland in retaliation for the EU sanctions. Foreign passport holders cannot cross PL-BY by car or rail — only certain visa categories (diplomats, residents) are allowed. Polish citizens can return, but the queue is 24-72 hours.
Limitations of this calculator
FAQ
Can I cross PL-BY with a Schengen visa?
In practice, no. Belarus declared a visa-free entry for Schengen-visa holders in 2024, but the EU's reciprocal sanctions and Polish Border Guard procedures mean most foreigners are turned back. The PL-BY crossings are effectively closed to tourists since 2020.
Is the Suwałki gap really that dangerous?
For travellers, not really — the border with Lithuania is stable Schengen. The "gap" is a NATO military term referring to the ~ 65 km Poland-Lithuania border that connects the rest of NATO to the Baltics. It is militarised but open. No tourist risk in 2026.
Do I need a vignette for transit through PL?
Only if you drive a toll motorway segment. See the e-TOLL calculator. Otherwise no.
What about the Hrebenne-Lviv PKP rail crossing?
Suspended since 2022 due to the war. PKP has not announced a restart. The Warsaw-Kyiv rail link remains in planning, not in operation. For rail, fly Chopin → Lviv via LOT / Wizz, or take a coach from Medyka.
Related tools
Sources
- Polish Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) — strazgraniczna.pl
- PL-UA war-time crossing policies — UNHCR Poland — unhcr.org/poland