The Polish cash-for-visa scandal (Polish: afera wizowa, lit. 'visa affair', also called: Polish: mafia wizowa, lit. 'visa mafia') was a political scandal concerning alleged corruption in the granting of travel visas by officials of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish consular service.[1][2] The majority of recipients left Poland for other Schengen Area countries or for North America.[3] According to critics, up to 350,000 visas may have been illegally issued in return for bribes.[4]