After all, no one at the heaving border railway hub of Przemysl, or the nearby reception centre, seemed overly bothered by building regulations.

However, the alleged physical constraints of the temporary Home Office centre masks more fundamental logistical problems to the new visa process.

Refugees have been asked to turn up with a translated birth certificate, for example. Not only that, but the document has to be franked.

Anton Schembri, a former Cardiff University student who has flown to Poland to help some family friends get to Britain, said: “I understand that normally you need some rules, but in a crisis, that should go out of the window.

“Every time I hear on the news that we’re accepting so many refugees, I want to punch the TV because it’s a lie.”

Pointing to an empty foyer which he believes the Home Office officials could use to keep people warm while they wait, he said: “These kids are hungry. As if they’ve not been through enough.”

A common complaint amongst visa applicants on Wednesday was that the website through which they must begin their application keeps crashing.

In response, the civil servant had this to say to the crowd: “The website is a bit temperamental. It was working for people this morning.”