The arrest comes amid a drive from the new pro-European government to hold those it accuses of wrongdoing during the previous administration to account.
"Preparatory proceedings concern, among others, making promises to provide financial benefits in exchange for intermediation in matters related to obtaining residence permits... as well as unlawfully exerting influence on the course of issuing the permits," the CBA said in a statement.
Poland's former nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government put migration at the heart of its campaign ahead of the October 2023 elections, but the cash-for-visas scandal undermined its efforts to portray itself as the party that could keep Poland's borders secure.
The deputy minister in question, named as Piotr W. in the statement due to Polish privacy laws, had been dismissed from his post by PiS following the scandal.
A total of nine people have been charged in the case, according to the CBA.
State-run news agency PAP cited prosecutors as saying that the accused could face up to ten years in prison, and that he had denied the charges against him.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
