Legal work in Poland

Poland is a very attractive country for many foreigners as a place to work. In order for a foreigner to work legally in Poland, he or she must have both the right of residence and the right to perform work.

Legal residence is ensured to the foreigner by:

• a visa with an appropriate purpose of stay,
• visa-free movement
• a governor's permit for residence on Polish territory.

Legal work can be performed by foreigners on the basis of:

• Temporary residence permit with access to the labor market
• Permanent residence permit
• A residence permit for a long-term EU resident

  An application for such permits is submitted by the foreigner. These permits are issued by administrative decision by governors. It takes many months to obtain them, depending on the complexity of the case and the office that handles the matter. In the case of temporary residence, information from the starost is required. The duration of a temporary residence permit is up to 3 years, permanent and long-term EU resident permits are issued indefinitely. The fee for issuing the decision is from 340 to 640 PLN and is paid by the foreigner. After receiving a positive decision for residence, the foreigner receives a Residence Card after paying a stamp duty of PLN 100.

• Type A, B, C, D, E and S work permits.

  Permits are applied for by the employer to the governor. They are issued by the governor in the form of an administrative decision. The procedure takes about 30 days, and in particularly complicated cases up to 2 months. Depending on the type of permit, they are issued for various lengths of time up to 5 years. The stamp duty for issuing or extending a work permit is paid by the employer and ranges from PLN 25 to PLN 100.

• Statement on entrusting work to a foreigner

  Currently, this procedure is available for citizens of 5 countries: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia , Moldova and Ukraine.
  The application for registration of the statement in the register is submitted by the employer to the labor office. The waiting time for registration of the statement is generally up to 7 days, and in more complicated cases up to 30 days. The period for which the statement is issued is up to 24 months. The stamp duty is PLN 100, which is paid by the employer.

• Notification of employment of a Ukrainian citizen

  This is a procedure introduced by the Law on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine. An employer may hire a citizen of Ukraine and within 14 days from the date of employment makes a notification on the portal praca.gov.pl. The notification is sent via the portal praca.gov.pl to the labor office competent for the place of residence. The procedure is free of charge.

Legality of residence and work is crucial for foreigners and their employers. Failure to work legally can result in the revocation of a foreigner's right to stay in Poland, difficulties in obtaining it in the future and, in extreme cases, deportation and a ban on re-entry to Poland or the entire Schengen area. Illegal employment of foreigners is also a serious offense that results in heavy fines and bans on future employment of foreigners.

Kancelaria do Spraw Obywatelskich provides comprehensive analysis of the legal situation and assists foreigners and employers in obtaining all available types of work permits as described above. We encourage you to take advantage of our services now!