We provide employers with professional advice related to hiring employees from outside of the EU. You can ask us for legal advice  or commission us with legal representation and ensuring that all aspects of your migrant employees’ work in Poland are legal – this would include procuring all documents enabling them to stay and work in Poland in line with the law. 

Various ways to make a migrant`s work legal

Work permit

  • a work permit allows a foreigner to work for a particular employer at a specific position
  • employers have to apply for that type of work permit
  • such a work permit can be obtained from the relevant voivodeship office having jurisdiction over the employer’s seat
  • in order to obtain a work permit, the employer needs to submit the relevant documents and fill in an application form in which they indicate the type of work they wish to entrust to a given foreigner, the type of employment contract they intend to conclude, and the amount of that foreigner’s remuneration
  • in most cases the employer also needs to procure a confirmation from the relevant starost (determined by the employer’s seat address or place of residence) that it was not possible to find a suitable candidate for a given position among Polish job-seekers (a job market test)
  • such a work permit is issued for a period of one to three years and its validity period may be extended
  • under such a work permit, a given foreigner is allowed to work exclusively for the employer indicated in the permit and in line with terms and conditions described in it (there are few exceptions to those rules – those can be found in the Act on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions)

Single work and stay permit

  • such a single permit is a work permit and a temporary residence permit for a given foreigner – all in one document
  • a foreigner may apply for such a permit at the relevant voivodeship office defined on the basis of where the foreigner lives in Poland
  • in most cases a confirmation has to be procured from the relevant starost (determined by the employer’s seat address or place of residence) that it was not possible to find a suitable candidate for a given position among Polish job-seekers (a job market test)
  • such a permit is issued to the foreigner for a period of up to 3 years and enables them to work for one particular employer under the terms and conditions indicated in the permit (i.e. it does not grant unlimited access to the job market)

Temporary residence permit for purposes of performing work requiring high qualifications (Blue Card)

  • a Blue Card is combines a work permit and a residence permit for a given foreigner
  • a foreigner may apply for such a permit at the relevant voivodeship office defined on the basis of where the foreigner lives in Poland
  • this type of permit may be requested by foreigners whose level of professional competence is higher than average and whose remuneration equals or is greater than 150% of official average remuneration on condition that they meet other conditions provided for by the relevant law
  • in most cases a confirmation has to be procured from the relevant starost (determined by the employer’s seat address or place of residence) that it was not possible to find a suitable candidate for a given position among Polish job-seekers (a job market test)
  • such a permit is issued to the foreigner for a period of up to 3 years and enables them to work for one particular employer under the terms and conditions indicated in the permit (i.e. it does not grant unlimited access to the job market)

Declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner

  • a declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner makes the work of that foreigner performed for one particular employer legal
  • such a declaration may be issued only for citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine
  • under such a permit, a foreigner may work for a maximum of 6 months out of every consecutive 12 months
  • the employer is obliged to register such a declaration with the job centre relevant to their seat address
  • such a declaration is issued to a given foreigner for a fixed period of time and makes it possible for them to work for a given employer under specific terms and conditions
  • after a foreigner has worked under such a declaration for 3 months, they may take advantage of a simplified procedure for applying for a work permit (provided that they worked under a contract of employment)

Temporary residence permit due to pursuing business activity in Poland

  • such a permit makes a given foreigner’s stay in Poland legal on the basis of their business activity if they meet a number of conditions provided for by the law
  • a foreigner may apply for such a permit at the relevant voivodeship office defined on the basis of where the foreigner lives in Poland
  • such a permit is issued for a foreigner for a period of up to 3 years and it makes it possible for them to pursue business activity indicated in the permit throughout that period

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