The relevant government entities relating to immigration in Poland are as follows:

• Consulates and Embassies of Poland in the foreign countries – applicable for i.a. obtaining visas, legalization of documents and other consular services.
• Local Labour Offices – applicable for issuance of labour market test and declaration of entrusting work to a foreign national.
• Voivodship Immigration Offices – relevant for majority of the immigration processes connected to work and stay legalization (i.a. work permits, residence permits, blue cards, EU registration)
• Office For Foreigners – central government office handling refugees, asylum, and international protection cases, also acting as second appeal instance for residency permit cases issued by Voivodship Offices
• Polish Border Guard – a state security agency responsible for border control and border crossing within the country ports of entry, as well as enforcement of immigration law regarding the legal ground for work and stay of foreign citizens in Poland
• The National Labour Inspectorate – a state agency responsible for supervising the observance of labour and employment law in Poland, including provisions regarding employment of foreign citizens in Poland.

In Poland all the work permits are employer (sponsor) based, i.e. it is not possible for the foreign national to obtain a work permit for themselves.

Available options for sponsor-based employment in Poland are work permits type A, B, C, D, E.

Estimated processing time of electronically filed application for Work Permits type A is around 1-3 months, depending on the place of submission (relevant Voivodship Immigration Offices, as the application must be submitted according to the employer’s place of registration).

Estimated processing time of obtaining Work Permits type B takes approximately 1-3 months. The process of obtaining work permit type C – E takes approximately 1-3 months, depending on depending on the place of submission (relevant Voivodship Immigration Offices)

Every foreigner working in the territory of Poland as an employee should have a work permit, unless they are exempted under the other regulations (e.g. EU citizens, graduates of a Polish university, EU Long -Term residence permit, permanent residence permit etc.). If an individual is not exempted from the obligation of obtaining a work permit, it is the obligation of an employer to obtain such permit.

Any local company, which is registered in Polish Court Registry (KRS) or an individual entrepreneur registered in the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG) or a private person who is, for e.g., hiring a foreign house help or babysitter, may apply for a work permit for a foreigner. There is no special sponsorship or registration required to be sponsor of employment-based migrants but to receive work permit, the applicant (sponsor):

• may not have any tax and social security arrears in Poland,
• must fulfil duties related to mandatory social security and healthcare registrations of employees,
• must have sufficient funds or sources of income to satisfy the obligations due from employment of foreigners,
• may not be lawfully punished for selected crimes relating to illegal employment or crimes against employee rights resulting from Labour Code provisions or crimes relating to human trafficking.

In case of assignment from foreign company to company registered in Poland, the obligation of obtaining a work permit lies on the foreign posting entity, where an individual is employed. The foreign employer should appoint a person, who will represent it in Poland. Additionally, to this requirement, a foreign company should notify the Labour Inspectorate about the details of the assignment and comply with other regulations specified in the respective Polish law on the Posted Workers.

The Act on the Conditions of Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland impose on the applicant an obligation to transfer the employment contract to the authority that issued the work permit or registered the statement on entrusting work to a foreigner. The obligation came into force on 1^st of July 2025 when it concerns statements and on 1^st of August 2025 in case of work permits.

Certain events might trigger filing of notification to Polish immigration authorities when foreigners are hired under work permits e.g.:

• the foreigner has not taken up work within 2 months from the initial date of validity of the work permit
• the foreigner has stopped work for a period exceeding 2 months, or
• the foreigner has finished work earlier than 2 months before the expiry of the validity period of the work permit.

As of 1^st of June 2025 due to recent law changes, any work permit application can be filed only electronically. As a result, work permits are primarily issued in digital form with a digital signature. Any communication with the immigration office relating to work authorization documents can be done only electronically.

Residency permit applications which are filed by foreigners to legalize their stay may be lodged only in paper. There is no electronic path possible at the moment and although it is under discussion and proposed as an upcoming law change for the future, digitalization is kept on being postponed.

In-person attendance/interview are required as part of the entry visa and residence permit application process. An individual is also required to enroll biometrics (photo in hard copy, fingerprint scan) during both processes. In-person attendance is not a part of the work permit application process as employer applies for a work permit for a given foreign national and must provide the scan of foreign national’s passport.

Immediate family members covering legally married spouses and minor children qualify as dependents for Polish visa and residency permit process. Partnership or common law relationships are not considered as legal dependents but may be still allowed to apply for an entry visa or residency permit depending on the discretion of the immigration authorities. Legal dependents cannot initially work on their dependents visas but may be granted temporary residency permit in Poland under so called joining the family purpose which gives them unrestricted access to Polish labor market. As the legal status of a dependent is correlated with the legal status of the main applicant, their access to Polish labor market depends on the main applicant’s type of resident permit.

An application for a residence permits for a long-term resident of the European Union may be submitted by a foreigner who has been residing legally and uninterruptedly on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 5 years immediately prior to submitting the application. There is also requirement to prove Polish language command at B1 level. This might be certified by state organized exams.

Under certain circumstances resulting from a personal situation the application for permanent residency status can be filed earlier than the required 5 years stay. In case of individuals having a Pole Card issued due to their Polish roots the application for permanent resident status can be submitted based on that fact after arrival to Poland.

A foreigner residing continuously on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 3 years based on a permanent residence permit, a residence permit for a long-term EU resident or the right of permanent residence, who has a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland may apply for a Polish citizenship. Under certain circumstances resulting from personal situation the application might be submitted sooner (for e.g., in case the applicant possesses Polish roots).

Polish immigration rules do not include catalogue of permissible business activities which would not be considered as standard work duties in Poland; hence every case must be analysed case by case to decide if a certain activity might be conducted based on a business visa It concerns especially short trips in regard to:

• Performance discussions;
• Contract negotiations;
• Attending a training;
• Providing a training;
• Office based planning activity (no hands-on work);
• Visits to the factory (no hands-on work);

However, any business activities exceeding the 30 calendar days limit, might trigger work permit obligation under the assignment type. In case of employees being seconded to a related party in Poland (including secondment to branch, rep office or permanent establishment) and when work permit type C is applicable, no work permit is triggered for initial 30 days stay period during the calendar year irrespective of type of activities carried. Based on our experience with the Border Guards in Poland, such 30 days waiver period is recognized as not triggering work permit in case of assignments between related parties.

The Act on the Conditions of Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland set new rules when it concerns remote work. Before 1st of June 2025 remote work wasn’t explicitly forbitten or allowed – it use to be a grey area, and in general it used to be considered that if the foreign national held a right to stay in Poland, he/she was able to work remotely from a place other that companies’ workplace (e.g. working from home).

As of 1st of June 2025, according to the above-mentioned Act, it is allowed to conduct occasional, incidental performance for a foreign entity of activities unrelated to the labour market and economy of the Republic of Poland, by a foreigner who resides in the territory of the Republic of Poland for a

purpose other than the performance of these activities, in particular if these activities are not aimed at the provision of services by a foreign entity from or on the territory of the Republic of Poland and their performance is not organized directly, or indirectly through a foreign entity.

As the regulation is relatively new, its application is still a subject of discussion. However, even if a co called workation scheme is possible on a certain occasion the individual still must be compliant with regulations regarding entry and legal stay in Poland.

Generally, there is no defined catalogue of activities that can be carried out on a visitor status without need for a work permit and the necessity to apply for the work permit in case of temporary posting to Poland would depend on the type of posting to Poland and its length. In case of employees being seconded to a related party in Poland when work permit type C is applicable, no work permit is triggered for initial 30 days stay period during the calendar year irrespective of type of activities carried. In case of work permit type D applicable for secondment to a local Polish entity for a purpose of temporary and occasional service, there is no allowed period for work permit exemption.

On top of the general rules there are certain work permit exemptions available for short term postings if certain conditions are met. Foreign nationals conducting the following hands-on work activities may be eligible for a technical work authorization exemption for up to three months per calendar year, if their employer holds an after-sales agreement and foreigners maintain their permanent place of residence outside of Poland:

• Technical installation, repairs or maintenance, supplying complete technological equipment, machinery or other equipment (hardware), if the foreign employer is its producer
• Training employees of a Polish company (legal entity), which is a recipient of the equipment mentioned above
• Participating in the collection of ordered technological equipment, machinery, or other equipment if the Polish entity is its producer.

There are no specific visa categories enabling remote or nomad work or equivalent at this point of time. However, it is possible that an individual will be able to conduct work from the territory of Poland while visiting (please see p. 10) as long as he/she holds authorisation that allows him/her to stay in Poland legally e.g. based on a visa waiver. No plans or discussions to implement a specific nomad visa in Poland for the time being.

As a rule, a work permit and a residence permit for work are issued with connection to employment at a specific company. In such case, the permits state such data as the job position, renumeration and data of the employer. In case of a change of the i.a. job position or the employer there might be a necessity to obtain a new work permit and change or obtain new residence permit which requires initiating a new immigration case taking several weeks.

Unified temporary residence permit for work is also tied to an employer that is why in case of employer change it is mandatory to apply for a new residence permit or apply to amend the currently possessed residence permit. However, it is possible to change the job position without amending the unified residence permit if the core scope of duties stays the same. This change has been demanded to introduce by employers to facilitate work promotions within the company and as such is vastly use.

It is worth to remember that for the unified temporary residence permit will to be amended successfully, a foreign citizen must submit a notification to Immigration Office informing about termination of the contract with his/her former employer/contractor within 15 workdays.

Some permit types may not include employer (sponsor) details and if this is a case switch of employer or change of employment conditions is possible easily although it may require filing a notification to Immigration Office (but not waiting for the new permit). As of 1^st of June 2025, one of the types of temporary residence permits that gives its holder a considerable flexibility is a residence permit for high qualified worker (so called EU Blue Card). Due to the change in provisions an EU Blue Card holder is allowed to change his/her employer from the day one, if his/her new job positions fulfil requirements applicable to obtaining this type of the residence permit. What is more, an EU Blue Card holder is entitled to 3 or 6 months of break in employment, if he/she stays in Poland for up to 2 years or more than that respectively.

If made redundant, it is necessary to officially notify Immigration Office about that fact within 15 working days counting from the last day of employment. If notification on redundancy is made on time, the authorities would not cancel the existing residency permit for at least 30 days from termination date. However, foreigner is required to find new purpose of stay in Poland (e.g. new employment) and apply for a new residence permit in relation to this. In practise, the existing residency permit allows to continue stay (if official notification filed on time) until officially cancelled by the immigration office.

However, not all of the rules have been loosened as of 1^st of June 2025. While highly skilled workers enjoy more benefits in regards of their freedom at the Polish labour market, students and foreign nationals that reside in Poland based on a visa or residence card issued by another EU member state are facing more scrutiny. First major amendment is that a foreign national who is residing in Poland based on a student visa, in general, is not allowed to apply for a work and residence permit skipping the step of obtaining a temporary residence permit for studies first. It is to prevent a situation when the sole reason of obtaining a student visa is to receive a legal ground that would allow the individual to entry Poland and be allowed to take up employment. Second major change concerns a similar situation with a difference that the legal ground for stay is a visa or residence permit issued by another member state. Similarly, as in a case of a student, in general, such a person is not allowed to apply for a Polish temporary work and residence permit. Both of above-mention limitations does not apply to temporary residence permit for a highly skilled worker (EU Blue Card).

• Processing times and delays on Immigration office side – in certain immigration offices the processing time for getting a temporary residence permit can take up to a year or longer;
• Issues with getting a personal appointment for entry visa submission / residence permit submission due to high demand for visas and insufficient resources on authorities side;
• Visa process for Poland may be challenging in certain locations beginning with booking a slot to submit a visa application, as a result it may delay the relocation and thus employment process;
• War in neighbouring Ukraine caused a significant influx of war refugees that were granted temporary protection status in Poland and other EU countries. Due to war in neighbouring country and implementation of special protective rules for Ukrainian refugees, Polish government suspended statutory timelines for processing of immigration applications including work permits and residency permits. The suspension is currently valid till 30 September 2025 and is foreseen to be prolonged. However, the suspension is widely criticised as its root cause it seen no longer to be valid and as authorities had been given enough time to adapt to the increased numbers of applications. A critique that is slowly becoming supported by rulings of Administrative Courts.

The Act on the Conditions of Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland, which came into force on 1st of June 2025, introduced official fast track possibility in case of a national work visas, work permits type A, and temporary work and residence permits.

First, fast track applies for applications submitted (in case of a work permit) or sponsored (in case of a national work visa or temporary work and residence permit) by entities included on the list of entrepreneurs of significant importance to the national economy. The list is published on the website of the Ministry of Development and Technology. Entities included in the list are those benefiting from one of the forms of support enlisted below:

• support for investments of significant importance to the economy based on regulations issued based on Article 19(2) of the Act of 6 December 2006 on the principles of conducting development policy (Journal of Laws of 2024, items 324, 862 and 1717),
• support for new investments within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Act of10 May 2018 on supporting new investments (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 459),
• from support for investment projects of strategic importance for the transition to a net-zero emissions economy within the meaning of Article 53(2) of the Act of 7 July 2023 on the preparation and implementation of investments in the National Data Processing Centre (Journal of Laws, item 1501).

Entry in the list is not the only reason for treating the application as priority. Second in line are applications submitted for another, subsequent work permit or temporary work and residence permit, by the same Polish entity and for the same foreigner or by the same foreigner and for the application sponsored by the same entity respectively.

And finally, third in line are work visas, work permits and work and residence permit to be issued for a foreigner who is to perform work in professions included on the list specifying groups of professions in which there are staff shortages. The list specifying the groups of occupations in which there are staff shortages should be created on the basis of research, analyses and assessments of the needs of the national labour market, including monitoring of shortage and surplus occupations at the national level carried out by the minister in charge of labour in cooperation with provincial and district labour offices. On the day of writing this text, the list is still yet to be published.

Poland is experiencing considerable growth of foreign workforce in the last couple of years due to stable economy and relatively low unemployment rate (one of the lowest in entire EU area). Growing number of foreigners in Poland arriving for work resulted in the significant increase of immigration related permits issued in Poland which adversely affected abilities of administration to process permits within statutory timelines. Although immigration policy was not top priority for the Polish governments in the last few years and immigration law provisions were relatively stable, however, with fast changing reality that seems no longer to be the case.

On 15^th of October 2024, the Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on the document “Regain control. Take care of safety. A comprehensive and responsible Polish migration strategy for 2025-2030”. The official document outlines Polish’s approach to migration policy for the coming years. The strategy aims to meet the challenges arising from Polish’s transformation from an emigrant country to an immigration country, while prioritizing national security and social cohesion.

As a result, Poland adopts the principle that the consequences of demographic and social changes  on the labour market cannot be prevented only by immigration policy instruments, which is seen in the Act on the Conditions of Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland that came into force on 1^st of June 2025 and the amendment of the Act on Foreigners.

On the one hand the authorities are focused on facilitating relocation and trying to attract highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs which is reflected in more flexibility for EU Blue Card holders, while at the same time being more rigorous for those who violates or abuse Polish immigration law like foreigners who claim to come to Poland under the pretences of commencing higher education when their actual purpose is work (please see p. 13). Or entities who apply for work permits with the only reason to facilitate obtaining a Polish national work visa and benefit from illegal immigration.

The biggest impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is seen in the acceleration of digitalization of immigration processes which was forced by the office closures. Although there is still a lot to be done, it seems that above all the pandemic contributed to the necessity of switching to digital processing (which was finalized in Poland as of 1 June 2025 in case of work authorizations) and increasing use of electronic correspondence tools with the immigration office (as an alternative to mailing the documents in paper format.

The government has been announcing changes in immigration laws on Polish labour market for a few years now and these changes entered in force recently. The major bill was passed in March 2025 and came into force on 1st of June 2025 as the Act on Conditions of Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland. The main goal of the Act is to streamline the procedures of employing foreigners in Poland, as well as to reduce loopholes allowing to take advantage of the Polish immigration system.

Additionally, Poland has also recently  implemented regulations imposed by Directive (EU) 2021/1883 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2021 on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment, which will result in additional advantages given to EU Blue Card holders. The main  changes revolve around facilitating requirements such as shortening the minimal length of employment contract or allowing foreigners conducting work based on a contract of mandate to apply for one or opening a window for an EU Blue Card holder to register as a private entrepreneur. Those changes came into force on 1^st of June as well.

And last but not least, last Act that came into force on 1st of June 2025, was the Act on Amending Certain Acts to Eliminate Irregularities in the Visa System of the Republic of Poland. The purpose of the bill is to try to fight against entities that take advantage of loopholes

in the immigration system to enable foreigners to obtain a visa to Poland, where the declared purpose for applying for a visa is different from the real one. A large part of the regulations refers to the issuance of student visas and the recognition of documents confirming the completion of secondary education or its equivalent by foreigners who want to continue their education in Poland. Some of the provisions included in the Act came into force in July and August.

The above are the most recent and most important changes, but not the only one. Pending are changes regarding Ukrainians who benefits from the protection status in Poland and regulations regarding work and stay authorization of Georgian citizens. Additionally, on 1st of August 2025 came into force changes regarding acquisition of Polish citizenship, what resulted mostly in increase of government fees.

With the new law binding from 1^st of June 2025, all work permit applications must be filed fully electronically after new law is approved. Up to then, electronic submission of work permits was optional but also limited to certain work permit types and could not be utilized in all regional immigration authorities across Poland.

As per official document on  long-term migration strategy for Poland for the period 2025-2030 there are certain plans to develop technology in immigration area by Polish government by digitalization of the immigration process and enabling the immigration office to use access to other government databases, which hold foreigner’s details (probably tax/social security data). Polish government is planning to digitalize also residency permit process which currently is based on paper filings which is one of the reasons for the long processing times. It is also planned to standardize the practice of immigration process between regional office and creating databased for the purpose of proceedings.

At the same time internal, digital exchange of information between immigration and tax offices, as well as Polish Border Guard and social insurance institutions has been on the rise with an aim to prevent abuse of the gaps in the system.

Foreigners are entitled to work in Poland if:

• reside legally and have a work permit, unless one is not required, or.
• they hold a temporary residence and work permit, or a temporary residence permit for the purpose of highly qualified employment.

Although not entirely new, as of 1^st of June 2025, the regulation regarding right to work checks and storage of documents has been updated and reorganized. As a result, the entity entrusting work to a foreigner obtains from the foreigner his/her personal data, such as:

• first name(s) and surname,
• citizenship
• the name, series, number, date of issue and expiry date of the travel document,
• PESEL number or, if the foreign national does not have this number their date of birth and gender.

The employer also obtains copies of documents containing these data from the foreigner to confirm his/her identity and to obtain a proper work authorization or confirm the right to foreigner’s employment. Additionally, before the commencement of work the employer requires foreigner to present a valid document entitling him/her to stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland. What is more, the entity entrusting work to a foreigner may require the foreigner to present a document entitling him/her to stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland for the entire period of work performed by the foreigner.

It is not subject to punishment for the offence of illegal entrustment of work to a foreigner, consisting in entrusting work to a foreigner who does not have a valid visa or other document entitling him to stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland, who, while employing a foreigner, met all of the following conditions:

1. required the foreigner to present a valid document entitling him to stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland before his employment and kept a copy of such document throughout the entire period of employment, as well as for a period of 2 years from the end of the calendar year in which the legal relationship being the basis for the foreigner’s employment was terminated or expired, unless separate regulations provide for a longer period of storage of documentation concerning employment, unless he knew that the presented document entitling him to stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland was falsified;
2. reported the foreigner he employed to social insurance, if such an obligation arises from the applicable regulations.

The entity entrusting work to a foreigner is obliged to keep copies of documents entitling to stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland throughout the entire period of employment of the foreigner and for a period  of 2 years, counting from the end of the calendar year in which the employment was terminated or expired, unless separate regulations provide for a longer period of storage of documentation concerning employment.

The provisions concerning the need to present a valid document entitling to stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland before starting work and relating to the storage of copies of these documents do not apply to a foreigner who:

1. is a family member of a citizen of an EU, EFTA or EEA Member State, residing with him or her in the territory of the Republic of Poland
2. is a family member of a Polish citizen residing with him in the territory of the Republic of Poland
3. is the above-mentioned person who has retained the right of residence
4. is a citizen of the Swiss Confederation with the right of residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland or a member of his family residing with him in the territory of the Republic of Poland
5. he/she has the right of permanent residence in the Republic of Poland based on the Act of 14 July

2006 on entry, stay and departure from the territory of the Republic of Poland of citizens of the Member States of the European Union and members of their families

In addition, the citizens of other EU, EFTA and EEA Member States   and citizens of the United Kingdom who are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement are also excluded.

The regulations require the conclusion of a written agreement with the foreigner before allowing him/her to conduct work, except for the situation when the foreigner staying  in the territory of the Republic of Poland will:

• serve on the management board of a legal entity entered into the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register or a capital company in organization, or
• represents a limited partnership or a limited joint-stock partnership or conducted the affairs of such a partnership, or
• serve as a proxy.

If the contract is drawn up in Polish, then it is necessary to present the content of this agreement to the foreigner in writing in a version understandable to him. And if the contract is drawn up in a foreign language it is necessary to have it translated by a sworn translator.

Employers found to be complicit in allowing foreign nationals to work without the proper work authorization may face fines from PLN 3,000 up to PLN 50,000 and not less than PLN 3000 or PLN 6000 for one foreigner, depending on the offence as well as may be banned to obtain a work permit for a period up to two years.

The employer is being subject to a fine is also if he, e.g., fails to conclude a written contract of employment or deducts unjustified amounts, like for accommodation, from the foreigner’s wage. Additionally, not submitting a notification when required might be punishable with a fine not lower than PLN 500, depending on a situation.

Additionally, the following sanctions may be applied for employing a foreign nationals repeatedly  who are illegally residing in Poland: a financial penalty or prison sentence; a ban on accessing EU funds; submitting repayment to the State Treasury for any EU funds received in the 12 months preceding the sentence date; exclusion from any public tender for one year from the date of sentence validation; inability to consider cash payments, benefits, or other charges associated with the foreign national in question as deductible costs of earnings.

What is more, the employer might be obligated to cover the costs associated with the issuance and enforcement of the decision of obligating illegally employed foreign nationals to leave the territory of Poland.

A significant change to remember is that as of 1^st of June 2025 the labour market test is no longer required.

Under the Polish immigration regulations it is possible for the government to introduce the quota regarding the number of issued permits (both work permits and residence permits connected to work) per calendar year, however so far such quotas have never been introduced.

Following the abolition of labour market test due to recent changes as of 1 June 2025, the government reserved the possibility to introduce time limited restrictions for certain jobs in the regions where situation on the labour market has worsened. Such restriction may be only imposed after monitoring of the local labour market on regional level presents increase of unemployment registries which would justify taking actions.

Employers are required to notify the Immigration Office within seven calendar days of the termination of a work permit holder if the foreign national’s employment is terminated more than 2 months before the expiry of the work permit, as well as the foreign national ceased performing work for a period exceeding 2 months.

In case of Temporary Residence Permit holders, the foreign national must notify the immigration office within 15 working days that the basis of his residence permit has ceased to exist. Additionally, as of 1^st of June 2025, in case of a work and residence permit the obligation of notifying the authorities about the termination of employment lies also with the employer.

In general, there is no requirements for medical certificates or vaccination for the immigration process, but medical check-ups are mandatorily required due to local labour law provisions in case of local hiring.

There are no language requirements, unless knowledge of the language was one of the requirements indicated in the job offer or the foreign citizen apply for Long Term EU residence permit or Polish citizenship.

100 PLN (approx. 21 EUR) – work permit (most types)

540 PLN (approx. 115 EUR) – temporary residence permits for work purposes

Local contract is not required to obtain work permit, providing employment details in the application is enough. However, signing an employment contract is one of the requirements for the foreigner to be able to conduct work (please see p. 20)

It may happen that when applying for an entry working visa, the Consulate wants to see work permit plus additional letter from the employer confirming potential employment (employment contract draft / offer letter / invitation letter).

Employment details indicated in work permit document and the ones in employment contract must be the same. What is more, in case of work permit or statement on entrusting work to a foreigner, the employer is obligated to share the copy with the immigration authorities by uploading its copy to a portal work immigration portal – praca.gov.pl

As for work permit and unified temporary residence permit there is a general minimum monthly salary requirement, which cannot be lower than PLN 4.666 gross per month as of 1^st of January 2025 (in case based on local employment contract). At the same time, in case of an employment based on civil contract, the minimum salary level is PLN 30,50 gross per hour.

For EU Blue Card applicants there is a separate salary requirement, stating the amount of the minimum yearly gross remuneration required for the purpose of granting the permit may not be lower than equivalent of 150% of the amount of the average remuneration in the national economy during the year preceding conclusion of employment contract. In 2025 the minimum salary for the EU Blue Card is PLN 12 272,58 per month.

In general, Type A-E Work Permits may be issued for up to three years, though Type B Work Permits may be valid for up to five years for members of management boards of companies that employ more than 25 persons. There is no limit on how many renewal applications may be submitted for Type A-E Work Permits.

The maximum period for which the  visa type D (national visa) can be issued is 365 days. Upon entry to Poland on the said visa, the foreign national can apply for a temporary residence permit which can be issued for maximum period of 3 years.

Yes.

Polish law provides possibility of easier access to the Polish labour market for several groups of foreign nationals. For example, all students (third country nationals) who are enrolled on the full-time studies in Poland are exempted from the work permit obligations. Thus, they have equal access to the Polish labour market as the Polish nationals.

Furthermore, there are also several legal regulations which provide easier access to the Polish labour market for the dependent family members of foreign nationals working in Poland – e.g. if they hold a dependent residence permit issued with connection to the EU Blue Card holder. What is more, as a rule, there is no minimal time limit of stay after which a foreigner is allowed to start the relocation of their loved ones and as a result the family may move to Poland simultaneously.

According to a relatively recent report of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) “Labour market, education, competences. January 2025: “(…) the labour market is struggling with a shortage of skilled workers – 59% of Polish companies declare difficulties in recruitment, especially with technical and engineering skills, as well as in the areas of logistics and operations (24% each), customer service (21%) and production (19%)”.

Green skills and green economies in Poland are primarily related to the introduction of the EU Green Deal, i.e. Regulation (EU) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law).

The document assumes the achievement of climate neutrality in the Community by 2050, which forces several changes. In Poland those changes refer primarily to the following issues:

• energy transition, with increasing share of renewable resources (specially form sun and wind),
• changes in industry and agriculture sectors,
• changes in public and private transport,
• popularization of environmental education.

It is assumed that by 2030 the green economy will create up to 500,000 new jobs in Poland, especially   in in reference to modern technologies in energy, industry, logistic and agriculture. From the    immigration perspective it is worth mentioning that entities benefiting from support for investment             projects of strategic importance for the transition to a net-zero emissions economy within the meaning of Article 53(2) of the Act of 7 July 2023 on the preparation and implementation of investments in the National Data Processing Centre are subject to a fast track and are first in line when it concerns obtaining national work visas, and work and residence permits.