Poland: Corporate Immigration

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 Voidoship Offices.

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 unless they are exempt from necessity to hold work permit due to their specific circumstances. In the latter case, foreigners can apply for temporary residency permit which gives them right to work irrespective of employer sponsorship.

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 1-2 months.  Please be informed that for work permits type A the Labour Market Test may be required. If the Labour Market Test is needed it takes additional 3 to 4 weeks in order to obtain it.

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 1-2 months. No electronic path currently available for work permits types B – E.

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 full time studies at the Polish university 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.

Unsponsored work options are relatively limited in Poland and they have been recently introduced under so called Poland. Business Harbour program which allows IT specialists from 6 countries – Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Georgia and Moldova – to apply for unsponsored visa for 1 year period.

Foreigners may also decide to carry business activity in Poland but such activity may be limited so certain types of legal form (type of legal entities) and may require obtaining residency permit for the purpose of carrying business activities rather than work permit as an employee.

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) 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 in order 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.

There are no specific reporting obligations due to employment of foreigners in Poland but certain events might trigger filing of notification to Polish immigration authorities when foreigners are hired under work permits e.g. change of employer’s registered seat, legal form or legal name, acquisition of work place, earlier work termination of given foreigner, break of employment for at least 3 months, etc.

The work permit application can be filed either electronically or in paper, depending on the application type and the location of the immigration office. In principle fully electronic path applies only to work permits type A (for local employment) and in certain regions (e.g. Warsaw, Łódź).  Some regional immigration office still require paper work permit applications. Residency permit applications which are filed by foreigners to legalize their stay may be lodged only in paper (no electronic path possible.

In-person attendance/interview are required as part of the entry visa and residence permit application process. An individual is also required to enrol biometrics (photo in hard copy, fingerprint scan) during both of the 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 has to provide the scan of foreign national’s passport.

Immediate family members covering legally married spouses and children qualify as dependants for Polish visa and residency permit process. Partnership or common law relationships are not considered as legal dependants but may be still allowed to apply for an entry visa or residency permit depending on the discretion of the immigration authorities. Legal dependants cannot initially work on their dependant visas but may be granted temporary residency permit in Poland under so called joining the family purpose which gives them unrestricted access to Polish labour market.

An application for a residence permit 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 personal situation the application for permanent residency status can be filed earlier than 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 on the basis of 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.

Polish immigration rules does not include catalogue of permissible business activities which would not be considered as standard work duties in Poland.

Thus, every activity might be considered as work, also including the below (but not limited to):

• Performance discussions;
• Contract negotiations;
• Attending a training;
• Providing a training;
• Office based planning activity (no hands-on work);
• Attending a conference;
• Visits to the factory (no hands-on work);
• Visits to the factory (hands-on work);
• Vehicle prototype tests;
• Maintenance / repair works on machinery/equipment.

Thus, any business activities exceeding the 30 calendar days limit, might trigger work permit obligation under the particular assignment type. In case of employees being seconded to a related party in Poland (intra company transfer) 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 Boarder Guards in Poland, such 30 days waiver period is recognized as not triggering work permit in case of assignments between related parties. This waiver was also utilized by our clients to perform work while the work permit application was in process.

As per the immigration regulations, if the foreign national holds a right to work and a right to stay in Poland, he/she can work remotely from place other than companies’ office or regular work place (e.g. working from home). In case when a remote work would be performed from other country for the Polish entity, then the foreign immigration regulations apply.

In case when a foreign national wants to work remotely from Poland for the company located abroad then the applicable work and stay legalization documents would have to be obtained first.

There are no visa categories for remote or nomad work or equivalent at the moment. So far there is no information about the possibility of implementing such.

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 new immigration case taking several weeks but generally is allowed.

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 completely new residence permit. In case of having this type of permit and changing employment details with the same company, it is necessary to notify Immigration office upfront and await for positive decision reflecting the changes.

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 notification to immigration office (but not waiting for the new permit).

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 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.

• 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;
• Problems with getting an appointment for work permits submission / residence permit submission;
• No possibility of utilizing work permit electronic path in certain locations in Poland;
• Visa process for Poland may be challenging in certain locations and it may delay the employment process.

There is no possibility of fast-track procedures for this moment with regards to the permits that can be obtained in Poland. However, there are certain Polish consulates which under some circumstances provide the possibility of a fast-track entry visa process.

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 lowest in entire EU area) even despite COVID crisis. 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, it should change in upcoming future. The current government has finally released draft of strategic policy document on immigration for 2021 & 2022 years in July 2021. Although not officially binding, we expect it should be finalized in Q3 2021 and should be main document governing strategic approach to Polish immigration for upcoming years. This document is also supposed to be reviewed and updated on annual basis as announced.

The government has been announcing changes in immigration laws on Polish labour market as part of the strategic policy document which draft was recently adopted in July 2021. Although drafts of upcoming changes were not yet officially released but we expect to know them in Q3 2021 with implementation starting from the beginning of 2022 or later.

Starting from April 2020 certain Immigration offices / labour offices implemented work permit application electronic path, which significantly changed the process overall. Thanks to this solution, the process of obtaining work permit or statement of entrusting work is much easier and faster. Unfortunately, it does not apply to all work permit types and cannot be utilized in all Immigration offices. Hopefully, electronic path would be developed, so that all work permit types are obtained in such a way.

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). It is also planned to standardize the practice of immigration process between regional office and creating databased for the purpose of proceedings.

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.

Employers found to be complicit in allowing foreign nationals to work without the proper work authorization may face fines from PLN 1,000 up to PLN 30,000.

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.

Failing to complete Labour Inspection notification on posted workers (or late filing and non-compliance) is the criminal/administrative liability of the person representing the foreign employer, and may result in a fine of up to PLN 30,000 at the authorities’ discretion.

While there are no penalties for failing to deregister foreign nationals at the end of employment/assignment, doing so may result in increased difficulty for employers in obtaining work permits for future foreign employees.

Under the Polish immigration regulations it 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.

As of market labour test, there are several remuneration requirements that must be met:

• there is a general minimum monthly salary requirement, which cannot be lower 2800 PLN gross starting from 1 January 2021 (in case of work on the basis of local employment contract). In case of an employment on the basis of a civil contract, the minimum salary level is 18,30 PLN per hour
  However, for foreigners the monthly salary cannot be lower than the average salary paid on the similar job positions in the district of applying. Also, for EU Blue Card applicants there is a separate salary requirement, stating that amount of the minimal 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 2021 the minimum salary for the Blue Card is 7751.205 PLN ;
• LMT not required for IT-related roles. For non-IT roles LMT is required and it needs to be officially sent to local authorities. Job offer will be published on authorities website for 14 days. For LMT we need to indicate what education level, how many years and on what positions of professional experience is required from the candidate. Once LMT is issued we attach it to work permit application along with the documents from a candidate proving qualifications indicated in LMT.

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 three months before the expiry of the work permit, as well as the foreign national ceased performing work for a period exceeding three months.

In case of Temporary Residence Permit holders, the foreign national has to notify the immigration office within working 15 days that the basis of his residence permit has ceased to exist. In such a case, an individual should apply for a new residence permit for new purpose of stay or depart from Poland.

In general, there is no requirements for medical certificates or vaccination for the immigration process, however due to current pandemic situation people vaccinated against COVID-19 are released from mandatory 10-day quarantine after presenting a certificate of vaccination with a vaccine that has been authorized in the EU (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, J&J).

Local contract is not required to obtain work permit, providing employment details in the application is enough.

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.

There are certain salary thresholds mentioned in question #20.

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 first entry visa type D 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. Such permit can renewed in the future without any limits.

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.

Moreover, recently Polish government has introduced Poland Business Harbour program, which allows the individuals with a degree in engineering or experience in the IT field as well as IT entrepreneurs from such countries as Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia to benefit from the work permit exemption and fast-track visa process. The program covers also the possibility of the fast-track visa also for their family members.

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.