If you’d like to learn more, please refer to the information on the Public Employment Services Portal under the “Hiring Foreigners” tab, as well as the materials available on the biznes.gov.pl portal. If you have any questions, you can get support by calling the Green Line at 19524 (more information: zielonalinia.gov.pl) or by contacting the Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy.
Introduction
A work permit is entitlement to work performed by the foreigner in Poland under the conditions specified therein. This entitlement is granted to third-country nationals and stateless persons at the request of employers willing to employ them.
Uprawnienie to nie ma charakteru ogólnego i nie zapewnia pełnego tostępu to rynku pracy – applies to a specific employer and position or type of work performed. It also precisely specifies the conditions under which the work is to be performed. Performing work other than that specified in the permit or contrary to its conditions constitutes illegal work.
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Both the employer who employs a foreigner without a permit when required, or in violation of its conditions, and the foreigner performing work in such a situation, must reckon with certain consequences. ⇒ Fine provided for against the employer may amount to up to PLN 50,000. They also face administrative and criminal sanctions. ⇒ For the foreigner, in addition to a fine of no less than 1,000 PLN and not higher than PLN 5,000, a severe penalty may be the issuance of a return obligation decision – such a decision not only orders the foreigner to leave Poland within a specified period, but may also contain a ban on re-entry to Poland and other Schengen Area states for a specified period. |
Authorised persons
- citizens of third countries and stateless persons who to not have free access to the labour market and
- to perform work in Poland under an employment contract with an entity (employer) that has its registered office, place of residence, branch or establishment in Poland, and in the case of temporary work – under an employment contract with a temporary employment agency;
- to hold a position on the management board of a legal person entered in the register of entrepreneurs in Poland;
- to hold a position on the management board of a capital company in formation in Poland;
- represent a limited partnership or limited joint-stock partnership or will act as a proxy.
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O ile permit na work jest wymagane, cthe foreigner is uprawniony to performing work w Poland, only on the condition of holding an appropriate residence title, which enables him/her to perform work in compliance with the regulations. This means that even if they have a valid work permit, they cannot perform work if they are staying in Poland illegally or if the basis for their legal stay in Poland (e.g. a visa or temporary residence permit) toes not allow them to to so. |
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The permit is not always required. You to not need a work permit if:
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Granting authority
| Work permit for a Polish entity entrusting work | |
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| Work permit in connection with performing a specific function | |
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| Work permit in connection with secondment by a foreign entity | |
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| Seasonal work permit | |
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Initiation of proceedings
- by submitting an application online through the praca.gov.pl portal.
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Application submitted by the employer, and not the foreigner. He/she is also one party to the proceedings regarding the issuance of a permit |
Form of granting
- administrative decision
Period for which granted
- up to 3 years, subject to exceptions
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Work permit for a Polish entity entrusting work ⇒ up to 1 year, if: |
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| Work permit in connection with performing a specific function ⇒ up to 1 year, if: | |
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| Work permit in connection with secondment by a foreign entity ⇒ up to 1 year, if: | |
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| Seasonal work permit ⇒ up to 9 months in a calendar year | |
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Regulations
- Act of March 20, 2025, on the conditions for the admissibility of employing foreigners in the territory of the Republic of Poland;
- Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labor, and Social Policy of November 20, 2025, on the documents that an entity employing a foreigner must attach to an application for a work permit or to a declaration of employment of a foreigner;
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Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labor, and Social Policy of November 20, 2025, on the amount of fees related to an application for a work permit and related to a declaration on the employment of a foreigner.
Detailed explanation
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⇒ The regulations provide for4 types of work permits. Licensing procedures and criteria vary depending on the type of licence. Find out more -go to information. ⇒ The Head of the Office for Foreigners is not competent on the issuing of work permits, and the Case Management Module does not provide for the submission of applications in these cases. ⇒ If you need support in connection with your intention to apply for a work permit, contact the Green Line, the relevant unit in the provincial office or contact the Labour Market Department in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. |
- applies to a foreigner who will perform work in Poland on the basis of a contract with an entity that has its registered office, place of residence, branch or establishment in Poland (Polish employer), and in the case of temporary work – on the basis of an employment contract with a temporary employment agency;
- application is submitted electronically via praca.gov.pl;
- issuing the permit is subject to a fee of 400 PLN (200 PLN in the case of entrusting work for a period of up to 3 months);
- may be subject to quantitative limits by way of a Council of Ministers regulation;
- is subject to the principle of priority processing of applications for the purpose of performing work for entrepreneurs of significant importance to the national economy, and subsequently – for the purpose of continuing employment, then in deficit occupations;
- cannot be issued if the foreigner intends to perform work in an occupation listed by the starosta on the list of occupations for which work permits are not issued due to a difficult situation on the local labour market.
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- applies to a foreigner performing work that consists of:
- holding a position on the management board of a legal person entered in the National Court Register of entrepreneurs;
- holding a position on the management board of a capital company in formation;
- managing the affairs of a limited partnership or limited joint-stock partnership as a general partner or proxy – if they performed this function for more than 6 months over the next 12 months;
- application is submitted electronically;
- issuing the permit is subject to a stamp duty of 400 PLN (200 PLN in the case of entrusting work for a period of up to 3 months);
- requires demonstrating that the entity entrusting the work has achieved a specified income and employment threshold or is able to demonstrate fulfilment of these conditions in the future;
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- applies to a foreigner:
- delegated by a foreign employer to perform work at a branch or establishment of a foreign entity or affiliated entity in Poland, for a period exceeding 30 days.
- applies to a foreigner working for a foreign employer that has no branch, establishment or other form of organised activity in Poland, delegated to Poland for the purpose of performing a service of a temporary and occasional nature (export service)
- applies to a foreigner working for a foreign employer, delegated to Poland for a period exceeding 30 days within the next 6 months for a purpose other than the above.
- application is submitted electronically via praca.gov.pl;
- issuing the permit is subject to a fee of 800 PLN;
- the amount of remuneration received cannot be lower than 70% of the average remuneration in the given voivodeship (at the date of application submission);
- the permit is not required from the foreigner in each case.
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⇒ Go to the 'Performing seasonal work' tab for information on, among other things, this permit -.click to access the information.
