Are you sure you’re hiring foreigners legally? New rules apply from June 1!

On 1 June 2025, new immigration law regulations have come into force, significantly changing the rules for legalising the stay and employment of foreigners, as well as the procedure for employing them in Poland.

What Changed? A Quick Overview

The changes result from the adoption of the following acts:

Below is a summary of the most important changes that affect legal obligations and liability for both parties in case of unlawful residence or employment in Poland:

Mandatory Verification of Legal Stay and Personal Data

From June 1, 2025 the employer is obliged to obtain additional personal data and documents from a foreigner:

1. name, series, number, date of issue and expiry date of the travel document (passport),
2. PESEL number or in the case of lack of PESEL number – date of birth and sex,
3. valid document entitling to stay in Poland (visa, residence permit etc.).

The employer is entitled to request a foreigner to present a document entitling them to stay in Poland for the entire period of work performed by the foreigner.

Requirement to Conclude a Written Contract with a Foreigner

According to the new regulations, every entity entrusting work to a foreigner is obliged to conclude a written contract with them before the work commencement regardless of the category of foreigners or whether the basis for employment is a work permit or a declaration of entrusting work.

In case of concluding a contract with a foreigner only in a foreign language, the employer is obliged to obtain a sworn translation of the document into Polish and store it for the entire period of employment and for the next 2 years from the end of the calendar year after the termination of the employment. In case of a contract concluded in a bilingual version, for example Polish – English, obtaining a sworn translation is not necessary.

The employer has to inform the foreigner in writing in a language they understand about the right to join trade unions.

The foreign employee’s working time may not be less than ¼ of a full-time position, and the salary must not be lower than the statutory minimum wage, also in case of part-time work, otherwise a work permit cannot be issued.

Obligation to Submit a Copy of the Contract to the Authority

The entity employing a foreigner on the basis of a work permit or a declaration on entrusting work will be obliged to submit a copy of the concluded contract to the competent authority (voivode or starosta) before the commencement of work by the foreigner.

The submission must be made electronically, via the IT system handling the proceedings. The currently planned date of launching this function in the IT system is:

• August 1, 2025 – in case of a work permit being issued by the voivode
• July 1, 2025 – in case of a declaration of entrusting work being registered by the starosta.

Employer’s information obligations

An employer is obliged to:

1. notify a foreigner about actions taken in connection with the work permit procedure,
2. provide the foreigner with decisions related to the work permit, including its extension, change and cancellation,
3. notify the voivode who issued the work permit if:
   1. the foreigner has not started work within 2 months of the initial date of validity of the work permit;
   2. the foreigner has interrupted work for a period exceeding 2 months;
   3. the foreigner has finished work earlier than 2 months before the expiry of the work permit

within 7 days of the date on which such circumstances occur.

An employer employing a foreigner holding a uniform temporary residence and work permit now has a new obligation to notify the competent voivode of the loss of a job by a foreigner within 15 working days from the date of occurrence of this circumstance.

Notifications of a foreigner taking up work based on declaration of entrusting work have to be submitted within 7 days of the date on which they commenced work. Notifications of a foreigner not taking up work – within 14 days of the commencement date specified in the declaration on entrusting work.

An employer who has obtained a registered declaration of entrusting work to a foreigner has an additional obligation to notify the competent starosta that the foreigner will not start work or will end it before the end of work specified in the declaration.

Foreigners’ information obligations

Foreigners holding uniform temporary residence and work permits have to notify competent voivode of the following circumstances within 15 working days of their occurrence:

1. change of registered office, place of residence, name or legal form of the entity entrusting work to the foreigner,
2. transfer of the employer or part thereof to another employer,
3. transfer of the workplace or part thereof to another employer,
4. conclusion of an employment contract instead of a civil law contract,
5. change of the name of the position while maintaining the scope of its duties,
6. increase in working hours while simultaneously increasing remuneration proportionally.

When Is Employment of a Foreigner Illegal? Residence Titles That Do Not Permit Work

After June 1, 2025, work will be illegal if a foreigner stays in Poland based on the following residence titles:

• visa-free travel, ONLY if the foreigner is a citizen of a country specified in the regulation of the minister of labor (not yet issued),
• a visa issued for the purpose of visiting family or friends, studying in a form other than studies, medical treatment or for a purpose falling under the „other” category,
• a visa of any type issued by another Schengen country,
• a stamp in the passport confirming the submission of an application for a work permit, if, prior to its submission, the foreigner was not authorized to work.

The illegal nature of work in these cases will not be changed even by obtaining a work permit or a declaration of entrusting work.

Elimination of the Labor Market Test

The new regulations eliminate the requirement to submit information from the starosta (the so-called Labor Market Test or starosta’s information) for the purposes of issuing a work permit, a uniform temporary residence and work permit, and an EU Blue Card.

Instead, starostas within their territory (powiat) are authorized to specify a list of professions for which issuing these legalization documents will be impossible.

Full digitalisation of procedures

From June 1, 2025 all applications and documents related to the employment of foreigners (e.g. work permits, declarations) have to be submitted exclusively electronically via the praca.gov.pl portal.

Documents submitted in any other form will not be accepted.

How to avoid the risk of illegal employment?

Therefore, in order to eliminate the risk of entrusting work to foreigners being deemed illegal, we recommend:

• implementing appropriate changes to procedures for employing foreigners in HR departments.
• training HR personnel on foreign employment procedures and controlling the legality of stay and work,
• commissioning legal counsel to submit applications and notifications to competent authorities, audit of the legality of stay and work and trainings for HR departments.

Do you need support in legally employing foreigners?

Contact our immigration and labor law team and we will help you comply with the new regulations!