Employment of Russian citizens in Poland – repeal of the facilities

In accordance with the announcements of the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, the provisions which previously gave Polish employers the possibility to entrust work to Russian citizens under simplified rules, i.e. on the basis of a declaration registered with the competent employment office, were repealed in accordance with the new ordinance of the Minister of October 25, 2022. It is a reaction to the armed aggression by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022.

Simplified procedure for employing foreigners

Previously, the possibility of simplified employment of foreigners was available to Polish employers in the case of employing citizens of six countries of the former USSR: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

In order to take advantage of such a simplification, the employer should register in the praca.gov.pl IT system a declaration of intention to entrust work to a foreigner. The period of validity of such a declaration is a maximum of 24 months, and the cost of registration is PLN 100. Moreover, it is a fairly quick procedure, usually lasting 2 to 3 weeks. The declaration registered in this way is the basis for obtaining a working visa at the competent Polish consulate.

The above recruitment procedure is a significant facilitation for both employees and employers, taking into account the long terms (sometimes 8-12 months) of dealing with matters related to the standard procedure of legalizing work, i.e. obtaining work permits.

Entry into force of the changes

The discussed regulation of the Minister entered into force on October 28, 2022. From that date, employers can no longer register statements on entrusting work to citizens of Russia.

Citizens of the Russian Federation entrusted with the performance of work on the basis of a declaration entered in the register of declarations before the date of entry into force of the regulation, may continue to work under the conditions specified in previously registered declarations until the expiration of their validity. Declarations for registration of which the employer applied before the entry into force of the Minister’s regulation are processed according to the existing rules.

Our lawyers specializing in Polish immigration law will help to complete all formalities related to the employment of foreign workers and the legalization of stay or work in Poland.

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