Poland. Business Harbor visas are now available to citizens from all over the world

On Monday, September 5, 2022, at a press conference attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and the plenipotentiary of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education and Science, the extension of the government program Poland. Business Harbor (PBH) dedicated to specialists and companies from the IT industry as well as from the sphere of modern technologies and innovations was announced.

A safe harbour for highly qualified specialists

The PBH program has been in place for 2 years and was originally intended to help relocate Belarusian enterprises and specialists in connection with the unstable political situation in Belarus after the rigged results of the elections held in 2020. Then the program was extended to citizens of 6 countries: Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan. During the entire period of the program, over 55,000 visas were issued and almost 49,000 workers were relocated to Poland, 35,000 of whom were workers who came to Poland after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

As the Plenipotentiary of the Prime Minister for GovTech, Justyna Orłowska, pointed out, about 300 companies in Poland have benefited from this program by employing IT specialists, for whom there is a still very high demand. However, there is still a lack of approximately 100,000 specialists in this industry on the Polish market. It was also emphasized that several dozen startups were relocated to Poland in two years and transformed into well-developing companies.

Extension of the Poland. Business Harbor program

From September 5, specialists, startups and small and medium-sized enterprises from all over the world can benefit from the PBH program. The question of the foreigner’s citizenship is now irrelevant. Entities operating not only in the IT industry, but also in any strategic areas related to the transfer of new technologies, may apply for support under the program. However, in the latter case, the decision to participate in the program will be made by the Polish Trade and Investment Agency (PAiH), considering each application individually, in terms of whether a given investment is strategic for Poland.

What help can a participant of the Poland. Business Harbor program count on?

We have already written in our previous articles that the PBH program includes three paths of participation: for individual IT professionals, startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Employees of companies that have decided to relocate to Poland can count on obtaining a special type of PBH visa for themselves and for their closest family members. Such a visa not only allows them to enter and stay in Poland for a period of up to 1 year, but also exempts from the obligation to have a work permit, and even allows to set up a sole proprietorship, which is not available to most foreigners in Poland.

Startups and enterprises participating in the program, on the other hand, can count on facilitating contact with accelerators, local governments or Special Economic Zones. Entrepreneurs will be linked with investors and grants for R&D activities. Each company is offered support in the business concierge formula as part of cooperation with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency.

Feel free to contact our specialists in the field of Polish migration law in order to obtain comprehensive legal support, organize the relocation process and legalize your stay and work in Poland: [email protected]