Updated: 15.04.2025

How to hire foreigners in Poland?

While EU citizens can work in Poland without restrictions, foreign nationals from non-EU countries are required to obtain a work permit to legally work in Poland.

There are however a number of exemptions and simplifications allowing to hire foreigners without a work permit (e.g. declaration procedure, Poland Business Harbor Program). These employment regulations differ depending on the legal status of the foreign worker, their nationality, and the type of job position.

Employing foreigners in Poland – Key Facts

Hiring foreign workers in Poland – general rules

A foreign national from non-EU country in order to be able to work in Poland shall have:

• legal title to work (e.g. work permit), unless exemption applies, and
• legal title to enter and stay in Poland (e.g. appropriate visa such as a work visa or a Poland Business Harbor visa).

Most usually – each title is separate and shall be obtained independently (e.g. work permit for Voivode, while visa from Consulate).

Despite the misleading name – “work visa” – does not entitle the foreigner to work in Poland in absence of legal title to work (e.g. work permit). The word “work” in “work visa” designates just the purpose of stay.

As a result, to lawfully perform paid work, the job seeker must simultaneously hold:

Sole title to work in absence (or expiry) of title to enter and stay (or title for residence) will not allow the foreigner to perform work in Poland.

Having the above in mind, it is also important to remember each title is usually granted for a specific period of validity. In order to be able to perform work, the foreigner shall always maintain both titles valid. If, e.g. the title to work expires, but the title to stay remains valid – the foreigner, as a rule, will be only allowed to stay in Poland but not to work.

What are the procedures to hire foreigner in Poland?

In this article we are presenting the most popular procedures and modes of hiring foreign workers in the Polish local labour market. These employment regulations vary depending on the legal status of the foreign national, their citizenship, and the type of job position offered. A Polish employer must ensure that the hiring process complies with Polish labour code, local laws, and relevant visa requirements.

1. Hiring EU citizens
2. Hiring non-EU citizens (work permit procedure)
3. Hiring Ukrainian citizens
4. Simplified declaration procedure for selected nationalities
5. Poland Business Harbor Program
6. Hiring persons under EU Temporary Protection
7. Hiring Refugees

Each procedure involves different legal obligations for the legal entity engaging the international employee, and failure to ensure compliance may result in legal risks for the employer and the candidate.

Hiring EU citizens in Poland

Citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland may legally work in Poland without the need to apply for a work permit. These foreign employees may be engaged on the same terms as Polish citizens through a standard employment contract.

However, in order to comply with employment regulations and local laws, they must follow a simplified notification procedure regarding their residence.

Notification of EU citizen residence in Poland

Citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland are obliged to report stay in the territory of Poland, if the stay exceeds 3 months.

What is the deadline to report residence?

Not later than on the day following the lapse of 3 months from the date of entry into the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Where to report residence?

At the local entity responsible for residence matters – the voivodeship office competent for the place of stay. List of voivodeship offices websites.

What is the notification form and the fee?

In person at office of the competent authority, or via registered post. Notification is free of charge.

What are the required documents?

Lists of required documents are published on local websites of the voivodeship offices:

• list of voivodeship offices websites: https://www.gov.pl/web/gov/uw,
• list of documents in Warsaw: https://www.gov.pl/web/uw-mazowiecki/rejestracja-obywatela-ue,

However most usually the following documents will be required:

• completed residence notification form,
• copy of travel document,
• photograph/s,
• employer declaration regarding work in Poland, or otherocuments if the reasons for stay are not employment related.

Certificate of residence registration

Following successful notification, the EU citizen receives a certificate of residence registration, confirming legal stay and enabling them to work performed under standard conditions, with access to job opportunities in Poland.

Hiring non-EU citizens in Poland

Foreigners from other countries that are not members of the European Union are, as a rule, required to obtain a work permit in order to legally work in Poland. The application for work permit shall be submitted by the Polish employer (and not the candidate).

The employer, as a legal entity, must ensure that the hiring process complies with all applicable employment regulations, including the Polish labour code, visa requirements, and tax laws.

More information this basic immigration procedure is available here: work permit in Poland. List of exemptions from obligation to obtain work permit may be found here.

Hiring citizens of Ukraine

A separate hiring process is applicable to foreign nationals from Ukraine. Special Act on help to Ukraine citizens was enacted by the Polish Parliament in 2022 (Act of 12.03.2022 on assistance to Ukrainian citizens in connection with an armed conflict in the territory of that state – Special Act).

In practice, employment of Ukrainian foreign workers (and certain family members) is carried out on very similar terms as for Polish citizens, especially in the context of employment contract, working hours, and professional experience required for a given job position.

Can Ukrainian citizens work in Poland?

Yes – if the legal status of a Ukrainian foreign national (and family members) allows legal stay in Poland, they have the right to work performed in Poland during the period of that stay. No additional work permit or appropriate visa is required under this procedure.

Notification of employment of Ukrainian citizen

The employer is obliged to notify the local poviat labor office about employment of Ukrainian citizens (or certain family members) within 14 days via praca.gov.pl platform. The link to the notification form.

Ukrainian citizens that are not covered by Special Act

Status of the below listed categories of persons is not regulated by the Special Act and as a result those persons are not benefiting from the right to work under the Special Act (however most usually they might be benefiting from right to work under separate regulations):

Ukrainian citizens (and certain family members) who have:

• a permanent residence permit,
• a long-term resident’s European Union residence permit,
• a temporary residence permit,
• refugee status,
• subsidiary protection,
• permit for tolerated stay;

Ukrainian citizens (and certain family members) who:

• submitted applications for international protection in the Republic of Poland or on behalf of which such applications were submitted,
• declared their intention to submit applications for international protection in the Republic of Poland pursuant to art. 28 sec. 1 or art. 61 sec. 1 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Poland (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1108 and 1918 and of 2022, item 583) or to whom such declarations of intent relate.

How many Ukrainian foreign workers can a legal entity hire in Poland?

The Special Act allows the competent Minister to introduce a regulation limiting the maximum number of Ukrainian foreign employees hired by a single legal entity in relation to its total number of staff. However, no such labour code restrictions are currently in force.

Hiring foreigner via declaration (entrustment) procedure in Poland

The declaration procedure (also called the entrustment procedure) is a simplified path for hiring foreign nationals from selected other countries. Under this procedure, the employer may hire employees after registering a declaration of intent to entrust work to a specific candidate.

The declarations are registered for the validity period up to 24 months.

How to start work entrustment procedure in Poland?

The procedure must be initiated by the employer who intends to employ the foreigner, not the foreign national. he employer needs to file a declaration to the competent authority with respect to a specific candidate.

What is the deadline for filing a declaration on work entrustment in Poland?

There is no official deadline to file a declaration on work entrustment. However the employer shall be aware that the procedure takes couple of days and the foreigner cannot commence work prior to successful registration of the declaration.

How may be hired in entrustment procedure in Poland?

The citizens of the following counties may be employed in entrustment procedure: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia.

Citizens of above countries maybe employed in Poland if the employment period will not exceed 24 months, and they will not provide seasonal work for which a work permit must be obtained.

Where to apply for work entrustment procedure?

The application to hire foreigner in entrustment procedure shall be submitted to Poviat labor office. Application shall be submitted electronically via praca.gov.pl, or paper format at competent office (in Warsaw not available – just electronic form). The fee for each submission is 100 PLN.

Documents required to entrust work to foreigner in Poland

Lists of documents are published on local websites of the poviat labor offices

• list of documents in Warsaw: link
• guide how to fill in the declaration in Warsaw

As an example – list of required documents in Warsaw:

• completed entrustment declaration – the form,
• scan of all completed pages of a valid travel document of the foreigner to whom the application relates,
• scan of the proof of payment for submitting the declaration,
• scan of the employer’s registration excerpt.

What is the time required to obtain work entrustment declaration in Poland?

The registration of the declaration on intention to entrust work to foreigner shall be completed within:

• 7 days – if explanatory procedure is not required (which is usually the case),
• 30 days – if explanatory procedure is required,
• 2 months – in particularly complicated matters.

How the declaration is registered and delivered?

If the work entrustment declaration and attachments meets all the requirements, competent authority will enter the declaration into the register. The document of confirmation of registration is delivered to the employer in hard copy or in electronic form (depending on the city, e.g. in Warsaw only electronically).

Notification of employment

The employer is obliged to notify the local poviat labor office commencement of work of foriegn citizens within 7 days. The employer is also obliged to notify the local poviat labor office about failure to start work by a foreigner within 7 days from the date of expected (declared) commencement of work.

Notification may be completed:

• via the praca.gov.pl platform,
• by post, or
• in person at the competent poviat labor office.

Poland. Business Harbor (PBH) is a program that helps selected categories of entrepreneurs (IT specialists, start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises) to relocate to the territory of Poland. The program is not available to non-profit organizations incl. foundations. Employers, who are members of the program, are entitled to issue special invitations based on which the candidates may obtain in so-called “Poland. Business Harbor visa”, which allows a candidate to enter, stay and work in Poland without the need to obtain a work permit for a period up to 1 year.

Here are the principles of PBH program:

• PBH program is available for:
  • the employers who are partners of PBH program,
  • the employees being citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan,
• based on the invitations issued by the partners of the PBH program, citizens of selected countries may apply for so-called “Poland. Business Harbor visa”,
• PBH visas are issued in fast track procedure by Polish Consulate (in approx. 14 days),
• PBH visas allow the foreigners to enter, stay and work in Poland without the need to obtain a work permit for a period up to 1 year.

Hiring foreigner covered by temporary protection granted under European Union Law

Temporary protection under European Union Law is an exceptional measure to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from non-EU countries and those unable to return to their country of origin. It applies when there is a risk that the standard asylum system is struggling to cope with demand stemming from a mass influx risking a negative impact on the processing of claims. The foreigners exercising the temporary protection in Poland may stay and work without a need to obtain the work permit.

Temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine

On 4.03.2022, the Council unanimously adopted the implementing decision introducing temporary protection due to the mass influx of persons fleeing Ukraine as a consequence of the war.

Decision on granting temporary protection: Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC, and having the effect of introducing temporary protection

Protection was granted until 4.03.2024. If war continues further, the Commission may request the Council to extend the temporary protection up to maximum 4.12.2025.

Persons covered by temporary protection:

• persons displaced from Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022, as a result of the military invasion by Russian armed forces that began on that date:
  • (a) Ukrainian nationals residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022,
  • (b) stateless persons, and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine, who benefited from international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 and,
  • (c) family members of the persons referred to in points (a) and (b),
• the following persons shall be considered to be part of a family, in so far as the family was already present and residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022:
  • (a) the spouse of a person referred to in paragraph 1, point (a) or (b), or the unmarried partner in a stable relationship, where the legislation or practice of the Member State concerned treats unmarried couples in a way comparable to married couples under its national law relating to aliens,
  • (b) the minor unmarried children of a person referred to in paragraph 1, point (a) or (b), or of his or her spouse, without distinction as to whether they were born in or out wedlock or adopted,
  • (c) other close relatives who lived together as part of the family unit at the time of the circumstances surrounding the mass influx of displaced persons, and who were wholly or mainly dependent on a person referred to in paragraph 1, point (a) or (b) at the time.

Application for temporary protection

The foreigner may exercise the temporary protection only in one of country of the EU. The application shall be submitted in persona at the office of the chief of the Authority for Foreigners:

• office in Warsaw at ul. Taborowa 33,
• office in Biała Podlaska at ul. Dokudowska 19,

Recently it cannot be submitted online. However the service shall be launched soon – information shall be available here: https://www.gov.pl/web/udsc/aktualnosci-udsc

When the temporary protection shall be granted?

The competent authority shall issue the certificate of protection immediately.

What is the fee for temporary protection application?

The application is free of charge.

Right to work in Poland under temporary protection regime

The foreigner who is exercising the right to temporary protection in Poland may stay and work without the need to obtain the work permit.

Hiring refugee or foreigners under supplementary protection in Poland

International protection is a special legal status granted to a foreign national who is at risk of persecution or serious harm in their country of origin. In Poland, if the foreign workers does not meet conditions for refugee status, but is exposed in the country of origin, among others, to a serious threat to life or health due to widespread violence against the civilian population in a situation of international armed conflict, s/he may be granted supplementary protection.

How to apply for international protection?

In Poland – the application will be recognized by the Head of the Office for Foreigners. The foreigner may file an application – in person – only in the first European Union country into which he enter. The application shall be filed via Border Guard, in particular when crossing the border.

When the refugee status shall be granted?

While the decision should be issued within 6 months, the actual waiting time is currently around 14–15 months. During this period, the foreign national is not allowed to perform paid work in Poland.

What is the fee for application for refugee status?

The application for international protection is free of charge, which makes the process more accessible for job seekers and foreign workers with limited resources.

When can a refugee start working in Poland?

The foreigner cannot work in Poland during the first 6 months of the application procedure. After the international protection is granted the foreigner will have the right to work, as well as, run business in Poland.

FAQ – Hiring foreign workers in Poland