Continuation, change and loss of employment

Detailed explanation

a. the need for full access to the labour market

You can freely change jobs if you have full access to the labour market. Full access to Poland labour market applies to the situation and when you can perform work without having an additional document entitling you to work, such as a work permit or a declaration of employment of a foreign national. Having full access to the labour market, you can work for any employer and under any conditions.

You have full access to Poland labour market if:

• you are a beneficiary of international protection or domestic forms of protection against expulsion (you have refugee status granted in Poland, you have been granted subsidiary protection in Poland; you have a permit to stay for humanitarian reasons or for a tolerated stay in Poland; you use temporary protection in Poland) or you have a valid certificate issued by the Head of the Office for Foreigners in connection with the ongoing proceedings for international protection;

• you have a residence permit granted indefinitely (permanent residence permit or long-term EU resident's residence permit);

• you have a temporary residence and work permit – only if it does not specify the employer(s), job position, remuneration, working time and type of contract constituting the basis for performing work;

• you have a temporary residence permit for the purpose of full-time education, or you are a full-time student in Poland, and you have a document legalizing your stay in Poland;

• you are a graduate of Polish upper secondary schools, full-time higher education, or full-time doctoral studies at Polish universities, and you have a document legalizing your stay in Poland;

• you have a temporary residence permit for the purpose of conducting scientific research;

• you have a temporary residence permit for the long-term mobility of the researcher;

• you are in Poland in connection with the short-term mobility of an ICT employee; short-term mobility of the researcher or mobility of the student;

• you have a temporary residence permit for a family member of a citizen of the Republic of Poland;

• you have a temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification;

• you have a temporary residence permit for a victim of trafficking in human beings;

• you have a temporary residence permit for the holder of a long-term EU resident permit in another EU Member State;

• you have a temporary residence permit for a family member of the holder of a long-term EU resident permit in another EU

  Member State;

• you have a valid Pole's Card and a document legalizing your stay in Poland.

Having full access to the labour market is due to the specific situation you are in. If this situation changes, it may not be possible to maintain full access to the labour market – it is not a right that will always apply once granted.

If, for example, a temporary residence permit that entitles you to work is revoked or expires, and you do not renew this permit, you will not be able to continue working in Poland unless you provide yourself with such a possibility again, e.g. by obtaining a residence permit of another type allowing you to work in Poland for any employer and in any position (e.g. a residence permit for a long-term EU resident).

In the case of full access to the labour market, you are free to choose your employer and you are not obliged to inform each time about the loss of a job, its change or change in the conditions under which it is performed.

Remember, however, that the regulations oblige you to notify in writing the voivode who granted you a temporary residence permit about the loss of the purpose of stay, which was the basis for granting the permit, within 15 days. Therefore, if, for example, you have a temporary residence and work permit, which is not specified by the employer, and you have stopped working in Poland, you should notify the voivode about this fact. If this permit was granted to you by the Head of the Office for Foreigners after the appeal proceedings – send this notification to the voivode who conducted the proceedings in the first instance.

b. the case of limited access to the labour market

If you have limited access to Poland labour market, you cannot freely change the employer and working conditions.

If you have a temporary residence permit in order to perform work in a profession requiring high qualifications, you can additionally perform work only in a profession requiring high qualifications.

If you are in visa-free regime, have a visa or temporary residence permit and a work permit, you can start working fora new employer if they obtain a new work permit.

If you are in visa-free regime, you have a visa or temporary residence permit and a declaration of employment of a foreign national, you can start working for a new employer only if they obtain a new declaration for you. Remember that on the basis of the above declaration, you can work for a total of no more than 6 months in the next 12 months, regardless of how many employers you have worked for. In addition, the work on the basis of the above declaration applies only to citizens of: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine.

If, on the other hand, you want to continue working for your current employer on the basis of an employment contract and on terms no worse than those specified in the declaration, then after 3 months of performing such work:

• the employer may apply for a work permit for you

• you can apply for a temporary residence and work permit for yourself

- such a permit is then issued in a simplified mode, i.e., without the so-called labour market test. During the period of waiting for the permit to be issued, you will be able to perform work – as long as you have a residence title that entitles you to perform work, and in the case of an application for a temporary residence and work permit, provided that the application for granting this permit was submitted during your legal stay and did not contain formal deficiencies or you completed them on time.

If you have a temporary residence and work permit, in which the employer, job position, salary, working time and type of contract are entered, you cannot start working for another employer on its basis.

However, you can apply to the voivode competent for the place of your current stay for a change of permit if you want to work:

• at another employer of the user,

• in another position,

• for lower remuneration,

• in other working hours.

If you want to change your employer, you must apply for a new temporary residence and work permit.

Remember also that the regulations oblige you to notify within 15 days the voivode who granted the permit about the loss of work at any of the employers whose permit it exchanges. Such notification shall be made in writing. If this permit was granted by the Head of the Office for Foreigners, the notification should be sent to the voivode who conducted the case in the first instance.

In a situation where you have a temporary residence permit in order to perform work in a profession requiring high qualifications and you have not worked in Poland on its basis for 2 years, you cannot start working for another employer or under other conditions on its basis.

You can apply to the voivode competent for the place of your current stay for a change of permit if you want to:

• work for another employer,

• change the positions on which you are employed,

• receive a salary lower than that specified in the permit.

If you have a temporary residence permit in order to perform work in a profession requiring high qualifications and you have worked in Poland on its basis for 2 years, you can change your employer, position, and salary without having to change the permit, but only if you continue to work in a profession requiring high qualifications.