Work permit

Introduction

A work permit is an entitlement to work in Poland granted to a foreigner who is a third-country citizen (i.e., not having EU, Norwegian, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Swiss citizenship, as well as not being a beneficiary of the agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU structures) or a stateless person at the request of their employer.

This right is granted in the form of an administrative decision by the voivode, with the exception of a seasonal work permit, which is granted by the starost. Appeal proceedings in matters of issuing work permits are conducted by the Department of Labour Market in the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology (MRPiT).

This right is not of a general nature and does not provide full access to the labour market – it applies to a specific employer and the position or type of work performed by a foreigner. It also strictly specifies the conditions under which the work is to be carried out. Performing work other than that specified in the permit or contrary to its conditions constitutes the performance of work contrary to the regulations, i.e., illegally.

Both an employer employing a foreigner without a permit, if required, or contrary to its conditions, as well as a foreigner performing work in such a situation, must take into account certain consequences. The fine imposed on the employer may amount to up to PLN 30,000. It is also threatened with administrative and criminal sanctions. For a foreigner, in addition to a fine of not less than PLN 1,000, a severe penalty may be the issuance of a return decision – such a decision not only orders them to leave the territory of Poland within a specified period, but also contains a ban on re-entry to Polish and other Schengen states within a certain period (go to the section: Return decision and prohibition of re-entry to learn more).

This permit is not always required for a foreigner – check if you need a work permit.

If a work permit is required, a foreigner is entitled to work in Poland, only on condition that they have an appropriate basis of residence that allows the performance of work, in accordance with the regulations. This means that even if they have a valid work permit, they cannot perform work in accordance with the permit if they do not stay in Poland legally, and the basis of their stay (e.g., an appropriate visa or temporary residence permit) does not allow them to do so. Such a situation will occur, for example, if a foreigner stays in Poland on the basis of a visa issued for tourist purposes or using temporary protection or a temporary residence permit due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay.

A work permit is an element of the so-called uniform permit, which is both a temporary residence permit (i.e., a right to temporarily stay in Poland) and a work permit (i.e., an entitlement to work).