Legalisation of work. Simplified procedure

A simplified procedure involves cases where either the work permit is not necessary at all or the issuance of such a permit or a common residence and work permit is possible without the opinion of the district starost (job market test)..

Who can work without a work permit?

Polish legislation provides for a variety of cases in which performing work is possible without holding a work permit. Some exemptions are dependent on the nature of work performed, some – on the foreigner’s residence status

The resolution of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 21 April 2015 on cases in which entrusting the performance of a job to a foreigner within the territory of the Republic of Poland is permitted without an obligation to obtain a work permit anticipates the possibility of entrusting work to a foreigner in case of foreigners:

conducting training, participating in internships, exercising advisory and supervisory functions or functions requiring special qualifications and skills in programmes realised within the framework of the activities of the European Union or other international aid programmes, also based on loans contracted by the Government of the Republic of Poland (§ 1 section 1);
being teachers of a foreign language who perform work in kindergartens, schools, teacher training establishments, centres, institutes or colleges referred to in regulations on the education system, or Voluntary Labour Corps (Ochotniczy Hufiec Pracy) (§ 1 section 2);
being members of the armed forces or civilian personnel who perform work in international military structures situated within the territory of the Republic of Poland or being foreigners delegated to implement armament programmes realised on the basis of agreements to which Poland is a party (§ 1 section 3);
being permanent foreign mass media correspondents who were granted, at the request of the editor in chief of a foreign editorial office or agency, accreditation by a competent foreign affairs minister, however, only within the limits of professional journalistic activity carried out in behalf of that foreign editorial office or agency (§ 1 section 4);
performing individually or in bands artistic services, lasting for up to 30 days in a calendar year (§ 1 section 5);
giving, for up to 30 days in a calendar year, occasional lectures, presentations or presenting papers of exceptional scientific or artistic value (§ 1 section 6);
being athletes performing, for up to 30 days in a calendar year, work for an entity with its registered office within the territory of the Republic of Poland in connection with sports competitions (§ 1 section 7);
performing work in connection with sports events of an international rank, delegated by an adequate international sports organization (§ 1 section 8);
being clergymen, members of convents or other persons performing work in connection with their religious function, in churches and religious unions, and national interchurch organisations the status of which is regulated by an international agreement, regulations on the relation between State and church or another religious union, or which function on the basis of an entry in the register of churches and religious unions, their legal persons or organizational units, as well as those who perform work within the limits of their religious function in other entities, on the basis of delegation by an adequate church or another religious union authority or its legal entity (§ 1 section 9);
being students of full-time studies, pursued in the Republic of Poland or participants of full-time PhD studies pursued in the Republic of Poland (§ 1 section 10);
being students performing work within vocational internships, for the performance of which they were sent by organisations which are members of international student associations (§ 1 section 11);
who are students performing work within the cooperation of public employment services and their foreign partners, if the need to entrust a foreigner with the performance of this work is confirmed by an adequate employment authority (§ 1 section 12);
being students of universities or vocational schools in member states of the European Union or non-EU member states of the European Free Trade Association or the Swiss Confederation, who perform work within vocational internships provided for by rules of study or curriculum, on condition of having obtained a referral for such a vocational internship form university or a vocational school (§ 1 section 13);
participating in cultural or educational exchange programmes, humanitarian aid or development assistance programmes or students’ summer job programmes, organised in agreement with the minister competent for labour (§ 1 section 14);
who are graduates of Polish upper secondary schools, full-time studies or full time PhD studies at Polish universities, in scientific institutes of the Polish Academy of Science or research institutes operating in accordance with laws on research institutes (§ 1 section 15);
performing work as research workers in entities referred to in regulations on research institutes (§ 1 section 16);
delegated to the Republic of Poland by a foreign employer if they retain permanent residence abroad, for a period of up to three months in a calendar year, for the purpose of: performance of assembly, maintenance or repair work, delivery of technically complete devices, structures, machines or other equipment if the foreign employer is their producer. / collection of commissioned devices, machines, other equipment or parts made by a Polish producer, / training workers of a Polish employer who is the buyer of devices, machines or other equipment, as referred to in letter a, within the scope of their handling or use, / assembly and disassembly of stands, as well as supervision over them if the exhibitor is a foreign employer who delegates them for this purpose (§ 1 section 17);
performing work in behalf of Members of the European Parliament in connection with the function exercised (§ 1 section 18);
authorised on the grounds specified in legal acts published by authorities appointed pursuant to the Agreement establishing an association between the European Economic Community and Turkey, executed at Ankara on 12 September 1963 (Official Journal of EC L 217 from 29.12.1964, pp. 3685; OJ of EU Polish special edition, ch. 11, t. 11, pp. 10) (§ 1 section 19);
being citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation or Ukraine, performing work for a period not exceeding 6 months within 12 consecutive months, irrespectively of the number of entities entrusting them with performing work, if before undertaking work by the foreigner, the poviat labour office adequate for the place of residence or registered office of the entity entrusting performance of work, registered this entity’s written statement on the intent of entrusting this foreigner with the performance of work, specifying the job title, the place of work, the commencement date and the period of performing work, the type of contract as grounds for the performance of work, as well as the amount of gross remuneration. The statement also stated that the employer was informed also about the impossibility of satisfying his staffing needs from the local labour market and that he has become acquainted with regulations concerning foreigners’ residence and work. The work has to be performed on the basis of a written contract on the conditions specified in the declaration (§ 1 section 20). You can read more about it in the article: Seasonal employment.

According to article 87 section 1 of the Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions, a foreigner is authorised to perform work within the territory of the Republic of Poland without a work permit if he:

holds the status of a refugee granted in the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 1 point 1);
was granted subsidiary protection in the Republic of Poland; (article 87 section 1 point 2);
holds a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 1 point 3);
holds a long-term EU residence permit in the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 1 point 4);
holds a residence permit for humanitarian reasons (article 87 section 1 point 4a);
holds a permit for tolerated stay in the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 1 point 5);
enjoys temporary protection in the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 1 point 6);
is a citizen of a European Union Member State (article 87 section 1 point 7);
is a citizen of a non-EU European Economic Area country (article 87 section 1 point 8);
is a citizen of a country, which is not party to the agreement on the European Economic Area, but who can enjoy the freedom of movement of persons based on the agreement concluded by this country with the European Community and its Member States (article 87 section 1 point 9);
is a family member of the foreigner referred to in the three above mentioned points, or is a descendant of the foreigner’s spouse and is under 21 years of age or is dependent on the foreigner or the foreigner’s spouse, or is an ascendant of the foreigner or of the foreigner’s spouse and is dependent upon this foreigner or the foreigner’s spouse (article 87 section 1 point 10);
is a person referred to in article 19 section 2-3 of the Act of 14 July 2006 on the entry into, residence in and exit from the Republic of Poland of nationals of the European Union Member States and their family members (that is he retains the right of residence for a family member who is not a EU citizen in case of: 1) death of the EU citizen if the foreigner accompanied the EU citizen within the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period longer than one year preceding the date of death of the EU citizen; 2) divorce, annulment of marriage with the EU citizen if: a) the marriage lasted for at least 3 years prior to the initiation of divorce or annulment proceedings, including one year of residence of EU citizen within the territory of the Republic of Poland, or b) as a former spouse of the EU citizen he has custody of the EU citizen\'s children by agreement between the spouses or by court order, or c) this is warranted by particularly important circumstances, such as having been a victim of domestic violence while the marriage or registered partnership was subsisting, or d) as a former spouse has the right of access to a minor child, by agreement between the spouses or by court order, provided that the court has ruled that such access takes place within the Republic of Poland. In case of a EU citizen’s death or exit from the territory of the Republic of Poland, the EU citizen’s child residing and studying within this territory, as well as the parent taking care of it, regardless of their nationality, retain the right of residence until the child finishes education) (article 87 section 1 point 11);
holds a temporary residence permit, referred to in article 114 section 1 (a common residence and work permit), article 126 (a residence and work permit for a foreigner serving on the management board of a company whose shares he does not hold), article 127 (a temporary residence permit for the purposes of highly qualified employment) or article 142 section 3 (a temporary residence permit for the purposes of conducting business activity) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners – on the grounds indicated in the permit (article 87 section 1 point 11a).

On the ground of residence status, exempt from the obligation to have a work permit is a foreigner who (article 87 section 2):

holds a temporary residence permit granted in connection with circumstances referred to in article 144 (a temporary residence permit for the purposes of obtaining higher education while attending first degree studies), article 151 section 1 or 2 (a temporary residence permit for the purposes of conducting research), article 158 section 2 point 1 or 2 (a temporary residence permit for family members of citizens of the Republic of Poland), article 161 section 2 (a temporary residence permit for family members after a divorce, separation or a foreigner’s death), article 176 (a temporary residence period for victims of human trafficking) or article 186 section 1 point 3 or 4 (a temporary residence permit for a foreigner who holds a long-term EU resident\'s permit granted by another European Union Member State, and for the members of his family) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners (article 87 section 2 point 1), as well as a foreigner’s spouse with such a residence status, having a temporary residence status within the territory of the Republic of Poland granted in connection with having entered into marriage (article 87 section 2 point 2);
is married to the Polish citizen or foreigner referred to in article 87 section 1 points 1-6 (that is a foreigner who has refugee status granted in the Republic of Poland; a foreigner who was granted supplementary protection in the Republic of Poland; a foreigner who holds a long term EU resident’s status in the Republic of Poland; a foreigner who holds a residence permit for humanitarian reasons; a foreigner who holds a permit for tolerated stay in the Republic of Poland or enjoys temporary protection in the Republic of Poland), who holds a temporary residence permit within the territory of the Republic of Poland granted in connection with entering into marriage (article 87 section 2 point 2);
is a descendant under 21 years of age dependent on a Polish citizen or a foreigner referred to in the above two points, or is dependent on a foreigner with refugee status granted in the Republic of Poland; a foreigner who was granted supplementary protection in the Republic of Poland; a foreigner who holds a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Poland; a foreigner who holds a long term EU resident’s status in the Republic of Poland; a foreigner who holds a residence permit for humanitarian reasons; a foreigner who holds a permit for tolerated stay in the Republic of Poland or enjoys temporary protection in the Republic of Poland, which descendant (as referred to in article 2 section 1 point 8 letter b) holds a temporary residence permit within the territory of the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 2 point 3);
holds a temporary residence permit within the territory of the Republic of Poland granted on the basis of article 159 section 1 (a temporary residence permit for family members of foreigners) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners (article 87 section 2 point 4);
resides within the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a stamp confirming that an application for a temporary or a permanent residence permit has been submitted (article 108 section 1 point 2 or article 206 section 1 point 2 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners), or on the basis of a stamp in a travel document confirming that an application for a long-term EU residence permit has been submitted if immediately before filing the application he was exempt from the obligation to hold a work permit on the basis of one of the above four points (article 87 section 2 point 5);
holds a valid Pole’s Card (article 87 section 2 point 6);
applied for refugee status or is a spouse on whose behalf an application for refugee status was made, under the condition of having a certificate issued on the basis of Article 36 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 2 point 7);
is authorised to reside and perform work within the territory of an EU Member State or a non-EU European Economic Area country or the Swiss Confederation, who is employed by an employer with a registered office within the territory of this country and temporarily delegated by this employer in order to provide services within the territory of the Republic of Poland (article 87 section 2 point 8);
whom international agreements or separate regulations allow to perform work without the obligation to hold a permit (article 87 section 2 point 9).

Who does not need a district starost’s opinion (labour market test) to obtain a work permit?

In compliance with the announcement of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 30 December 2014 on the publication of a consolidated text of the resolution of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy on determining cases in which a work permit for foreigners is issued regardless of detailed conditions concerning issuance of a work permit for foreigners, both the nature of performed work and the foreigner’s situation may determine the lack of obligation to apply for a district starost’s opinion. An application for a work permit or an application for a common residence and work permit without a district starost’s opinion may be submitted in case of:

a foreigner who is a family member of an employee of a diplomatic representative office, a consular office, an international organization or their representative performing work in in the Republic of Poland on the basis of international agreements and compacts (§ 2. section 1);
a foreigner performing work as private domestic help of employees of diplomatic representative offices, consular offices, international organizations or their representatives (§ 2. section 2);
a foreigner authorised on the grounds specified in legal acts issued by authorities appointed pursuant to the Agreement establishing an Association between the European Economic Community and Turkey, executed at Ankara on 12 September 1963 (OJ of EC L 217 from 29.12.1964, pp. 3687; OJ of EU Polish special edition, ch. 11, t. 11, pp. 10) (§ 2. section 3);
a foreigner authorised to represent a foreign entrepreneur in his branch or representative office located within the territory of the Republic of Poland (§3 section 1);
a foreigner who is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation or Ukraine, performing nursing and care work or working as domestic help in behalf of natural persons in a household (§3 section 2) (concerns domestic help, nannies, senior care assistants, etc.);
a foreigner who is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation or Ukraine, who in a period directly before applying for a work permit performed work for a period no shorter than 3 months for the same entity and on the same position under a contract concluded in writing, if before undertaking work by the foreigner, the poviat labour office adequate for the place of residence or registered office of the entity entrusting performance of work, registered this entity’s written statement on the intent of entrusting this foreigner with the performance of work – on the condition of presenting the registered statement and a contract, as well as documents confirming payments of social premiums, if they were required in connection with performing work (§3 section 3). You can read more about it in the article: Seasonal employment.
a foreigner – a sports coach or an athlete – performing work in behalf of sports clubs and other entities whose statutory activity involves popularizing physical culture and sport (§3 section 4);
a medical doctor and a dentist who are completing training or following the curriculum of their specialization on the ground of regulations on medical doctors and dentists (§3 section 5);
in case when the occupation, or type of work, which a foreigner is performing within the limits of work entrusted to him is in the list referred to in article 10 section 4 point 1 of the Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions (the job which a foreigner is to perform or type of work which is to be entrusted to him is defined in the list specified by a voivode adequate to the place of work) (article 88c section 3 point 1 of the Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions – in case of a work permit, and article 114 section 3 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Poland - in case of a residence and work permit)

Moreover, in compliance with article 88c the Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions, the voivode issues a work permit (but not a residence and work permit) without the district starost’s opinion in case of a foreigner who:

in the period of 3 years preceding the application for a work permit graduated from school or university with its office within the territory of the Republic of Poland or another EU country, as well as Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway or the Swiss Confederation (article 88c section 8 point 1) (in practice this regulation is used most often by graduates of extramural studies);
for 3 years preceding the application for a work permit resided legally within the territory of the Republic of Poland, excluding cases specified in Article 110 of Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Poland, and his residence was uninterrupted in the meaning of Article 64 section 4 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Poland (article 88c section 8 point 2) (in practice this means that a foreigner’ departure from Poland was no longer than 6 months, and the period spent outside Poland within those 3 years was no longer than 10 months in total);
in case of prolonging the work permit (article 88c section 3 point 2 of the Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions) or a residence and work permit (article 114 section 3 point 2 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners) on the same conditions and with the same employer.

It should also be remembered that the voivode issues a work permit or a residence and work permit if the amount of remuneration, specified in the contract with a foreigner, is not lower than the remuneration of employees performing work of a similar kind or on a similar position. Unfortunately, in practice the data on remuneration are not widely available.