For several years, we have been dealing with a dynamic increase in the number of foreigners employed in Poland, which is particularly related to the great interest in the procedure of obtaining a work permit in Warsaw, which undoubtedly offers many opportunities on the labor market. Therefore, more and more entrepreneurs are interested in obtaining information enabling them to legally obtain a work permit in Warsaw. Many employers seek help in the form of advice or in completely entrusting the issue of obtaining a work permit to a lawyer.
Due to numerous provisions regulating the employment of foreigners, in practice there are very often situations that are difficult to assess in terms of employment opportunities for a given foreigner. There is a group of people whose employment does not require a work permit in Warsaw (e.g. full-time students, graduates of Polish schools with a permanent residence permit, long-term European Union resident, spouses of Polish citizens, foreigners with international protection or the Pole’s Card). There are also doubts as to the possibility of a foreigner to work while waiting for a residence card (work on a stamp).
Foreigners who have obtained refugee status, subsidiary protection, a tolerated stay permit and a humanitarian stay permit may legally stay in Poland. These are documents obtained by persons who, for various reasons, cannot return to their country of origin for fear of violating their rights (to life, health, legal work, family life). A foreigner who has obtained a residence permit for humanitarian reasons, has a refugee status or subsidiary protection, receives a residence card, while a person who has obtained a tolerated stay permit receives a “consent for tolerated stay” card.
In most cases, however, a foreigner is required to obtain a visa at the consulate in order to come to Poland. Visas are issued for many circumstances (study, work, tourist visa). The visa designation indicates the circumstance for which it was issued. It should be remembered that the visa only legalizes the stay of a foreigner. The visa indicates its validity dates and the number of days for which the foreigner may stay in Poland. It is issued for a maximum period of one year.
Entrusting a foreigner with work in Warsaw requires that he or she has the right to stay legally and the right to legally perform work. Legal residence is a right that allows a foreigner to stay in Poland. Depending on the citizenship of a foreigner, the possibilities of obtaining a legal stay in Poland vary.
Employment of foreigners is possible based on various tools and on the basis of various documents. They are: a work permit in Warsaw, a declaration of intention to entrust work or a seasonal work permit.
A lawyer would describe a work permit as a special permit authorizing to perform work (in the work permit in Warsaw, the Mazowieckie Voivodship Office specifies for whom, in what position and under what minimum conditions a foreigner can work), provided that he or she has a legal stay.
In order for the employer to be able to correctly assess the legal situation of a foreigner willing to work and in order to avoid mistakes and doubts, he should become familiar with the terms that often appear in the process of entrusting work to foreigners. One should distinguish between the concept of legal stay and legal work, and remember that in order to work, both of these conditions must be met by a foreigner. A common mistake on the part of employers is the mistaken belief that if a foreigner has a residence permit in Poland and lives in Warsaw, it automatically means that he has a work permit in Warsaw.
In a situation where a foreigner has a document legalizing stay in Warsaw, other than one of the above-mentioned, it will be necessary to obtain a work permit for him in Warsaw. A work permit for work in Warsaw is issued by the Mazowiecki Voivode at the employer’s request. The permit specifies the employer and the minimum terms of employment. It should be remembered that in order to employ a foreigner on the basis of a work permit, he or she must be legally resident in Poland. It is the first and necessary condition to be met. The waiting time for a work permit is approximately one month.
In order to obtain a work permit, the lawyer representing the employer or the employer himself submits an application to the voivode, in which he indicates who, on what position and under what conditions he would like to hire. The application should be accompanied by information from the staroste that it is not possible to meet staffing needs based on the local market, issued by poviat labor offices. The application may be submitted at the seat of the voivodeship office, as well as sent by registered mail. A work permit in Warsaw is granted for up to three years.
Depending on the work to be performed by the foreigner, the employer should obtain one of the 5 types of work permit:
a) Type A work permits – a work permit obtained in the case of a foreigner who will perform work in Poland for a Polish employer;
b) Type B work permits – a work permit obtained in the case of a foreigner who will perform a function on the company’s management board;
c) Type C work permits – a work permit obtained in the case of a foreigner who will perform work for a foreign employer and is posted to the territory of Poland, if the employer has a branch in Poland;
d) Type D work permits – a work permit obtained in the case of a foreigner who will perform work for a foreign employer and is delegated to the territory of Poland to perform a temporary service, if the employer does not have a branch in Poland;
e) Type E work permits – a work permit obtained in the case of a foreigner who will perform work for a foreign employer and is posted to the territory of Poland for a purpose other than required (type A, B, C, D work permits (type E ).
For citizens of Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia and Ukraine, there is a possibility of employment for a period of 6 months during the next 12 months on the basis of a declaration that the employer registers with the employment office. It is a simple operation and the waiting time is several days. So if we have a candidate for a job from one of these countries, we can hire him almost overnight. In this case, it should also be remembered that the foreigner must be legally resident.
In the event of the intention to entrust a foreigner with short-term work, the employer may obtain a seasonal work permit for him. A seasonal work permit is issued by the staroste competent for the employer’s seat. On the basis of this permit, a foreigner may work up to 9 months a year. Of course, it is necessary for the foreigner to have the right to stay legally. The fee for issuing a seasonal work permit is PLN 30.
There is a group of cases when the employer will not have to obtain a work permit for a foreigner to work in Warsaw. This happens when:
h) The foreigner is a full-time student;
i) The foreigner has a Pole’s Card;
j) The foreigner graduated from secondary school in Poland;
k) A foreigner who graduated from a university in Poland;
l) The foreigner is a foreign language teacher;
m) The foreigner is a permanent correspondent of foreign media with accreditation;
n) The foreigner performs artistic services for no longer than 30 days a year.
In the above cases, it is of course necessary that the foreigner has a legal stay in Poland. If we want to employ a person who is legally residing in Poland and meets one of the above conditions, we can do it without additional formalities.
Citizens of European Union member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican may also work without any additional formalities. In other cases, we recommend that you contact a lawyer for a work permit.
The law firm represents employers in matters related to the employment of foreigners in Poland, and the lawyer is obliged to complete all formalities related to the work permit. We analyze the situation individually and help you choose the best solution that will allow you to obtain a work permit in Warsaw as soon as possible. In the field of matters related to the legalization of stay and obtaining a work permit, the lawyers have extensive experience, which allows them to quickly complete the procedure related to obtaining a work permit in Warsaw. We deal with both obtaining individual work permits in Warsaw and comprehensive support for employers, when all obligations regarding obtaining a work permit are completed by a lawyer. The extensive experience of the Law Firm and lawyers in work permits in Warsaw and services in this area for many companies, allows us to prepare and propose a cooperation project tailored to the needs of a specific entity employing foreigners, which very often translates into measurable benefits for entrepreneurs, not only in terms of time, but most of all financial. We help to choose optimal solutions and reduce the waiting time for a positive conclusion of the work permit in Warsaw, due to the knowledge of the procedures in place in Warsaw offices. We often encounter a situation where employers resign from employing a foreigner due to the need to wait for a work permit. In the case of a work permit, the lawyer knows solutions that save time and money.
