At a glance
- New laws governing immigration are expected to come into effect within the next few weeks.
- The labour market test, required under the existing provisions, will be removed from the work permit application process.
- A set of new obligations for employers will apply, in particular with regard to notifying the competent authorities.
- The impact of certain regulations will depend on how they are implemented in practice - employers should closely monitor for further developments.
In early April 2025, the Polish President signed a new law introducing changes to the process of legalising the employment of foreigners. These changes will come into force on the first day of the month following the expiry of 14 days from the date of publication in the Journal of Laws, likely by 1 June 2025.
While the law in part replaces existing legislation, note that the process of obtaining documentation will not change significantly compared to before. Below we provide information on the most important changes and the new obligations placed on employers.
Scrapping of the labour market test
Under existing provisions, before an employing entity can apply for a work permit, it must obtain a document from the competent district labour office confirming that there are no available candidates in the local labour market who can fill the position. Under the new law, this obligation will be completely removed from the work permit application process. Instead, the district governor (starost) can specify a list of professions and positions for which work permits will not be issued. Currently, it is difficult to predict what professions/positions might be on this list.
Changes to employer's obligations
The most important new obligations include:
- Submitting a copy of the contract with the foreign national to the immigration office via the electronic system (most likely praca.gov.pl) – in the case of a work permit, this must be done within seven days of assigning the work, and in the case of a statement assigning work, before work is assigned;
- Informing the foreign national of actions taken in connection with the work permit proceedings;
- Notifying the authority that has issued the work permit within seven days, via the electronic system (most likely praca.gov.pl), of the following circumstances:
- The foreign national not taking up work within two months of the initial validity date of the work permit;
- The foreign national taking a break from work for a period exceeding two months;
- The foreign national ending work more than two months before the expiry date of the work permit;
- Notifying the authority that has issued the statement assigning work of:
- The foreign national taking up work – within seven days of their start date;
- The foreign national not taking up work – within 14 days of the start date of work specified in the register of statements;
- Notifying the authority that has issued the temporary residence and work permit of:
- any change in the job title without changing the scope of duties;
- any increase in working hours while proportionally increasing remuneration;
- any change of the company's registered office;
- any transfer of the employing establishment or a part thereof; and
- a civil law contract being replaced with an employment contract, within 15 working days of the occurrence of any of these circumstances;
- Notifying the authority that has issued a temporary residence and work permit if the foreign national loses their employment within 15 days.
Prioritisation of received applications
When considering a work permit application for a foreign national on behalf of a Polish entity, the competent provincial governor (wojewoda) will consider applications in the order specified in the lists published in the relevant regulations. Currently, it is difficult to predict what these lists will look like.
Temporary change in a foreign national's position
The employer will be able to entrust the foreign national with work of a different nature or to a different position than that specified in the work permit for periods not exceeding 30 days in a calendar year, provided that the other conditions specified in the work permit are met and the provincial governor who issued the work permit is notified in advance via the electronic system (most likely praca.gov.pl).
Sanctions
The new law provides for higher penalties for the illegal employment of a foreign national - from PLN 3,000 to PLN 50,000 (previously ranging from PLN 1,000 to PLN 30,000).
Existing permits
The transitional provisions indicate that the new law applies to work permits and statements assigning work that have already been issued. Currently, immigration offices issuing these documents do not have any guidelines about what this means in practice for employers. It is likely that guidelines will appear shortly after the official publication of the law in the Journal of Laws.
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