Act on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners in Poland – questions and answers

I. Documentation

The Act provides for full digitalisation of the procedure for issuing work permits to foreigners via the praca.gov.pl system. This means that all applications, explanations, appeals, complaints, documents, letters, and digital reproductions of documents must be signed with a qualified electronic signature, trusted signature or personal signature – as stipulated in Article 44(3) of the Act on the Labour Market and Employment Services.

The employer is obliged to keep copies of documents authorising a foreigner to stay in the territory of Poland for the entire duration of the foreigner’s employment. However, the Act does not specify whether the copies should be kept in paper or electronic form. Therefore, the employer may choose the format most convenient for them. Nevertheless, given that communication with the office will take place exclusively by electronic means, it is advisable to keep the copies in this format as well.

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II. Foreigners as students and graduates

The entry into force of the new Act on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners has not changed the situation of foreign students who are employed. They may still work legally without the need to obtain a work permit. This applies only to full-time students and doctoral candidates at public and private universities in Poland. The Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 21 April 2015, which remains in force under the new Act, continues to apply. However, pursuant to Article 3(7) of the new Act, a new regulation is to be issued to specify cases in which a work permit will not be required, meaning that this situation may change. The old 2015 regulation will remain in force for another 6 months, i.e. until 30 November 2025.

Graduates of post-secondary schools – including general secondary schools, technical secondary schools, vocational schools, special schools preparing for work, and post-secondary schools for individuals with a secondary or technical secondary education, with a course duration of no more than 2.5 years – may also work without a work permit or submitting a statement of work entrustment. The same applies to graduates of full-time higher education or full-time doctoral studies at Polish universities. This results from § 1(15) of the old Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 21 April 2015, which remains in force under the new Act, but only until 30 November 2025.

The new Act includes Article 3(5)(2), which stipulates that a graduate of a post-primary school may work without a permit or a statement of work entrustment if they hold documents obtained in the Republic of Poland confirming professional qualifications. This means, for instance, that a general secondary school graduate who has not obtained any professional qualifications will need to obtain a work permit or submit a statement of work entrustment. This regulation should be borne in mind when the provisions of the old regulation expire and graduates without professional qualifications lose free access to the labour market.

The new Act no longer requires graduates to have completed higher education in full-time mode.

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III. Information and translation

Article 5 of the new Act imposes an obligation on the employer to provide the foreigner with a written employment contract in a language they can understand. This means that the language of the contract must be one that the foreigner can sufficiently comprehend. For instance, it is not acceptable to present a contract in English if the foreigner only speaks Spanish.

The contract in a foreign language does not need to be translated by a sworn translator. However, if the contract is originally signed in a foreign language, its translation into Polish must be done by a sworn translator. The employer is then obliged to keep a copy of this translation. Contracts can still be drawn up as bilingual documents in one integrated version.

Occupational safety and health (OSH) training should also be delivered in a language understood by the foreigner. Although this is not explicitly stated in the new Act, it derives from the Labour Code. An employer cannot be considered to have fulfilled their OSH obligations if the information provided is not understood by the employee due to a language barrier. In this case, however, a sworn translation is not required – the employer has the discretion to choose the method of translation, provided that it results in the foreigner understanding the information conveyed.

A specific informational obligation under Article 5 of the new Act is the requirement to inform the foreigner in writing, in a language they understand, about their right to join trade unions. It is irrelevant whether trade unions exist at the workplace or not. A sworn translation is also not required in this case. A sworn translation is mandatory only when translating a contract from a foreign language into Polish.

According to the definition in Article 2(1) of the new Act, a foreigner is anyone who does not hold Polish citizenship. However, the provisions of the new Act do not apply to citizens of EU Member States, EFTA, and the EEA. This exclusion is specified in Article 1(4)(6)(a) of the new Act.

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IV. Employee outsourcing

The new Act prohibits so-called employee outsourcing. According to Article 84(12) of the new Act, any person who entrusts work to a foreigner and then assigns them to perform work for and under the direction of another entity on a basis other than a contract providing for temporary employment shall be subject to a fine of no less than PLN 3,000. However, the employment of foreigners as temporary workers under a contract with a temporary employment agency remains legal.

As a result, from 1 June, further entrusting of work to foreign workers in the form of outsourcing becomes illegal and may result in a fine. When issuing work permits and declarations of entrusting work to a foreigner, authorities will verify whether the case involves outsourcing and may refuse to issue these documents accordingly.

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V. Contact with public authorities

The entity entrusting work is obliged to submit a copy of the employment contract with the foreigner, in Polish, to the authority that issued the work permit, via the praca.gov.pl system before the work is entrusted to the foreigner. The purpose of this provision is to inform the authority about the existence and details of the employment relationship between the employer and the foreigner.

According to the announcement by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy dated 28 May 2025, the submission of a copy of the employment contract in Polish to the authority via the praca.gov.pl system will be possible from:

• 1 July 2025 – in the case of declarations of entrusting work to a foreigner and seasonal work permits issued by the district governor (starosta);
• 1 August 2025 – in the case of work permits issued by the voivode.

Until that time, employers are not obliged to submit copies of contracts. Failure to submit the documents within these timeframes will not be penalised. Currently, documents can be submitted via the ePUAP platform.

The copy of the contract must be submitted before the work is commenced – that is, if the contract was signed on 1 July and the foreigner is to start work on 15 July at 08:00, the authority must receive the copy of the contract by that hour on 15 July.

The same rules apply to submitting a copy of the contract to the district governor (starosta) who registered the declaration of entrusting work to the foreigner. Additionally, the district governor must be informed whether the foreigner has commenced employment within 7 days or has not commenced employment within 14 days of the agreed start date. Employers must also notify the authorities when employment based on a declaration ends. A longer deadline applies in the case of work permits. The voivode must be notified if the foreigner has not taken up employment within 2 months from the start date of the permit, has interrupted work for a period exceeding 2 months, or has terminated employment more than 2 months before the end of the permit’s validity.

The obligation to notify the district governor about the termination of employment based on a declaration also applies if the foreigner begins working under a new legal basis, such as a temporary residence and work permit. This is because the declaration of entrusting work constitutes a separate legal basis for employment.

The Act does not specify which changes to the contract must be reported to the authority. However, under Article 69 of the new Act, the entry of a new declaration of entrusting work to a foreigner in the register is not required if:

• there is a change of registered office, permanent residence, main place of business, name, or legal form of the Polish entity entrusting work to the foreigner or the user employer;
• the workplace or part of it is transferred to another employer;
• the working hours or number of working hours per week or month specified in the declaration are increased, but not beyond full-time;
• there is a change in job title without a change in the foreigner’s scope of duties.

This is a closed list of changes that do not require a new declaration. Therefore, it should be assumed that in other cases, such as changes in scope of duties or remuneration, a new declaration must be registered by the district governor.

A similar rule applies to changes regarding the work permit. According to Article 18(1) of the new Act, a change or issuance of a new work permit is not required if:

• there is a change of registered office, permanent residence, name, or legal form of the entity entrusting work to the foreigner, the entity to which the worker is delegated by a foreign employer, or the user employer;
• the workplace or part of it is transferred to another employer;
• there is a change in job title without a change in the foreigner’s scope of duties.

This is also a closed list, which means that in all other cases, it will be necessary to obtain a new work permit or modify the current one. Additionally, under Article 18(2) of the new Act, the employer is obliged to inform the authority that issued the permit of any of the circumstances listed above.

The new Act still allows a foreigner to be entrusted with work of a different nature or in a different position than specified in the work permit for a total of no more than 30 days in a calendar year, provided that the other conditions of the work permit are met and the voivode who issued the permit is notified in advance via the praca.gov.pl system. This is stipulated in Article 33 of the Act.

If, before the end date of work specified in the declaration, the employer has submitted an application for a work permit or a single permit for the foreigner, then, under Article 71 of the new Act on entrusting work, the foreigner’s work is considered legal from the end date specified in the declaration until the date of the permit’s issuance or the delivery of a refusal decision.

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Source: The article was created in collaboration with our cooperation partner – sdzlegal Schindhelm Law Office

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If you have any further questions or require additional information, please contact your business relationship person or use the enquiry form on the HLB Poland website.

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