Poland Immigration Services

Newland Chase offers full support with all aspects of corporate immigration to Poland. Please find an overview of the typical corporate immigration processes below. Every situation is unique, so please do get in touch, either through your usual Newland Chase contact or using the details on the right hand side of the page. Our immigration experts will be glad to discuss your needs in greater detail.

Immigration Summary

The Local Hire Work Permit (Type A) applies to foreign nationals on Polish contract and payroll. Work permits for local hires in Poland take longer than the intra-company transfer process, as a local labour market search must be carried out in advance of the work permit application to demonstrate that no local residents of Poland or the wider EU can be found to fill the role.

Applicants working as a management board member, a proxy (prokurent) or a general partner (komplementariusz) of a Polish entity who will be working in Poland for more than six months in a 12-month period require a Work Permit (Type B). However, for a period of stay of six months or under in a 12-month period they may qualify for a Work Permit Exemption - a work visa will be required.

The Work Permit (Type C) for intra-company transfer requires the applicant to remain on home payroll and contract, to be sent on assignment to a Polish entity linked to the sending entity by common ownership, and to have specific company expertise. The work permit is valid for up to three years, after which it may be extended. This immigration process does not require a labour market test. Documentary requirements and processing times may be less restrictive than for the EU ICT Permit process, which however includes intra-EU mobility provisions.

The Service Provider Work Permit (Type D) does not require a labour market search test, but does require the applicant to remain employed and paid by the home country employer, which must not have a branch, facility or other form of business in Poland. The assignee must be delegated to Poland for the purpose of execution of a service of temporary and casual nature.

The consular route will mean that the applicant obtains a one-year D Visa prior to entry and can work on arrival in Poland. An in-country work and residence permit application is possible but will take longer, and no work is allowed until the final permit is approved.

The Intra-Company Transfer Permit (EU Directive 2014/66), although officially available, is not yet generally used. It is only applicable to assignees falling into management/specialist or trainee categories sent to Poland for over 90 days from outside the EU and has a maximum total duration of stay of three years for managers/specialists and one year for trainees, after which time the assignee must exit Poland. Documentary requirements and processing times may be more restrictive than for the national ICT process (work permit Type C). Managers and Specialists must have worked for their sending company for at least twelve months (six months for trainees).

ICT permits under Directive 2014/66 allow mobility within EU member states - i.e. work permission is not required for EU ICT permit holders to work in other member states for less than 90 days and a streamlined Mobile ICT permit application may be applicable if working in other member states for longer than 90 days.

The Blue Card is an EU-wide (with some exceptions) immigration process for highly skilled employees with a local job offer in the destination country and a salary at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary for the specific job to be done. The Blue Card offers some concrete benefits to the applicant

Under the Van der Elst process, non-EEA nationals hired outside Poland, but within the EU/EEA and with a valid employment contract and work and residence permit for that employment, and sent on assignment to Poland, do not require work permits. If the assignment will be for over 90 days, then a visa or residence permit should be obtained; it is recommended to obtain a visa since residence permit applications inside Poland can take approximately three months.

A Registration process officially called 'Declaration on Entrusting Work to a Foreigner' (Oświadczenie o powierzeniu wykonywania pracy cudzoziemcowi) applies to Nationals of Neighbouring Countries to Poland (the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Armenia) who will be locally hired in Poland for up to six months out of a 12-month period. A work permit is not required, but a D Visa must be obtained

EU/EEA/Swiss nationals on assignment to or employed in Poland do not need a work permit. However, an EU registration as well as local address registration should be carried out if remaining in Poland for more than 90 consecutive days.