Residence and work permit in Poland
If you are a foreigner who plans to stay in Poland for more than 3 months and if the purpose of your stay is work, you are required to obtain a residence and work permit. It is a compulsory document to legally take up work in Poland.
Obtaining a residence and work permit entitling a foreigner to legally work in Poland may be a lengthy procedure, lasting up to 6 months from the date of submission of a complete application. It is therefore important that the documentation is complete already at the application stage, so that the officer processing the case does not have to call for the application to be completed and the case is dealt with as quickly as possible.
Residence and work permit – documents for the application
The procedure for obtaining a residence and work permit is a formalized procedure, the application should be accompanied by a number of documents:
- confirmation of a stable and regular source of income sufficient to cover the costs of living for the foreigner and his family members, e.g. PIT 37 or PIT 40 of a foreigner for the preceding year,
- documents confirming possession of health insurance (e.g. relevant ZUS certificate, insurance policy),
- a document confirming that the foreigner is provided with a place of residence (e.g. confirmation of registration of residence, apartment rental contract),
- information of the district head competent due to the foreigner’s main place of work about the inability to meet the employer’s staffing needs (does not apply to foreigners, among others from Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus),
- a photocopy of a valid travel document (original document has to be shown to the officer),
- information on the number of dependents of the foreigner,
- confirmation of payment of the stamp duty,
- in the case of work in a regulated profession – documents confirming formal qualifications or meeting the conditions that are required,
- 4 photographs.
Residence and work permit – common errors in applications
Our experience shows that many submitted applications contain formal errors which cause that the officer dealing with the case calls for supplementing or correcting the application. As a consequence, the entire administrative procedure is prolonged, and in the worst case – the office does not give consent to reside and work in Poland.
The most common mistakes made by foreigners include: incorrect selection of boxes in the application, failure to submit the employer’s statement, submission of copies of documents not confirmed as true copies, or submission of applications on incorrect forms (e.g. on the application form for a residence card) or without a form (e.g. only Annex 1 to the application).
Work and residence permit – do you need help?
If you are not sure how to complete your application for a residence and work permit, what documents need to be attached to it, and you want the application to be processed as soon as possible – contact us. We will help you to complete the application correctly, we will obtain all necessary declarations from your employer and we will attach all necessary documents to the application. We will also represent you in administrative proceedings if the office decides that it needs further documents or information from you to deal with your application. This will save you time and stress related to the uncertain legal situation.
In terms of assistance to foreigners, we provide in particular the following services:
- obtaining temporary residence and work permits,
- obtaining work permits (types A, B, C, D and E),
- obtaining seasonal work permits (type S),
- assistance in submitting a declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner.
