17.03.2020 – Work on the basis of a statement on the intention to entrust work to a foreigner

The basis for having a legal work in Poland is the possession by a foreigner of the following:

• residence documents which entail the entitlement to work (e.g. the relevant visa or residence permit),
• documents allowing to enter the Polish labour market or exemption from the requirement to have the above-mentioned permits).

We have described the cases in which foreigners can work in Poland without the necessity to obtain work permit documents here:

In other cases, there is a necessity to obtain appropriate documents permitting work. One of these documents is a statement on entrusting work to a foreigner, submitted by an employer in a district labour office (Powiatowy Urząd Pracy – PUP).

Such statement shall be registered by the labour office and may be used for citizens of countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova and Russia. This procedure is called “simplified” because, with the exception of the registration of the notice, it does not require any conditions to be fulfilled, however, it has certain limitations. The statement gives the right to perform work without an additional permit for 180 days over the next 12 months. The work must be performed under the conditions specified in the statement.

The application shall include the period for which an employer would like to entrust work to a foreigner, a copy of the passport of a foreigner shall be attached – with all pages filled in, if the foreigner is staying in Poland, or only a page of the passport with personal data, if he is not staying in Poland, and shall submit a declaration of no criminal record of the employer. The employer must also pay a charge in the amount of PLN 30.

Applications for the entry of the statement on work entrustment may be submitted via the Internet (through the website https://www.praca.gov.pl or in paper form at the Labour Office. The application must be signed by the employer in person or through a trusted profile, but it is also possible to submit the application without authentication and it is signed upon receipt of the document.

The District Labour Office has 7 working days to examine the application, unless clarifications or supplementation of documents are required – then it is 30 days. After that time, the statement is registered in the register of statements and one copy of the statement is issued to the employer, which is given to the foreigner and which is the basis for applying for a residence permit allowing to work in Poland (e.g. appropriate visa or temporary residence permit). A foreigner, already working in Poland, should have the statement with them in order to be able to show it in case of a routine inspection e.g. at the workplace. The employer only keeps a copy of the statement in their records.

The employer is obliged to inform the Labour Office about the commencement of work by a foreigner at the latest on the day of commencement of work or about the failure on the part of a foreigner to commence work within 7 days from the date of commencement of work specified in the statement. Failure to inform about taking up work or not taking up work by a foreigner is subject to a fine.

When working by virtue of a statement, the foreigner may change their employer. However, a new employer has to receive a new document allowing to enter the labour market, because the foreigner may only perform work for the employer indicated in the statement. In total, a foreigner may work for 180 days within 12 months based on statements issued by various employers.

Should a foreigner be employed in connection with a statement on the basis of an employment contract, and the employer wants to continue cooperation with them for a longer period of time, they may submit an application to a voivode for a work permit under simpler rules. It is also possible for the foreigner to apply for a residence and work permit.

Employer is obliged to conclude an agreement with a foreigner in writing and to provide the foreigner with a translation of the agreement into a language understood by the foreigner before signing it. In the agreement, the employer is obliged to take into account the working conditions included in the statement.