Legalising the employment of foreigners in 2026

Legalising the employment of foreigners in 2026 requires three things before you let anyone start work: a copy of a valid residence document, the right work entitlement and a contract concluded in writing. The rules are set by the Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for the admissibility of entrusting work to foreigners (ustawa o warunkach dopuszczalności powierzania pracy cudzoziemcom), and matters are handled electronically via praca.gov.pl. Illegally entrusting work carries a fine of PLN 3000 to 50 000, no lower than PLN 3000 for each foreigner. You can still employ Ukrainian citizens legally residing in Poland without a work permit, but within 7 days of the start of work you must notify the district labour office (powiatowy urząd pracy).

Legal status as of October 2026

The Act of 20 March 2025 (Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) of 2025, item 621) has been in force since 1 June 2025. It does not apply to citizens of EU and EEA countries (Article 1(4)(6)). Four later dates matter:

• 1 December 2025 – new regulations, including the list of countries covered by declarations and the fee rates;
• 5 March 2026 – the Act of 23 January 2026 phased out the solutions of the special act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens and moved the rules for employing Ukrainian citizens into the 2025 Act (new Article 5a);
• 8 July 2026 – the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) may, by decision, establish the existence of an employment relationship where a civil-law contract was concluded (Article 11(1)(7a) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate (ustawa o PIP)), and replacing such a contract with an employment contract does not require a new permit or declaration (Article 33(2)(3) and Article 69(5));
• 22 August 2026 – citizens of Georgia, Colombia and Venezuela may not work on the basis of a work permit during a visa-free stay (Regulation of 31 July 2026).

The so-called labour market test is also gone – instead, the district governor (starosta) may draw up a list of occupations for which no permits are issued in a given district (Article 31).

Work entitlements: which one for whom

A work entitlement alone is not enough if the basis of stay does not allow work: a permit or declaration does not “work”, for example, with a visa issued for tourism or visiting purposes (Article 3(3)(1)).

Ukrainian citizens after 4 March 2026

The previous employment rules under the special act of 12 March 2022 ceased to apply on 5 March 2026 – among other provisions, its Article 22, on which notifications were based, was repealed. This does not mean a return to permits:

• Persons under temporary protection (UKR status) have free access to the labour market (Article 3(1)(12)). Temporary protection has been extended until 4 March 2028 by Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1912 of 30 July 2026.
• Other Ukrainian citizens legally residing in Poland (e.g. on the basis of a visa or residence card) enjoy the same rules for 3 years from 5 March 2026 (Article 41 of the Act of 23 January 2026), i.e. – according to PIP – until 4 March 2029.
• Your obligation: notify the district labour office competent for your company’s registered office within 7 days of the start of work, via praca.gov.pl (Article 5a(1)–(2) and (6)).
• A repeat notification within 7 days is required when the type of contract, the position or the type of work changes, or when you reduce working time or the pay rate (Article 5a(5)).
• Notifications filed before 5 March 2026 remain effective (Article 40 of the Act of 23 January 2026); PIP explains that they do not need to be filed again.

Failure to notify carries a fine of PLN 1000 to 3000 (Article 84(6)). Data from notifications goes, among others, to PIP, the Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) and ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) (Article 5a(8)).

Going digital: praca.gov.pl and MOS

Applications for a work permit, declarations, notifications and appeals are filed exclusively through the ICT system of the minister responsible for labour (praca.gov.pl). An application filed any other way is left unexamined by the office (Article 8(2)–(3)).

Fees are set by the Regulation of 20 November 2025: PLN 200 for a work permit of up to 3 months, PLN 400 for a longer one, PLN 100 for a seasonal permit and PLN 400 for a declaration. Residence matters run separately: from 27 April 2026, applications for a temporary residence permit, including a single permit, are as a rule filed exclusively electronically via the MOS portal of the Office for Foreigners (Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców).

Employer obligations

Before you let a foreigner start work

1. Request a valid document authorising their stay in Poland and make a copy of it (Article 4(2) and (4)).
2. Make sure you hold a work entitlement for this position and these terms.
3. Conclude the contract in writing – before admitting them to work (Article 5(1)). The lack of a written contract is, by definition, illegal entrustment of work (Article 2(2)(f)).
4. If the foreigner does not know Polish, present the contract to them in writing, in a version they understand, before signing (Article 5(2)). For a contract drawn up in a foreign language you must have a sworn translation (Article 5(3)).
5. Inform them in writing, in a language they understand, of the right to join trade unions (Article 5(4)).
6. For a permit or declaration, send the office a copy of the contract in Polish through the system – before work is entrusted (Article 17(1)(2), Article 68(1)(2)).

After work has started

• Register the foreigner for insurance with ZUS within 7 days of the insurance obligation arising (Article 36(4) of the Social Insurance System Act (ustawa o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych)). Read more in the article on a ZUS inspection of a contribution payer.
• File the notifications from the table on time, and in the case of a work permit also notify the voivode within 7 days of a break in work longer than 2 months and of a change of the company’s registered office, name or legal form (Articles 18–20).
• Pay remuneration no lower than that stated in the work entitlement and no lower than the minimum wage (Article 17(1)(1) and (3)).
• Work other than that specified in the permit may be entrusted for a total of 30 days in a calendar year, after prior notification of the voivode (Article 33(1)).
• File a complete application for the next permit for the same position before the current one expires – then the work remains legal until the final decision (Article 21(1)).
• Keep copies of residence documents for the entire period of work and for 2 years counted from the end of the year in which the contract was terminated or expired (Article 4(4) and (6)).

Penalties for illegally employing foreigners

“Illegal entrustment of work” is not only work without a permit. It also covers work on terms or in a position other than those in the permit or declaration, work by a person whose basis of stay does not entitle them to work, and work without a written contract (Article 2(2)). The lower limit of the penalty grows with the number of people: with four foreigners the fine cannot be lower than PLN 12 000. By way of an on-the-spot fine (mandat), a labour inspector or Border Guard officer may impose up to PLN 10 000 (Article 96 § 1af of the Code of Procedure in Petty Offence Cases (Kodeks postępowania w sprawach o wykroczenia)); a higher fine is imposed by a court. A foreigner faces at least PLN 1000 for illegal work (Article 84(2)).

A second final conviction for illegally entrusting work within 2 years of the previous one is grounds for refusing a work permit (Article 13(1)(1)(d)), as is obstructing an inspection in the last 24 months (point 11). Entrusting work at the same time to many foreigners without a valid residence document is a criminal offence (Article 9 of the Act of 15 June 2012). At the same time, the Act provides for an exclusion of liability: for employing a person without a valid residence document, no penalty applies to anyone who requested the document, keeps a copy of it and registered the foreigner for insurance – unless they knew the document was forged (Article 85).

Who inspects and whether they give notice

The legality of employing foreigners is inspected by the National Labour Inspectorate (Article 10(1)(4) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate) and the Border Guard (Article 1(2)(13a) of the Act on the Border Guard (ustawa o Straży Granicznej)). Neither has to warn you: the Entrepreneurs’ Law (Prawo przedsiębiorców) waives the obligation to give notice of intent to initiate an inspection for these inspections (Article 48(11)(15)–(16)) and allows them to be carried out in parallel with another inspection (Article 54(1)(15)–(16)). A labour inspector may come unannounced, at any time of day or night (Article 24(1) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate).

The inspector shows their service ID and the inspection authorisation; where circumstances justify immediate action – the ID alone, with the authorisation delivered within 7 days (Article 24(5) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate, Article 10d(4) of the Act on the Border Guard); Article 49(1) of the Entrepreneurs’ Law also requires that it be delivered to the entrepreneur no later than 3 working days from the start of the inspection. The services share their findings – the labour inspector notifies, among others, the Border Guard, ZUS and the district governor (Article 37(2) of the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate). I describe the course of a visit in the guide on preparing for a PIP inspection, and what you can demand from inspectors – in the article on an entrepreneur’s rights during an inspection.

Checklist: a foreigner’s personnel file

• A copy of a valid residence document – with its expiry date entered in your calendar.
• The work entitlement: the permit decision, the declaration entered in the register, the temporary residence and work decision, or confirmation that the notification was filed with the labour office.
• A written contract, signed before the first day of work, consistent with the work entitlement as to position, working time, remuneration and type of contract.
• A version of the contract the foreigner understands, or a sworn translation of a foreign-language contract.
• Written information on the right to join trade unions.
• Confirmation that a copy of the contract was sent through the system – dated earlier than the start of work.
• Confirmations of notifications of the start of work and of changes.
• Confirmation of registration with ZUS – with a date consistent with the contract.
• Proof of payment of remuneration no lower than that stated in the work entitlement.

Are you a foreigner yourself and just starting out? See the guide on how to set up a business in Poland as a foreigner.

How I can help

As part of an audit, I check foreigners’ files: the basis of stay, the work entitlement, consistency of the contract with the permit or declaration, notification deadlines and the dates of ZUS registrations. I point out gaps to fill and put the deadline calendar in order, which reduces the risk of an allegation of illegally entrusting work. When a PIP or Border Guard inspection is under way, I can represent your company in its course. You will find the scope of the packages on the services page.