How to Hire Foreigners in Poland?

Step One - Recruitment

Foreigners looking for work post their offers on social media platforms and job websites. That means you can organise your own recruitment process. Keep in mind, however, that hiring a worker from abroad on your own can turn out to be quite a challenge. Hold meetings at your office and online - if your potential employee is still in their home country.

Recruitment interviews can become tedious over time, and when you simply cannot find the right candidate, downright frustrating.

On top of that, complications arise when the employee lives in their home country and has no visa and no idea how to obtain one. In that case, almost all the formalities fall on the employer. The job candidate needs to be told what to do and where to go to get a visa to enter Poland. The employer must oversee the entire documentation process.

Worth reading: our article How to Hire a Worker from Ukraine in Poland

All of this can be handled by a staffing agency. You commission it to find one employee or more. The agency's specialists then take care of all the formalities and the recruitment itself. All you have to do is wait until you meet your new employee in person.

Step Two - Labour Market Test

Under Polish law, Polish job seekers have priority in filling vacant positions. Therefore, an employer who wants to hire a foreigner must first obtain confirmation from the local starost (county head) that there are currently no willing and suitably qualified Polish candidates for the existing vacancy.

To obtain such a certificate, you need to go to the relevant employment office (corresponding to your company's registered address) and post a job advertisement there.

If no candidates with the required qualifications come forward within 14 days, the employer may proceed with the formalities and apply for a work permit for the foreigner.

Step Three - Work Permit

In the vast majority of cases, you need to obtain a Type A work permit. It allows you to hire a foreigner under an employment contract or a civil-law contract with a company whose registered office or branch is located in Poland. The foreigner may receive it for a maximum of 3 years.

To obtain a Type A work permit, you must submit the following to the voivodeship (regional) office:

• an application for the permit;
• documents confirming the employer's identity - a copy of the national ID card, an extract from the KRS (National Court Register) or another relevant register;
• a copy of the foreigner's valid travel document (passport). If the foreigner does not have one, a copy of another valid identity document may be submitted;
• proof of payment of the application fee;
• the information from the starost;
• documents confirming professional qualifications - e.g. university degree diplomas, professional certificates;
• a document showing that the foreigner meets the qualification requirements set by the employer.

If the employer decides to handle the process of hiring a foreigner themselves, they are in for a lot of paperwork. Those who have chosen to use specialist support can rest assured that the staffing agency will take care of all the formalities.

The processing time for an application is one month. Even so, the authorities note that in some situations the voivode's decision may take up to 2 months. The work permit should be sent to the prospective employee as quickly as possible, as it forms the basis for obtaining a visa - a document that a foreigner is required to have in order to work in Poland. This does not apply to citizens of EU member states.

Step Four - Visa

One of the last steps on the road to hiring a foreigner is the visa. It can be issued by a Polish diplomatic mission. Depending on where the prospective employee lives, this will be an embassy or a consulate.

The application for a visa must include the work permit. In addition, the applicant must provide evidence of medical insurance and sufficient funds to cover accommodation and living costs in Poland, as well as return transport to their home country. For residents of the poorest countries this can be difficult - however, they may use a formal invitation from a Polish citizen.

When should you consider inviting a foreigner?

There are countries where the standard monthly wage, converted into Polish currency, amounts to just a few hundred zlotys. Foreigners earning such amounts have limited financial resources. And saving up enough money to independently support themselves and pay for accommodation in Poland is virtually impossible for them.

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The solution to this problem is a formal invitation, which can be provided by a Polish citizen, as well as by an organisational unit or legal entity registered in Poland. The inviting party undertakes to provide the foreigner with accommodation, meals, and - if necessary - return transport to their home country.

Such an invitation must be entered in a register maintained by the voivode. Once that is done, an unfavourable financial situation is no longer an obstacle to obtaining a visa.

How to Hire Foreigners in Poland Without the Bureaucracy?

Hiring foreign workers is the best remedy for staff shortages. Poland particularly needs men willing to work in construction, light industry, and the processing sector. Workers recruited from abroad through a staffing agency are:

• communicative - most speak at least basic English, and some can be reached in Russian. This makes communication with the whole team and adaptation to the new environment much easier;
• conscientious - Polish wages keep foreign workers at their posts. They often earn several times more for the same duties than they would in their home country. That is why they take their work seriously and are diligent and responsible;
• loyal to the company - by providing good working conditions to a worker from the East, you can expect them to stay in their role for many years. This prevents staff turnover within the company, which would otherwise mean further recruitment and training of new personnel.

To have such employees, you do not need to trudge around offices, conduct countless interviews, or fill in stacks of forms. Our staffing agency Gremi Personal will handle it all for you:

• provides end-to-end service - we will find the ideal candidate for the position and then take care of their work permit and visa;
• supports the integration of foreigners in their new country and workplace;
• works with consulates to ensure the entire visa process runs smoothly.

Qualified staff for your company are also waiting abroad. These are motivated and conscientious workers who want to leave their home country to earn more and improve their standard of living. Such determination translates directly into work performance.

So consider hiring foreign workers at your production plant, hotel, or restaurant - take that step, and we will handle all the paperwork.