Poland relies heavily on foreign workers, with well over a million foreign nationals registered for social insurance, but the rules for employing them tightened sharply when a new law took effect on 1 June 2025, with its full force felt from 2026. Hiring foreigners is entirely legal, but employers must follow a clear sequence of steps or face significant penalties. This guide explains how to employ foreigners in Poland legally.

In short: check whether the worker needs a permit or is exempt, obtain the right work permit or declaration through praca.gov.pl, verify their legal stay, sign a written contract translated into a language they understand, upload the contract before they start, register them with ZUS within seven days, and keep the records. Illegal employment now carries fines of PLN 3,000 to 50,000 per worker.

Step 1: Check Whether the Worker Needs a Permit

Citizens of the EU, the EEA, and Switzerland can work in Poland with no permit. Several other groups are also exempt, including holders of a permanent residence permit or an EU long-term resident permit, refugees and people with protection status, Poles’ Card holders, spouses of Polish citizens, and graduates of Polish universities. Most other non-EU nationals need a document that gives access to the labour market.

Step 2: Choose the Right Legal Basis

• Work permit (Type A) - the most common: a foreigner employed by a company registered in Poland. The employer applies to the Voivodeship Office for the region where work is performed. Types B, C, D, and E cover board members and posted work, and Type S covers seasonal work.
• Single permit - the temporary residence and work permit, used when the worker is already in Poland.
• Declaration of entrustment of work (oswiadczenie) - a simplified route for citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine, allowing work for up to 24 months, registered at the local labour office.
• Ukrainians under temporary protection follow special, simplified rules, with a notification due within seven days of starting work.

Step 3: Apply Online and Meet the Conditions

All work permit and declaration procedures are handled online through praca.gov.pl. The general labour market test was abolished on 1 June 2025 and replaced by locally published lists of protected professions, where a permit may be refused to give priority to Polish workers. The salary must be at least the minimum wage and no lower than comparable local pay, and the job must be a genuine role (very small part-time fractions can be refused). A permit can also be refused if the employer has tax or social security arrears, is set up solely to bring in foreigners, or the worker held a permit in the last two years but did not take up the job.

Step 4: Before the First Day

• Verify and copy documents: check the worker’s visa or residence card and confirm it covers your company, position, place of work, and hours. Keep a copy on file for the whole employment period plus two years.
• Sign a written contract: use an employment contract or a civil-law contract, in writing, translated into a language the worker understands. A sworn Polish translation is required if the contract is in a foreign language only.
• Upload the contract: send a copy of the signed contract via praca.gov.pl before the worker starts; failing to do so may result in a fine.
• Health and safety: arrange a medical examination (at the employer’s cost) and health-and-safety training before work begins, and give written notice of the right to join a trade union.

Step 5: After Work Starts

Register the worker with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) within seven days of the start date. Employees aged 18 to 55 are enrolled in the Employee Capital Plans (PPK) after three months. You must notify the labour office if the worker does not start or ends early, and notify the voivode within 15 working days of termination or of changes to the job title, hours, or contract type for permit and single-permit holders.

Contracts and Misclassification

Polish law recognises probationary contracts (up to three months), fixed-term contracts (capped at 33 months or three contracts, after which they become indefinite), and indefinite contracts. You may use civil-law or B2B contracts only where the work is genuinely not employment; if there is a fixed time, place, and subordination, the Labour Inspectorate or ZUS can reclassify it as employment, with back taxes and contributions due.

Tax and Equal Treatment

Foreign employees are treated like Polish employees: income tax at 12 or 32 per cent, ZUS contributions shared by the employer and the employee, and the same labour rights, including the minimum wage, paid leave, sick leave, and overtime. They can take complaints to the State Labour Inspectorate or the labour court.

Penalties for Illegal Employment

Since 1 June 2025, illegally entrusting work to a foreigner carries a fine of PLN 3,000 to 50,000 per worker. Illegal employment is not only the lack of a permit; it also includes employing someone without a legal stay or on terms different from those set out in the permit or declaration. Late or missed notifications carry smaller fines, and serious or repeated breaches can lead to bans on employing foreigners.

Using a Recruitment Agency

You can hire through an employment agency, but since 1 June 2025, an agency placing foreign workers must be registered and have operated in the market for two years. Verify the agency’s status before relying on it, as using a non-compliant provider poses a risk to your company.

Avoiding Scams and Staying Compliant

Never pay or accept upfront fees for a guaranteed permit, and be wary of providers promising to bypass the rules. Verify every document yourself, use praca.gov.pl and the Voivodeship Office, and consider a compliance audit before you sign your first contract with a foreign worker. Legitimate processes do not require secret payments.

Official Sources

Confirm current rules, fees, and penalties with the Voivodeship Office for your region, praca.gov.pl, ZUS, and the Polish Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, as procedures change.