Poland plans to tighten the criteria for issuing Work permits for foreigners
The Polish Government is actively reviewing the access of foreign citizens to the Polish labor market. The most sensitive planned change is the issuance of Work permits only on the basis of an employment contract concluded between a foreigner and a Polish company.
For now, corresponding Permit can be obtained on the basis of 3 documents: an employment contract (umowa o pracę), a contract of assignment (umowa zlecenie) and a contract agreement (umowa o dzieło). If the draft law is adopted, contracts of assignment and agreement, both defined as civil law contracts, will not meet the requirements.
The Polish Ministry of Labor interprets the decision as a reaction to the misusage of civil law contracts to obtain Work permits. According to the Ministry, in 2023, the share of Work permits issued on the basis of civil law contracts amounted to 70%. Meanwhile, the actual working conditions of such employees correspond to the form of the employment contract.
The Polish Ministry of Labor beware the qualitative changes in the labor market: many foreign workers are ready to work under civil contracts, that is why Polish citizens are forced to agree to less attractive conditions in order to be in demand on the market.
The discussed changes will not affect holders of a Pole card, a Permanent residence card or a long-term EU Resident card, a Humanitarian visa (D21) or a Humanitarian Residence permit, as well as in a number of other cases. The relevant categories of foreign nationals can work in Poland without obtaining a work Permit.