Poland Updates Work Permit Rules
Government of Poland introduced a lot of various changes to immigration legislation, which gradually took place in June and July 2025. Below we have listed some of the more significant changes that are relevant for foreign workers (including specifically EU Blue Card holders) and their employers.
Which laws introduced these changes?
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Act of 24 April 2025 amending the Act on Foreigners and certain other acts (Dz. U. poz. 619),
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Act of 4 April 2025 amending certain acts in order to eliminate irregularities in the visa system of the Republic of Poland (Dz. U. poz. 622),
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Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for the admissibility of entrusting work to foreigners on the territory of the Republic of Poland (Dz. U. poz. 621),
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Act of 20 March 2025 on the labor market and employment services (Dz. U. poz. 620).
EU Blue Card related changes:
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Higher professional qualifications for EU Blue Card obtaining have been amended to include qualifications gained through professional experience (with such experience needing to reflect the same amount of expertise that would have been gained through professional education)
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New definition and a temporary residence permit type introduced: Long-Term Mobility of EU Blue Card holder, applicable for EU Blue Card holders from other EU member states staying and working in the territory of Poland over 90 days within 180. Associated requirements for the new residence permit type and status have been defined by the law and include (not limited to): at least 6 month work contract, confirmation of necessary qualifications, specific health insurance, and more
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Family members of workers holding the LTM EU Blue Card holder are allowed to apply for the Family reunion residence permit to enter and stay in Poland
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Under certain special conditions the LTM residence permit can also be granted to foreign nationals holding long-term visas or residence permits of other EU member states, namely foreign researchers or students
General Work permit related changes:
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Labor market test is no longer required for work permit obtaining, with the change being made in favor of a quota-like system. Additional rights have been granted to local authorities to refuse work permit issuance if the candidate’s announced profession is included in a specific list approvied by the Voivode, the goal of which is to limit amount of foreign nationals for certain job positions on the labor market.
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Additional grounds for refusing to issue work permit have been introduced. Most notably: If the foreigner previously entered Poland with the purpose of work, but did not engage in labor activities; or in case the employer has obstructed labor inspections.
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The new IT platform for immigration purposes is introduced to replace praca.gov.pl by the end of 2025. Employers will be required to use this system for all foreign employment procedures
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Employers now must notify the authorities when terminating the contract with a foreign national who holds work and residence permits – within 15 business days from such event
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Processing of specific work and residence permits applications will be prioritized in case the inviting entity is included in the list of companies conducting business activities of significant importance to the national economy
Who is affected?
Foreign nationals who are holding a EU Blue Card of another EU member state now have new opportunities for their long-term assignments in the territory of Poland.
While elimination of labor market test serves to lower bureaucrasy in the work permit obtaining process, introduction of the new quota-like system can potentially have significant impact of the possibility of hiring foreign nationals, with certain districts being more or less restrictive with their approved lists of professions.
Employers of foreign nationals need to be ready to transfer to a new state IT system for handling work permit-related matters, and need to make sure they are aware of legal changes to several procedures related to hiring foreign nationals.
In view of the overall amount and significance of introduced changes, we highly recommend engaging a professional consultant to assist, and the expert immigration team at Intermark Relocation will be most glad to help.