FAQ

... I cannot continue working for my current employer due to the decrease in orders. Can I continue to stay in Poland under the extended right of residence due to an epidemic state and can any other employer register the declaration for another 90 days out of the permitted 180/360?

If you were staying in Poland on 14 March 2020 under the visa-free regime and the date of your legal residence on this basis ends during an emergency state or an epidemic emergency, you may legally stay in Poland until the 30th day following the date of cancellation of the last state. Your legal stay will be extended by law; you do not have to complete any additional formalities.

If a new employer wants to hire you and wants to register a declaration for you, they must do so at the Local Labour Office - the one competent for your main place of work. The next declaration must not exceed the permitted 180 days in total (including the first declaration already used).

You can also apply for a temporary residence and work permit to the governor. The deadline for applications has also been extended until the 30th day following the day on which the last applicable state is cancelled (an emergency or epidemic state).

...do I have to apply for a new visa?

If you hold a national visa and the last day of its validity will be during the period of an epidemic emergency or an epidemic state, following special regulations introduced on 31.03.2020 and 18.04.2020, the legal stay based on such a visa is automatically extended until the 30th day following the date of cancellation of the epidemic state/epidemic emergency (the state that was last in force). Legal stay under this visa is extended automatically - it does not require any new visa sticker in your passport.

This is an exceptional solution and was introduced due to the need to limit as much as possible the direct customer service by the state administration in the face of the prevailing epidemic. The government of the Republic of Poland reported the introduction of this solution to the European Commission and other countries so that foreigners holding extended documents can travel within the Schengen area. However, until the position of individual states is known, this does not guarantee the entry into their territory. Therefore, before starting your journey, make sure that you will be able to enter the territory of a given country based on an extended document. The best source of information will be the national border services.

If you have received a decision to grant a temporary residence permit for the purpose of performing work that requires higher qualifications, the so-called Blue Card, you may apply for a visa to execute the permit, i.e. enter Poland to collect your residence card. The visa is then issued in a simplified procedure. To obtain this visa, you should contact the Polish consular or diplomatic post in your closest vicinity. The addresses of Polish diplomatic and consular posts abroad are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

You will find up-to-date information on restrictions on the functioning of The Office of Wielkopolska Province in Poznań HERE.

If the last day of validity of your temporary residence permit or your work permit granted for business purposes falls during the period of epidemic emergency or epidemic status, the validity of these permits is extended by law to the 30th day following the date of cancellation of that state, which lasts as last. During this time, you can continue doing business.

If you applied for a temporary residence permit while staying legally in Poland, but before the epidemic emergency/epidemic status announcement, i.e. before 14/03/2020, you can perform statutory functions in the company during the ongoing procedure for a temporary residence and a work permit, provided that you had on the application day a valid work permit or a temporary residence permit for business activity purpose.

If on the day of applying for a temporary residence permit, you did not have a valid work permit or a temporary residence permit for business purposes, you cannot hold function of the management board president during the ongoing proceedings. Under the art. 88 clause 1 point 2 of the Act on employment promotion and labour market institutions, you do not require a work permit to performing statutory functions if you stay in Poland for this purpose for a time shorter than a total of 6 months in the next 12 months. It means, that if your stay to perform the function of the president of the management board is shorter than 6 months, you can work regardless of the basis of your stay on the day of application for a temporary residence permit.

Learn more about a temporary residence permit for business purposes. Send original or notary certified copies of missing documents by post - if the evidence in the case is sufficient, we will try to grant you the requested permit as soon as possible.

The right to work in this case depends on whether the foreigner had a valid entry and stay entitlement on 14.03.2020. According to the regulations introduced on 31 March 2020, if a national visa or a temporary residence permit expires in the period from 14 March 2020, it is automatically extended for the duration of an epidemic and an additional 30 days after the cancellation of the epidemic state/epidemic emergency. Additionally, the legislation introduced on 18 April 2020 permits the extension of legal residence for foreigners staying in Poland under the visa-free regime, Schengen visas and residence documents issued by the other Schengen States until the 30th day following the cancellation of an epidemic state or an epidemic emergency (the one that will be last in force). More information HERE.

Consequently, if the foreigner in question had one of the residence documents as mentioned earlier on 14.03.2020, applied for temporary residence and work permit after 14.03.2020 and currently has a declaration of entrusting work, they may take up employment under the conditions specified in the declaration and for the period for which the declaration was registered, but not longer than until the end of the period of extended stay (i.e. until 30 days after cancelling the epidemic state/epidemic emergency). After the expiration of this period, they stay will already be regulated by the provisions of the Act on Foreigners, i.e. art. 108 of the Act, and then, to continue employment legally, they must receive a stamp in their passport confirming that they have submitted their application and have completed the formal deficiencies of that application.