Free guide
Work in Poland, the safe way.
Real employers hire from abroad every day. This page is the whole route, in the right order: how the work permit and visa actually work, what a genuine employer sends you, and the red flags that mean an offer is not real.
How the work route works
Three steps, always in this order.
You cannot skip ahead: each step depends on the one before it being finished.
- 01
Your employer applies for the work permit
Once you have a written offer, your future employer files the work permit application with the voivodeship office in Poland, not you. This is the step that proves the offer is real: a genuine employer expects to do it. - 02
You apply for the national visa
With the work permit issued, you apply for a national (D) visa at the Polish consulate for your country, using the permit as your basis for entry. This is where the guided paperwork gives you the exact document list and the deadlines. - 03
You file for the residence card in Poland
Once you have arrived and started work, you file for your temporary residence card (karta pobytu) in MOS 2.0, from inside Poland, in your own name.
Contacting the employer
What to send, and what a genuine employer does next.
A Polish employer, not you, files the paperwork that lets you work legally. Here is what you send, what they do, and the checks that keep you out of a scam. Checked against gov.pl and praca.gov.pl sources on 17 September 2026.
What you send first
A simple one-page CV (the Europass format is recognised everywhere in the EU) and a scan of your passport data page. Send diplomas or certificates only if the employer asks, or for a regulated job or the EU Blue Card.
What the employer does
Once interested, a Polish employer files a work permit (type A) on praca.gov.pl, or, if you already hold a valid basis to be in Poland, e-signs Annex 1 in the MOS system directly. Only the employer can file this: you cannot do it yourself.
No declaration shortcut for you
A simplified employer declaration (oswiadczenie) exists, but since 1 December 2025 it is open only to citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Every other nationality needs the full work permit or single-permit route: there is no shortcut, whatever an agent tells you.
How long it takes
A work permit usually takes 4 to 8 weeks once the employer files it. The single permit (residence and work together, filed after you arrive) has a 60-day statutory decision time, but real waits in busy offices run 4 to 14 months.
What it costs
The employer pays the work-permit fee (200 PLN up to 3 months of work, 400 PLN above that) or the 440 PLN residence-and-work stamp duty for the single permit. You should never pay an employer or an agency for a job in Poland.
The one mistake that ends careers here
- Paying anyone money to 'get' a job, a permit, or a visa: this is illegal and a hard stop, never a normal step
- Signing a Polish-only contract you cannot read: the law requires the employer to explain the terms in a language you understand
Red flags
Walk away if you see any of these.
Every one of these has cost a real applicant money or time. None of them is worth the risk.
- Anyone asks YOU for money at any point, for 'processing', a 'deposit for the job', 'visa help', or documents: a legitimate employer or agency never does this
- A 'guaranteed' work permit or residence card before any application has actually been filed: only praca.gov.pl or the voivode can issue these, and no agency can promise the outcome
- A contract offered only in Polish with no translation or explanation, when you do not read Polish
- No company registration number offered (NIP, KRS or CEIDG), or contact only through a personal Gmail or WhatsApp number instead of a company e-mail
- Forged-looking documents: copy-pasted government logos or stamps, or a permit number that does not check out
- Pay and conditions that are much better than the 2026 minimum wage of 4,806 PLN gross with no real experience required, paired with pressure to decide or pay immediately
Never pay anyone for a job. A real employer never asks a candidate for money.
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