A rough guide to braving the bureaucracy of a work permit
Your bags are packed. You've double-checked and confirmed that you have packed your passport, money, plane tickets and toothbrush. You are ready to board that airplane to spend the next couple of years working in Poland for a Polish company. Before your enthusiasm carries you too far, you need to remember that if you are not a Polish citizen or permanent resident, you will need a work permit and visa before you may start working at this new job.
Procedures on how to obtain the required permits and visas seem to change more often than threats of splits in the ruling coalition. So before wading through the current procedures for getting a work permit, described below, remember to contact local authorities and verify what's changed and what procedures are still applicable.
The first step in this procedure is to sign an employment agreement. You do not need to worry if you signed something other than an employment contract. The basis for your new job could also be created by some other type of an agreement, including a specific task or services agreement. Your reason for working in Poland could also be based on an agreement executed between a Polish company and your company pursuant to which the Polish company is obligated to hire you and pay your salary.
The next step is to apply to the director of the local voivodship labor office for a work permit. Your future employer is obligated to file this application so the only thing that you have to do is provide the employer with certain information and data about you. It may seem that gathering this information (which may include, for example, copies of college diplomas) is a useless exercise. After all, your employer obviously had good reasons to hire you. But don't dismiss it. This is the most important thing to do in the whole application process because in addition to selling your new employer on you, you've got to sell yourself to the local authorities. The decision of the voivodship labor office depends on the presentation of how good, brilliant and indispensable you are. If you have any doubts on how important presentation can be, pump up with a couple of reading exercises from Jeffrey Gitomer's "Salesman's Corner" columns.
Assuming you convince the voivodship labor office that Poland would be a better place if you worked here, you will be issued a work permit. The work permit is issued for a definite period of time, the same as indicated in your employment contract, and for a definite type of work and position, as stated in the application.
It's not yet time to rest on your laurels. You now have to apply for a Polish visa. Don't be fooled if you already have a Polish visa (e.g., you are vacationing in Poland) or you were allowed to enter Poland without a visa. Polish law provides for several types of visas. A visitor's visa entitles its holder to enter and stay in Poland, but it does not permit the holder to work or conduct any other form of economic activity in Poland. To work, you have to apply for another type of visa a visa with a work permit.
A visa with a work permit is issued for the duration of the employment contract; however, the total period of stay in Poland allowed by a visa may not exceed 12 months. If the employment contract provides for a period of work of more than one year, the employee, after the expiration of the visa with a work permit, must apply for temporary resident status.
The form of application for a visa with a work permit is simple and does not have to be prepared in Polish. The questions are basic, but please do not forget to include information about your spouse and family (if they will be joining you in Poland). The application must be filed with the Polish embassy or consulate in your home country. Your passport and work permit must be presented; thus, this time-consuming action has to be done personally.
Now that you've obtained the right visa, the ball is back in your employer's court. After you obtain a visa with a work permit, your employer must obtain a definitive consent for your employment. To do so, it must submit to the voivodship labor office the following documents:
copy of the page of your passport with the visa with work permit,
copy of the work permit, and
copy of the confirmation of your registered address in Poland.
The definitive consent for your employment is issued within two weeks and usually confirms the provisions of the previously issued work permit. You will need to present your passport when taking delivery of the consent.
Obtaining a work permit may seem like a long, costly and unduly bureaucratic procedure, but it is necessary. The employment of a foreign person by a Polish company without the consent of the labor office is illegal. Both the Polish company and the foreign person could be subject to fines for failure to obtain the proper consent.
This article was prepared by Lejb Fogelman, the managing partner of Hunton & Williams Poland, with the assistance of Dorota Przelaskowska, an associate attorney.
