Entry, stay and working conditions in Poland

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IMPORTANT:

Following the notification to the European Commission of new residence permits issued in connection with the specific situation in Ukraine, the following have been added to the catalogue of residence permits:
- an electronic document in the diia.pl mobile application confirming the status of beneficiary of Article 2(1) of the Act on Assistance (...),
- certificate of temporary protection issued by the Head of the Office for Foreigners to citizens of third countries other than Ukraine.

The above-mentioned documents - during their period of validity - together with a valid travel document entitle to:
- cross the external borders of the EU and the internal borders of the Schengen States,
- stay on the territory of Poland within its period of validity,
- stay on the territory of other Schengen countries for up to 90 days within the last 180 days.

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A. Long stay entry conditions

I. The foreigner crossing the border for a long stay on the territory of Poland should justify the purpose and the conditions of the planned stay and possess and produce on demand:

Valid travel document;
Valid long stay visa or residence permit issued by Polish authorities;
Document confirming possession of health insurance within the meaning of the act of 27 August 2004 on health care services financed from public funds or certificates of travel medical insurance for minimum amount of 30 000 euro, valid for a planned period of stay on the territory of Poland, which covers all expenses, that may arise during stay on that territory deriving from the need of return from medical reasons, need of urgent medical assistance, urgent hospitalization or death, where insurer is obliged to cover all expenses directly to the medical service provider on the basis of the invoice – in case of entry on the basis of the national visa. The requirement of the medical insurance mentioned above may be considered as satisfied when the foreigner possess an appropriate insurance deriving from his employment conditions;
Financial measures necessary to cover cost of planned stay and return to the country of origin or country of stay or costs of transit to the third country , which will accept his entry or document confirming the possibility to lawfully obtain such measures.

On the basis of the national law, the issue of counting the amount of financial measures necessary for entry and stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland is regulated in the regulation of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of February 23, 2015 on financial measures required from the foreigner entering the territory of the Republic of Poland and the documents, which may confirm the possibility to obtain such measures and the purpose and period of the planned stay.

http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20150000326/O/D20150326.pdf

According to these provisions the foreigner entering the territory of the Republic of Poland must be in the possession of the financial measures in the amount of at least:

300 PLN if the period of planned stay does not extend beyond 4 days;
75 PLN for each day of planned stay , if the period of planned stay des extend beyond 4 days – or equivalent amount in foreign currency.

Moreover in case when the foreigner does not possess the return ticket he must possess during border control the financial measures in the amount of the price of the ticket that he travelled with to the territory of the republic of Poland, however not less than:

200 PLN when he came from the country neighboring to the Republic of Poland,
500 PLN, if he travelled from the territory of the member state of the European Union other than the one indicated in point 1,
2500 PLN, if he travelled from the country not being the member state of the European Union – or equivalent of this amount in foreign currency.

Moreover please be informed that the foreigner entering the territory of the republic of Poland which:

is the participant of the tourist trip, youth camp, sport competition,
has the cost of stay on the territory of Poland covered
is coming to the therapeutic or sanatorium facilities
is a member of the program entitling to a vocational work on the territory of the Republic of Poland (and the work does not constitute his major purpose of stay) which is regulated by international agreement signed by the republic of Poland

must be in the possession of financial measures, necessary for covering the costs of living on the territory of the Republic of Poland of the amount of at least 20 PLN for each day of the planned stay, and no less than 100 PLN, or an equivalent in the foreign currencies.

The documents, which may confirm the purpose and the period of the planned stay of the foreigner are:

the documents confirming the participation in the tourist trip, youth camp or the sport competition;
the proof of the payment for the cost of stay on the territory of the republic of Poland including at least cost of accommodation and alimentation;
the referral to the therapeutic or sanatorium facilities;
visa for the purpose of the participation in the vocational work program indicating in the field “Uwagi” the name of the program.

The documents confirming the possibility to obtain required financial measures may be:

the traveller’s cheque;
the certificate on the amount of limit on the credit card issued by the bank, which issued the credit card;
the certificate on the possession of the financial measures on the account in the bank, which possess his premises on the territory of Poland or other Schengen member state.

In this respect the students should be in the possession when crossing the border on entry 1270 PLN for the first 2 months of the planned stay of the equivalent of that amount in the foreign currencies.

http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20160000282

Moreover according to the art. 49 par. 1 of the act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners, when the foreigner produce when crossing the border an invitation registered by the voivode, the above initiation is treated as a document certifying the possession of the financial measures necessary to cover the costs of living for planned stay on the territory or Poland including the costs of accommodation and alimentation and cost of the travel to the country of origin, the country of living, or the country of transit which will allow for the entry.

The foreigner entering the territory or the republic of Poland for the purpose of the short term mobility of the managerial staff, specialists or the interns within the transfer within the company, students mobility, the short term mobility of the researcher or the short term mobility of the researcher family member, which possess a resident title or national visa issued for another EU member state, not being the Schengen member state, produces additionally a copy of the notice that has been compulsorily sent by the sending authority to the Chief of the Office for Foreigners before his arrival to Poland.

Important: the list of travel documents recognized by the republic of Poland is included on the European commission website in section info. For further details please visit the website:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/index_en.htm

II. The foreigner is refused entry on the territory of Poland if:

Does not possess documents indicated in part I., unless obligation of possession of such documents is excluded according to part II.
Does not present sufficient documents confirming the purpose and conditions of intended stay.
His data are inserted in the index of persons undesirable on the territory of the Republic of Poland
His data are inserted in the Schengen Information System for the purpose of refusal of entry
His entry on the territory of the Republic of Poland or stay on this territory may constitute the threat for public health
It is required by the reasons of defence or security of the state or security and public order or international relations of the republic of Poland or other EU member state.

B. Short stay entry conditions

For intended stays on the territory of the Member States of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay, the entry conditions for third-country nationals shall be the following:

they are in possession of a valid travel document entitling the holder to cross the border satisfying the following criteria:

its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. In a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived;
it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years;

they are in possession of a valid visa, if required pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1806/2018, except where they hold a valid residence permit or a valid long-stay visa;
they justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;
they are not persons for whom an alert has been issued in the SIS for the purposes of refusing entry;
they are not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Member States, in particular where no alert has been issued in Member States’ national data bases for the purposes of refusing entry on the same grounds.

The date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay on the territory of the Member States and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay on the territory of the Member States. Periods of stay authorised under a residence permit or a long-stay visa shall not be taken into account in the calculation of the duration of stay on the territory of the Member States.

Third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement are listed in Council regulation (EC) No 1806/2018 of 15 March 2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

Moreover nationals of certain third countries are exempted from the visa requirement for the purpose of entry on the territory of Schengen States (including Poland) on the basis of visa waiver agreements concluded by EU with these states. Nationals of certain third countries are exempted from visa requirement for the purpose of entry on the territory of Poland on the basis of the agreement concluded by the Republic of Poland with these states.

Information concerning third countries nationals exempted from visas are provided on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. The details are available at:

https://www.msz.gov.pl/pl/informacje_konsularne/przyjazd_do_polski/lista_panstw/

C. Exclusions

The obligation to possess financial measures and documents confirming the possibility to obtain such measures lawfully does not concern foreigners crossing the border on the basis of:

International agreements, which exempt the foreigner form the obligation to possess such measures or there is an the obligation to cover the expenses of stay by the Polish authorities or public institutions;
Repatriation visa
Visa for the purpose of employment
Visa issued for the purpose of temporary protection
Visa issued for the purpose of participation in the asylum proceedings
Residence card
Visa issued for the purpose of execution of rights deriving from the card pole.

The obligation to possess medical insurance is fulfilled if the foreigner possess appropriate insurance deriving from his professional situation

The foreigners entering the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of visa issued for the purpose of employment, which is not subject yet to the medical insurance within the meaning of the act of 27 August 2004 on health care services financed from public funds, the obligation of the possession of the medical insurance fulfills by presentation of travel medical insurance for minimum amount of 30 000 euro, valid until receiving medical insurance, which covers all expenses, that may arise during stay on that territory deriving from the need of return from medical reasons, need of urgent medical assistance, urgent hospitalization or death, where insurer is obliged to cover all expenses directly to the medical service provider on the basis of the invoice.

D. Number of entries on the basis of Schengen or long stay visa

Schengen visa C entitles to the number entries indicated on the visa sticker. If in the field number of entries there was indicated number 1 it means that the visa entitles to the 1 entry on the territory of Schengen within its period of validity. If the possessor of that visa entered the Schengen territory and left this territory to the territory of third country he will not be entitled to reenter the Schengen territory.

If there is a phrase MULTI indicated in the field “number of entries” visa entitles to several entries on the Schengen territory within its validity period.

The long term visa type D issued by polish authorities entitles to the number of entries on the territory of the republic of Poland that were indicated on visa sticker. If in the field “number of entries” there was indicated number 1 it means that the visa entitles to the 1 entry on the territory of the Republic of Poland within its validity period.

If there is phrase MULTI indicated in the field “number of entries” the visa entitles to several entries on the territory of Poland within its validity period.

E. The stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland

The foreigner is entitled to stay on the territory of Poland for the period of time deriving from the possessed Schengen visa, long term visa issued by the Polish authorities or residence permits issued by the Polish authorities.

In case of stay on the basis of visa free regime the foreigner is entitled to stay for the period of 90 days within 180 days period (or for the period deriving from the visa waiver agreement concluded by EU or Poland with third country).

In case of stay on the basis of long term visa issued by other Schengen Member State, the foreigner is entitled to stay in the territory of Member States other than the state that issued visa (including Poland) within the validity period of the visa for 90 days within 180 days period.

Similarly in case of stay on the basis of the residence card issued by other Schengen member State the foreigner is entitled to stay on the territory of other Schengen Member States than the state that issued the document (including Poland) within the period of validity of the residence permit for 90 days within 180 days period.

The foreigner while staying on the territory of Poland is obliged to possess and present in case of control:

The travel document and documents entitling him to stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland (visa, residence card), if required;
Financial means to necessary to cover costs of:

living while staying on the territory of Poland,
return to the country of stay or origin,
transit through the territory of Poland to the territory of State which will allow him for entry

document confirming possibility of obtaining such financial means
document entitling to work, economic activity or to entrust to perform work
document confirming purpose and conditions of stay of the foreigner on the territory of the Republic of Poland

Important: for the purpose of facilitating the period of short term stay the European Commission has provided on the website the calculator Schengen. For further details please visit the website:

https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/content/visa-calculator_en

F. The extension of stay on the territory of Poland

I. The extension of visa

The Schengen visa or the national visa may be extended by the decision of the voivode with jurisdiction over the place of stay of the foreigner.

The foreigner that intend to extend stay on the basis of Schengen visa or national visa shall submit an application for visa extension no later than on the last day of his legal stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland.

If the term for submission of the above mentioned application has been preserved and the application does not possess any formal defects or formal defects has been made up within the above term:

the voivode insert a stamp in the travel document confirming submission of the application within due time;
the stay of a foreigner on the territory of Poland is considered to be legal until a final decision concerning an extension of Schengen visa or national visa is issued.

The possession of the above mentioned stamp in the travel document confirms the legal stay on the territory of Poland, however does not entitle the foreigner to travel through the territories of other Schengen Member States. In case of leaving the territory of the Republic of Poland the stamp does not entitle the foreigner to reenter the territory of Poland.

II. The temporary residence permit

The temporary residence permit is issued by the decision of the voivode with jurisdiction over the place of stay of the foreigner.

The foreigner shall submit an application for the temporary residence permit personally no later than on the last day of his legal stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland.

If the term for submission of the above mentioned application has been preserved and the application does not possess any formal defects or formal defects has been made up within the above term:

the voivode insert a stamp in the travel document confirming submission of the application within due time;
the stay of a foreigner on the territory of Poland is considered to be legal until a final decision concerning residence permit is issued.

III. The permanent residence permit

The permanent residence permit and the residence permit for long – term resident of the European Union is issued by the decision of the voivode with jurisdiction over the place of stay of the foreigner.

If the term for submission of the above mentioned application has been preserved and the application does not possess any formal defects or formal defects has been made up within the above term:

the voivode insert a stamp in the travel document confirming submission of the application within due time;
the stay of a foreigner on the territory of Poland is considered to be legal until a final decision concerning residence permit is issued.

The residence permit for long – term resident of the European Union

The residence permit for long – term resident of the European Union is issued by the decision of the voivode with jurisdiction over the place of stay of the foreigner.

If the term for submission of the above mentioned application has been preserved and the application does not possess any formal defects or formal defects has been made up within the above term:

the voivode insert a stamp in the travel document confirming submission of the application within due time;
the stay of a foreigner on the territory of Poland is considered to be legal until a final decision concerning residence permit is issued.

G. The obligation to leave the territory of the republic of Poland

The foreigner is obliged to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland before the end of the period of stay deriving from the visa free regime or from the possessed visa or residence permit.

The foreigner is also obliged to leave the territory of the republic of Poland within 30 days since the decision:

on refusal of the extension of Schengen visa or long term visa
on refusal of the temporary residence permit
on refusal of the permanent residence permit
on refusal of the residence permit for long – term resident of the European Union
on withdrawal of the temporary residence permit
on withdrawal of the permanent residence permit
on withdrawal of the residence permit for long – term resident of the European Union
on refusal of the refugee status
on refusal of the supplementary protection
on inadmissibility of the application on international protection
discontinuance of the proceedings on international protection’
cancellation of the refugee status
cancellation of the supplementary protection
withdrawal of the authorization to stay for humanitarian reasons

has become final. In case of issuance of the decision by the second instance authority, since the decision of the second instance authority has been delivered.

The basic information on crossing the border for the purpose of employment

Obligation of foreigners crossing the Polish border in vin visa free regime.

The foreigner who seeks an employment on the territory of the Republic of Poland may cross the border both on biometric passport – within visa free regime, and on the basis of the national visa (regardless of the possessed passport). If the foreigner enters Poland within visa free regime, he must remember that he may work only within the period of legal stay within visa free regime – no more than 90 days within 180 days period. If he wants to work after this period, he will have to ensure residence card or national visa.

When crossing the border for the purpose of employment in Poland, the foreigner travelling within visa free regime (in case of citizens of Ukraine, Georgia, or Moldova – on the basis of biometric passport) he will be subject to the border control during which, the Border Guard officer will verify whether the possessed passport has been issued within previous 10 years and whether it is valid at least 3 years after planned date of exit.

Then there will be verified, whether the foreigner has not exhausted the allowed period of short term stay. The Border guard officer verifies how many days the foreigner was present in the Schengen area within the previous 180 days. There are taken into account all days of stay except for the stays on the basis of the residence card. and the Polish national visa. The short term stay includes all factual stays of the foreigner on the basis of the Schengen visa, within visa free regime, within the procedure on issuance of the residence permit (on the basis of the stamp of the voivode in the passport confirming submission of the application within due term), and eventual previous illegal stays.

On the website of the EU Commission the Migration and Home affairs Directorate – General https://www.strazgraniczna.pl/pl/cudzoziemcy/najczesciej-zadawane-py/4999,2-Jak-samodzielnie-obliczyc-dlugosc-dopuszczalnego-pobytu-na-wizie-typ-C.html there is posted the short – stay visa calculator for the purpose of the calculation of periods of stay on your own.

In order to verify the purpose of entry of the foreigner declaring employment in Poland, the Border Guard officer will require presentation of the work permit or the declaration on the entrustment of the performance of work and – if the foreigner possess – the work agreement (the verification of these documents is described in the further part). In case when the foreigner belongs to the category of persons exempt from the work permit, he should present documents confirming that he is exempted.

Moreover the foreigner will be asked for presentation of the financial measures for covering the costs of stay on the territory of Poland and return, and the document confirming the possibility to obtain legally such financial measures.

The foreigner should possess at least 75 PLN for each day of planned stay for covering the costs of stay (but no less than 300 – for up to 4 days). If the foreigner does not possess the return ticket, then he should possess no less than 200 PLN for the purpose of covering the costs of the return ticket.

When the above requirements are fulfilled and the Border Guard officer, after verification in the IT systems makes sure that the foreigner’s data are not inserted in these systems for the purpose of the refusal of entry, then the foreigner is allowed to cross the border for entry into Poland.

If the foreigner does not fulfil at least one of the above conditions, he will be issued a decision on refusal of entry on the territory of Poland.

Obligations of the foreigner crossing the border on the basis of the national visa

The foreigner entering Poland on the basis of the national visa for the purpose of employment - regardless of the possessed passport – may work for the number of days indicated in visa, within the visa validity period.

During the border crossing for the purpose of employment on the basis of the Polish national visa, the Border Guard officer verifies whether the passport and the visa of the foreigner are valid.

In order to verify the purpose of stay of the foreigner declaring employment in Poland as a purpose of the intended stay the Border Guard officer may ask for the presentation of the work permit or the declaration on the entrustment of the performance of work and if the foreigner possess – the work agreement. In case when the foreigner belongs to the categories of persons exempt from the obligation to possess work permit he should present documents confirming that he is exempted.

Moreover the foreigner will be asked for presentation for the financial measures for the purpose of the costs of stay in Poland and the return. The foreigner should possess for the purpose of the covering costs of stay 75 PLN for each day of the planned stay, but no less than 300 PLN (for stays up to 4 days). If the foreigner does not possess the return ticket he should possess at least 200 PLN for the purpose of covering the costs of the return ticket. If the national visa possessed by the foreigner is a via issued for the purpose of employment he is exempted from the obligation of producing the financial measures.

The foreigner must also present the medical insurance unless he possess appropriate insurance related to his employment.

In case when the above requirements are fulfilled the Border guard officer after verifications in IT systems makes sure that the foreigner’s data are not inserted in these systems for the purpose of the refusal of entry, then the foreigner is allowed to cross the border for the purpose of entry into Poland.

If the foreigner does not fulfill at least one of the above conditions, he will be issued a decision on refusal of entry on the territory of Poland.

Verification of the declaration on the entrustment of the performance of work to the foreigner and the work permit

The foreigner in order to legally work in Poland must be in a possession of the work permit or the declaration on the entrustment of the performance or work to the foreigner (the simplified procedure relates only to the citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). The declaration on the entrustment of the performance of work to the foreigner entitles him to work in the period indicated in the declaration, but not longer than 24 months. A work permit allows a foreigner to work for the period specified in the permit.

The Border Guard verifies the authenticity and validity of the above mentioned documents during the border control.

One of the consequences of the use of the falsified declaration or the work permit is the refusal of entry on the territory of Poland when the foreigner is crossing the border. The decision on refusal of entry will also be issued in case when the document is revoked or shows signs of tampering by unauthorized persons (crossing, manipulation, correction of letters, dates and so on).

If the foreigner would like to enter for the purpose of work earlier than the date of start of the work deriving from the declaration on the entrustment of the performance of work, then he will receive the decision on refusal of entry at the border.

The foreigner may enter the territory of Poland on the basis of declaration on the entrustment of the performance of work where the beginning period of work was defined as previous date to arrival. However in such cases it may happen that the employer withdraws for this reason his declaration. In case of withdrawal of the declaration on entrustment of the performance of work the Border Guard issues the decision on refusal of entry on the territory of Poland. Therefore we advise an ongoing contact with the employer before arrival to prevent such a situation happens.

The verification of the permit for a seasonal work

The foreigner may also legally work in Poland on the basis of the permit for a seasonal work. The seasonal work permit authorizes the foreigner to work within the period time indicated in it, however no longer than 9 months within the calendar year.

The foreigner may enter Poland on the basis of the permit for a seasonal work or in case of the first entry, on the basis of the certificate of entry into the register of applications for a seasonal work.

One of the consequences of use of the counterfeit certificate or permit for seasonal work is refusal of entry on the territory of Poland. The decision on refusal of entry is also issued in case when the document was revoked or shows signs of tampering by unauthorized person (crossing, manipulation, correction of letters, dates and so on).

The periods of work on the basis of the permit for a seasonal work are independent on the periods of work on the basis of the declaration on entrustment of work to foreigner of on the basis of the work permit (does not sum up with it). It means that the foreigner may still work after exhausting of the permit for seasonal work, if he obtain a declaration on entrustment of work or work permit.

Additional information: Foreigners during the border control can provide electronic version, print or scan of original documents such as certificate of entry in the register on seasonal work or statement on entrusting work to a foreigner on the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Performance of work by Ukrainian citizens who came to the territory of the Republic of Poland in connection with war on the territory of Ukraine.

Citizens of Ukraine who stays legally in the territory of the Republic of Poland, are entitled to work without the need to have a work permit, if the employer notifies the competent labor office within 14 days from the date of starting work by the citizen of Ukraine. The notification should be submitted electronically to the following address: praca.gov.pl

Obtaining a PESEL number by a citizen of Ukraine will enable him to start and perform business activity in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the same terms as Polish citizens.

HELPLINE (information of entry, stay and working conditions in Poland)

+ 48 22 500 43 76 (from Monday to Friday: 08.15-16.15)

Straż Graniczna Komenda Główna Straży Granicznej Entry, stay and working conditions in Poland - Warunki wjazdu, pobytu oraz pracy cudzoziemców na terytorium RP -

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Entry, stay and working conditions in Poland