Immigration
Poland | Significant changes proposed to Polish immigration law
Summary
The Polish government has been working on a new bill aimed at regulating foreign nationals’ access to the Polish labour market. The bill implements amendments resulting from the consultations with the business and other authorities. The legislation, which was anticipated to enter into force in 2024, can be expected to be enacted no sooner than in January 2025. Its objectives include streamlining immigration procedures via digitalization and reducing administrative burdens, and preventing abuses and circumvention of the regulations.
The detail
The latest version of the draft act on the conditions of admissibility of entrusting work to foreigners in the territory of the Republic of Poland presents important amendments referring to the issuance of work permits as well as imposing new obligations on employers. Formerly named as the act on the access of foreign nationals to the labour market, you can find details in the earlier draft here.
The amendments include the following, among others:
● To secure a work permit from a Polish entity for local hires, an employment contract would be the sole basis for employing a foreign national, with all other contract types simultaneously excluded.
● Employers will be required to submit copies of employment contracts concluded with foreign nationals performing work on the basis of work permits to the issuing authorities. An employment contract must reflect the exact conditions as presented in the work permit or changed conditions, in case an employer is not required to amend or obtain a new work permit.
● Higher financial penalties for non-compliance with the regulations (e.g. for lack of proper notifications on employment start/termination) and for illegal employment will be imposed.
● The number of reasons for refusal of work permit have been expanded and specified, including instances where refusal is based on information from labour inspections indicating that the employer has obstructed or impeded legality checks in the past 24 months.
● The definition of entrusting work to a foreigner has been narrowed, and an agency agreement will no longer qualify as such.
● The corrected definition of illegal hiring clarifies that an illegal stay in Poland also constitutes illegal employment.
The purpose of the new regulations are to enhance the existing ones, by incorporating provisions to prevent abuse and circumvention of the requirements while, at the same time, elevating the standards of the labour market. However the proposed amendments already raise concerns as it restricts work permits only to cases of performing work based on employment contracts. This may be viewed as discriminatory and too restrictive both for employers and foreign employees.
The remaining proposed legislation safeguarding the local labour market and immigrants remain and include, among others:
– ad-hoc, announced controls of Border Guards and Labour Inspectorate to verify employment of foreign nationals in Poland;
– denying a work permit if the employer fails to pay social security contributions or income tax advances;
– extra requirements for issuing work permits to newly founded entities or those utilising virtual offices, as well as for companies whose employees are working remotely within Poland;
– restrictions of the possibility of making workers available under the guise of so-called labour outsourcing.
What has not changed are expected developments towards full digitalization of the work permit procedures and establishment of a central database to oversee the employment conditions of foreign nationals. It is also expected that measures will be introduced to limit the number of immigration procedures and introduce organisational changes to enhance efficiency and reduce work permit processing times (such as abolishing the Labour Market Test).
The proposed amendment to the draft act also introduces priority processing of work permit applications. This would be available to local hires and secondees intending to perform work for employers that are listed in the registry of entrepreneurs conducting activities of significant importance to the national economy. Entry in the register will be made upon the employer’s application submitted to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
What it means
The new legislation is designed to streamline and digitise work permit processes to expedite processing times and alleviate the current backlogs. It is also to support the priorities of the Polish economy.
Simultaneously it reinforces work permit criteria and defines the conditions to safeguard the immigrants.
Employers must establish appropriate procedures to oversee, monitor, and ensure compliance with regulations regarding the employment of foreign nationals in Poland.
Contact us
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Jadwiga Chorązka
Partner
Emilia Piechota
Immigration Director
Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com
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