One year ago major changes to Polish immigration law have been announced, aiming to simplify the entire procedure. Some changes have been implemented already in 2018, others came into force Jan 1st. The most important changes valid since 2019:
- Maximum duration of Oświadczenie got extended – For Oświadczenie obtained as from 2019 the period you can work based on an employer’s declaration (Oświadczenie o powierzeniu wykonywania pracy przez cudzoziemców) without a need for a real work permit got extended. Oświadczenie can be used by citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. Thanks to the updated legislation, it is now possible to work based on Oświadczenie for 12 months within a period of 18 months, instead of a maximum of 6 months within a period of 12 months as it was earlier.
Do bear in mind that “lex retro non agit” (law does not work backward), which means that the changes will apply only to people who will be issued Oświadczenie as from this year (2019) and not before (even if it’s still valid); - Permanent residentship after 4 years – people working for 4 years on continuous temporary residency permit obtained by working in a profession desirable for the Polish economy (mainly construction industry, IT and healthcare). A full list of professions will be specified in joint efforts of the minister competent for labor issues and one competent for the Polish economy. Also here rule lex retro non agit, so the first applications for the permanent residency permit will be issued after year 2022;
- Upgraded minimum wage – employees working on minimum wages will see their salaries adjusted to 2.250 PLN gross, which is about 1634 PLN net;
- “Means of subsistence” go up – a necessary documents to obtain a residency card, is the proof of having sufficient financial ability to stay in Poland. The amounts have been increased to 701 PLN per person living alone and 528 PLN per person living in a family;
- Employment contract no longer necessary before end of the procedure – employers often acted surprised when we asked to submit the employment contract as required in the procedure. There was a lot of unclarity regarding the starting dates to mention in the contract, and often they had to be updated after the permit arrived. New regulations abolish the requirement of signing an employment contract before the permit is granted;
- No need to proof “means of subsistence” for graduates seeking job – when applying for a temporary residence permit it won’t be necessary anymore, for graduates of Polish universities, to proof a stable and regular income, sufficient to cover costs of living;
- More time for employees to apply for the next work permit – Since 2019 you can legally work while waiting for another work permit if you meet the following criteria:
- Change of job title, but working for the same company;
- Have worked directly for the same employer for at least one year;
- Continue to work full-time and salary at least at the level of the previous contract.
- Also, in these circumstances the labour market test is not needed.
The overall objective of the new amendments is to adapt the system to new challenges needs of the employment market, based on the socio-economic situation in Poland. If you have more questions concerning this topic, feel free to contact us at [email protected].
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