Act on Foreigners Amendment

The president of Poland signed the amendment to the Act on Foreigners

The main purpose of the amendment is to simplify the procedures for granting foreigners temporary residence permits in the territory of the Republic of Poland, in particular, temporary residence and work permits. Check what new requirements you have to meet.

 

What will change?

From now on, the procedure will be simplified. Here are some of the changes:

• foreigners do not have to have a guaranteed place of residence;
• foreigners also do not have to have a source of stable income necessary to support themselves and their family (However, it is worth receiving a salary not lower than the minimum wage, in Poland it is 3010.00 PLN gross.);
• the catalogue of circumstances that do not require a change or issuance of a new temporary residence and work permit or the issuance of a new work permit has been expanded;
• the possibility of entrusting work to a foreigner without a work permit to 24 months, on the basis of a declaration on entrusting work was extended;
• the procedure for issuing a seasonal work permit will be simplified.

For proceedings initiated before January 1, 2021, which were not completed by the date of entry into force of the amending act:

• the permit will be granted for 2 years;
• the permit will be granted regardless of the current circumstances if the foreigner is not a threat and is not on the lists of dangerous persons;
• the permit will be issued in blanco – the foreigner has 60 days from obtaining the permit to submit a declaration to the employer about the entrusted work (the declaration form will be specified by the minister of internal affairs);
• the employer must declare an employment contract/mandate contract, the remuneration needs to be set at least at minimum wage level, a 60-day deadline for submitting this statement has been set;
• if the declaration is not submitted/does not meet the requirements as to the content and form – the temporary residence permit expires with the expiry of the 60-day period – it is not possible to restore the deadline for submitting the declaration;
• the residence card will be issued after submitting the above-mentioned statements;
• if the application was submitted before March 14, 2020 and the voivode did not summon the foreigner to appear in person – the procedure may be terminated without appearance, however, to issue a residence card it will be necessary to provide fingerprints;

 

The Act was signed by President Andrzej Duda and published on 14th January 2022. It comes into force after 14 days from the date of its publication, that is on 29th January 2022.

You can read more about it here.

If you have further questions and would like to clarify how it may affect your case, we will be happy to help you.