Certain categories of foreigners may perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland without the need to complete additional formalities – meaning that you, as an employer, do not have to apply for a work permit for such a foreigner before employing them. In this case, we can speak of the so-called free access of foreigners to the Polish labor market, which simply means that the foreigner holds a document that entitles them both to legally reside in our country and to take up legal employment.

I. Free access to the labor market is granted, among others, to foreigners who meet one of the following conditions:

• are family members of a citizen of the EU, EEA, or EFTA, accompanying them on the territory of the Republic of Poland,
• hold a permanent residence permit issued in Poland,
• hold a long-term EU resident permit issued in Poland,
• have been granted refugee status in Poland or benefit from subsidiary protection,
• hold a residence permit issued in Poland for humanitarian reasons or tolerated stay,
• benefit from temporary protection on the territory of the Republic of Poland (have a certificate issued by the Head of the Office for Foreigners – not to be confused with a PESEL number with the ‘UKR’ status),
• hold a temporary residence permit for the purpose of studying or conducting scientific research,
• hold a temporary residence permit for family members of a Polish citizen,
• hold a temporary residence permit for the purpose of so-called ‘family reunification’ (spouse/child of a foreigner legally staying in Poland),
• hold a temporary residence permit for victims of human trafficking,
• hold a temporary residence permit in Poland obtained in connection with holding a long-term EU resident permit granted by another EU member state,
• hold a temporary residence permit in Poland granted to a family member of the foreigner mentioned in the previous point,
• hold a national visa for the purpose of conducting scientific research or development work.

II. Additionally, some foreigners, even though they do not have free access to the labor market, also do not need a “separate” work permit because, as part of their residence permit, they have automatically obtained permission to perform specific work (2 in 1). These include, among others, foreigners who:

• hold a temporary residence and work permit – they are entitled to perform work for the entity specified in the residence permit without the need to obtain an additional work permit,
• hold a temporary residence permit for the purpose of serving in the management board of a legal entity (e.g., serving as a member of the management board of a limited liability company),
• hold a temporary residence permit for the purpose of performing work in a profession requiring high qualifications (the so-called “Blue Card”),
• hold a temporary residence permit for the purpose of conducting business activity,
• hold a temporary residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of an EU Blue Card holder issued by another EU Member State,
• have submitted an application for another temporary residence and work permit for the same employer within the prescribed time limit.

III. The third group of foreigners who can work in the territory of the Republic of Poland without the need to have a work permit are foreigners who hold an appropriate
residence title in Poland

and:

• holding a valid Pole’s Card or
• being graduates of secondary schools (e.g., high school, technical school, post-secondary school) or
• being graduates of studies at a university with its seat on the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
• holding a doctoral degree awarded by a doctoral entity operating within the Polish higher education and science system, or
• being doctoral students in a doctoral school run by an entity with its seat on the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
• one of the cases applies to them in which a foreigner entitled to stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland may work without a work permit. These cases will be specified by a regulation of the minister competent for labor affairs.