The entry into force of the amendments to the laws on legalisation of work of foreigners introduces significant changes to the way applications are made and to the obligations on employers. From 1 June 2025, all matters relating to employment of foreign nationals will be available to be dealt with only electronically, mainly through the praca.gov.pl portal. At the same time, the legislator has tightened the penalties for illegal employment of foreigners and added new obligations for entrepreneurs. Below, we discuss these key changes and explain, step by step, the process of using the ICT system.
If you have any questions on other issues related to the amended legislation, we recommend our earlier article: EU Blue Card 2025 and key changes to the legalisation of foreigners' residence in Poland.
New requirements for employers and tougher penalties for illegal employment of foreigners
Due to a change in the regulations, which occurred at the beginning of June 2025, the employers are subject to greater obligations and increased penalties in the context of employment of foreign nationals. The changes aim to streamline the process, but also to make the work safer and more legal.
Employer obligations - key aspects
First and foremost, employer must ensure that it has a foreigner a valid document authorising him/her to stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland, issued at least for the period of work. This is a fundamental requirement for legalisation of residence and work in Poland.
In addition, employer must ensure that the contract is presented to the employee in a language that he or she understands. This is an extremely important aspect of transparency and protection of rights foreigners. At the same time, if the contract is drawn up solely in a foreign language, the entity entrusting the work must ensure that it is translated into Polish. This translation must be done by a sworn translator.
Tougher penalties for illegal employment of foreigners
The amended legislation has significantly tightened penalties for illegal employment of foreigners. Previous financial sanctions have increased, and now for each illegally employed non-EU worker a fine of between PLN 3 000 and PLN 50 000 can be paid. This is a clear signal from the legislator that illegal employment of foreigners will be severely punished.
Refusal to enter a statement in the register: The most common grounds
Despite the correct submission of an application via the website, there are situations where Office will automatically reject it. These are the so-called mandatory grounds for the issuance of a Office decisions to refuse to enter a declaration in the register. It is worth knowing these in order to avoid unnecessary delays in procedures for foreigners:
- Employer arrears: The employer is in arrears to the Social Security Institution.
- No legitimate activity: The employer does not carry out activities justifying the assignment of work to a foreigner.
- Citizenship exclusion: Citizenship foreigner excludes the possibility of making the statement in question.
Registering statements online: How to use the praca.gov.pl portal?
Under the amendment, which came into force on 1 June 2025, all matters relating to the employment of foreigners can be dealt with electronically, i.e. through portal praca.gov.pl. This is a key change in procedures for foreigners i electronic applications of foreigners.
If the page does not seem very easy to read, you can help yourself with the tips available under the 'Help' tab (this takes you to an additional window: praca.gov.pl - Help). In the case of cases involving employment of foreign nationals Helpful links are those found under the "Electronic Services" tab. This is where you will find sub-tabs to help you with issues of using the site in relation to employment of foreign nationals and filling in online applications.
What is the most important thing about employing foreigners through the portal?
First and foremost, remember to log in to the portal praca.gov.pl (Login link) using a qualified electronic signature or the selected Identity Provider (e.g. mCitizen or the website of the selected bank). This is a required element before proceeding further on the website, which will itself remind you at several points to log in.
In order to proceed to the submission of the relevant proposal on employment of foreigners, after logging in, go to the "Electronic Services" tab and then select "Services for an individual" or "Services for an organisation" respectively. At this point, links to select as required will appear. It is here that the applications to be completed appear (by clicking on the selected item). The page offers both applications to initiate a new case and to continue an existing case or to submit a correction. If continuation is selected, it will be necessary to select the case from the list of existing cases to which the application relates. Only requests to which correspondence can be continued will be available in the list. In the case of initiating a new case, it will be necessary to indicate the relevant Office from the list available for the selected category. Only then will it be possible to edit the submitted form, including adding attachments, and submit the application. Part of the form may be automatically filled in with data from your profile. In the event of errors automatically identified by the site, a message will be displayed about this.
Sent request It must be signed - either with a qualified electronic signature or a signature confirmed with a trusted profile. Once the application has been submitted, it can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF.
Abolishing the labour market test: An important convenience for employers
From 1 June 2025, the requirement to obtain a Chief Information Officer (so-called labour market test) to receive work permits. This is a significant simplification in procedures for foreigners. However, this rule only applies to proceedings initiated after the effective date of the amendment. In the case of proceedings initiated earlier, it is necessary to submit to the Office an offer of employment together with a document confirming when the proceedings were initiated. The job offer in order to obtain Chief Information Officer must be submitted via ICT system (praca.gov.pl - Job opportunities).
To find out more about previous employment changes, check out: Changes to the employment of foreign nationals from 1 July 2024..
Summary: New procedures for foreigners - challenges and facilitation
The newly introduced changes will result in the need for a more efficient service telecommunications portals by the applicants, but the government side offers assistance in this regard. In addition, they are forcing employers the need to check the documentation of both the future non-Union workeras well as that which is to be presented to the prospective employee. On the one hand, the legislator is tightening penalties for infringementsand, on the other hand, partly simplifies the whole process legalisation of work of foreigners, including by removing the requirement to obtain a Chief Information Officerwhether by specifying in which cases employer's request will be automatically rejected.
It is also worth bearing in mind issues relating to identification foreigners in Poland, such as: PESEL for foreign nationals.
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