Guide part 2 – how to hire a citizen of Ukraine? Simplified procedure

​by Małgorzata Kolasa-Dorosz, Katarzyna Małaniuk

1 March 2022

Want to hire a citizen of Ukraine? The simplest and most practical solution will be to use a simplified procedure. If you have a declaration of employment registered with the district labour office (abbreviated in Polish as PUP), you can hire a foreigner for 24 months without a work permit. 
 
What do you need to know - step by step

A declaration of employment must be registered. Prior to registration, an entity intending to hire a foreigner must pay a fee of PLN 30.

The declaration of employment is issued provided that:

• the foreigner to be hired is a citizen of: Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation or Ukraine;
• the foreigner does not perform seasonal work;
• the foreigner is hired for up to 24 months as specified in the submitted declaration and they will commence work not later than in 6 months from the date of the declaration;
• the foreigner neither performs a function in the management board of a legal person (president, vice-president, management board member) nor manages the affairs of a limited partnership or a partnership limited by shares as a general partner nor act as a commercial attorney of an entity entered in the National Court Register;
• the foreigner is not be paid less than employees performing similar work or occupying similar position. 

The application for registering the declaration of employment must be accompanied by:

• a copy of an excerpt from the register if the register in which the hiring entity has been entered is not publicly available, a scanned copy of a valid identity card or valid travel document (if the hiring entity is a natural person);
• a scanned copy/copy of all non-empty pages of a valid travel document of the foreigner concerned. If the foreigner does not reside in Poland – a copy of pages of the travel document containing personal details of the foreigner;
• a scanned copy/copy of the proof of payment for the application;
• a statement of clean criminal record of the employer in relation to the circumstances referred to in Article 88z(5)(1–6) of the Act on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions; 
• a power of attorney – if an attorney is involved.

Foreigners may take up work if they have:

1. residence title allowing them to take up work,
   - visa-free regime,
   - visa,
   - permanent residence permit,
   - temporary residence permit,
2. declaration of employment registered with the district labour office competent for the employer’s registered office,
   - original held by foreigner,
   - copy held by employer,
3. written contract with employer.

Prior to hiring a foreigner, the employer is required to:

1. check if the foreigner is a lawful resident;
2. obtain a copy of a residence permit;
3. check if the foreigner may be hired on the basis of their residence permit;
4. register a declaration of employment with the district labour office / application for a work permit;
5. sign a written contract with the foreigner including the terms and conditions specified in the work permit in a language understandable for the foreigner;
6. offer the foreigner a salary which is not lower than salaries of employees performing similar work / occupying similar position.
7. fulfil other obligations as for Polish employees, including but not limited to:
   - social and health insurance
   - income tax advances etc.

In the course of employment, the employer is required to:

1. notify, within 7 days, the provincial governor who has issued the work permit for the foreigner of the following circumstances:
   - the foreigner has not started work (3 months from the start date of the work permit),
   - the foreigner has stayed away from work (for a period exceeding 3 months),
   - the foreigner has finished work earlier than 3 months before the expiry of the work permit;
2. provide the provincial governor with updated information about:
   - a change of the person representing the employer,
   - a takeover or transfer of the entity in whole or in part to another employer,
   - a change of registered office or name / legal form of the employer.