From 27 April 2026, applications for combined residence-and-work permits in Poland must be submitted through the online Case Handling Module, known as MOS, at cudzoziemcy.gov.pl. The change follows wider reforms effective since 1 June 2025 that moved key foreign-employment procedures online and abolished the traditional local labour market test.
Legal employment requires two separate elements: a valid basis for residence and a legal basis for performing work. Depending on the case, the latter may be a work permit, a declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner or a combined residence-and-work permit.
The framework affects Polish companies recruiting professionals from outside the European Union, including employers in internationally oriented business services and technology operations. Digital filing may change how cases are administered, but it does not remove the need to establish the correct legal basis for both residence and employment.
For foreign professionals considering an employer-sponsored move, a job offer alone does not establish permission to live and work in Poland. The applicable route depends on the employment arrangement and the individual’s status. The available sources do not cover exemptions or provide guidance for individual cases.
The Act on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners has governed many practical aspects of the system since 1 June 2025. One of its principal changes was the abolition of the opinia starosty (local labour market test), which had required evidence concerning the availability of suitable workers in the domestic market.
Key procedures are now handled through praca.gov.pl. This includes the declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner, a simplified mechanism available for selected nationalities, including citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
A declaration can cover work for up to 24 months and must be filed exclusively online. According to the supplied sources, paper applications are not examined. The declaration route is not presented as universally available to all non-EU nationals.
Work permits remain the standard mechanism for longer or more complex arrangements. The framework has six principal permit types: A, B, C, D, E and S. The appropriate category depends on factors such as whether the person is employed by a Polish entity, posted to Poland by a foreign organisation, serves on a management board or undertakes seasonal work.
Combined residence-and-work applications have also moved online. Documents submitted through MOS are generally treated as scans unless certified by a lawyer or notary, according to Prawo i Administracja. This makes document handling part of the digital procedure rather than a separate paper-based process.
A distinct route applies to highly qualified professionals under Poland’s EU Blue Card regime. The reforms implementing EU Directive 2021/1883 took effect on 1 June 2025 and require remuneration of at least 150 per cent of the average national wage.
The cited 2026 threshold is 13,355.34 Polish złoty (PLN) gross per month. An applicant must also have either a higher-education qualification or five years of relevant professional experience, together with a contract lasting at least six months.
Blue Card applications are submitted electronically through MOS. Relocy reports a standard application fee of PLN 440 and an additional PLN 100 issuance fee. Processing times vary considerably between województwa (provinces), so the framework does not support a single nationwide estimate for how long a case will take.
Oversight also became stricter in March 2026, according to Careers in Poland. Authorities may refuse a permit where the proposed employment is below one-quarter of full-time hours, where the employer has tax or social-security arrears, or where earlier permits were granted but the planned employment did not begin.
Employers engaging workers illegally may face fines generally ranging from PLN 3,000 to PLN 50,000. The cited material does not provide the name of the March 2026 legislation or distinguish penalties by individual type of infringement.
