Declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner: who it covers, how much it costs and the deadlines

Who the declaration applies to

From 1 December 2025, a declaration on entrusting work may concern citizens of four countries: Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine (§ 2 of the MRPiPS Regulation of 21 November 2025). Georgia has been removed from the list. A Georgian citizen whose declaration was entered in the register before 1 December 2025 may work under its terms until the end of its validity (§ 3).

The declaration is submitted by the company entrusting the work (in the Act: polski podmiot powierzający pracę cudzoziemcowi), not by the foreigner (Art. 61(1) of the Act on the conditions for the admissibility of entrusting work to foreigners). In addition to citizenship, the following conditions must be met, among others (Art. 61(1)):

• the work will be performed in Poland;
• the work does not belong to activities classified by the regulations as seasonal work;
• the period of work stated in the declaration does not exceed 24 months;
• the work start date falls no later than 6 months from the submission of the declaration.

The office leaves a declaration that does not meet these conditions without consideration (Art. 61(2)). Seasonal work and work longer than 24 months require a work permit. We compare which document is suitable for your employee on the page legalisation of a foreigner's work.

How to submit the declaration

The declaration is submitted through the ICT system, that is, the praca.gov.pl portal (Art. 61(1)). It contains the company's details, the foreigner's details and the working conditions: occupation, position, place, period specified by dates, type of contract, minimum remuneration and working time (Art. 62(1)).

For temporary work, the declaration is submitted by the agency. It then provides the entry number in the register of employment agencies and the details of the company where the foreigner will work (Art. 62(1)(1)(f) and (4)).

The company attaches to the declaration its own declaration concerning the circumstances referred to in Art. 13 of the Act, documents confirming the data and proof of payment (Art. 62(3)). The declaration concerning the circumstances must be signed no earlier than 30 days before the entire application is submitted (Art. 62(5)).

Fee and waiting time

The fee for submitting the declaration is PLN 400 (§ 2(5) of the MRPiPS Regulation of 20 November 2025). The company pays it when submitting the declaration (Art. 63(1)). The fee is not refundable, including after a refusal to enter the declaration, except in the cases listed in Art. 63(3).

The declaration is entered in the register by the starosta (in practice the powiat labour office, powiatowy urząd pracy) competent for the company's registered office or place of permanent residence (Art. 64(1)). The office has 7 working days to do so, or 30 days if the case requires explanatory proceedings (Art. 66). The office may also enter a later work start date than the one stated in the declaration (Art. 64(2)).

The office refuses entry if the foreigner's remuneration is lower than that of employees in a comparable position and at the same time lower than the minimum wage. It also refuses entry in the case of false data or forged documents (Art. 65(1)(1) and (2)). The only party to the proceedings is the company, and an appeal may be submitted only through the system (Art. 67(2) and (3)).

After entry: contract and two notifications

After the entry, the company includes the conditions from the declaration in the contract with the foreigner (Art. 68(1)(1)). Before entrusting the work, it submits the contract in Polish or a copy of it to the office through the system (Art. 68(1)(2)). It gives the foreigner the declaration entered in the register (Art. 68(1)(5)).

There are then two deadlines (Art. 70(1)):

• starting work: notification within 7 days from the day work starts;
• not starting work: notification within 14 days from the work start date entered in the register.

If the foreigner finishes work before the date stated in the declaration, the company also notifies the office (Art. 70(2)). The declaration entry is then cancelled by operation of law (Art. 70(5)). All notifications are submitted through the praca.gov.pl system (Art. 70(3)).

Changes during employment

A new declaration is not required when the company's registered office, name or legal form changes, when the workplace or part of it is transferred to another employer, or when only the position name changes (Art. 69(1), (2) and (4)). It is also not required when the company increases working time, up to full-time employment at most (Art. 69(3)). The remuneration then increases proportionally to the number of hours (Art. 68(1)(4)).

From July 2026, a new declaration is also not required when the company and the foreigner conclude an employment contract instead of a civil law contract (Art. 69(5)). When the minimum wage increases, the company raises the foreigner's remuneration at least to the new amount (Art. 68(1)(3)).

If a foreigner has worked under a declaration for at least 3 months under an employment contract, the company may apply for a work permit for the same position. If it submits a complete application before the end of the period stated in the declaration, the work remains legal until the office makes a decision (Art. 71(1)). The same applies to the foreigner's application for a temporary residence and work permit with this company (Art. 71(4)).

Ukrainian citizens: a notification instead of a declaration

A Ukrainian citizen benefiting from temporary protection in Poland does not need a declaration or a work permit (Art. 3(1)(12)). The company then notifies the powiat labour office (powiatowy urząd pracy) of entrusting work to that person within 7 days from the start of work (Art. 5a(1)). A new notification is required within 7 days of changing the type of contract, position, reducing working hours or the pay rate (Art. 5a(5)). For 3 years from 5 March 2026 the same rules apply to Ukrainian citizens staying in Poland legally without temporary protection (Art. 41 of the Act of 23 January 2026, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203).

Penalties

A foreigner who works illegally is liable to a fine of not less than PLN 1000 (Art. 84(2)). If you are looking for workers and want someone else to handle the documents, see how cooperation works on the page workers for companies.

Questions

Sources

Legal status as of 23.09.2026. The text was prepared by WNR Group sp. z o.o. on the basis of the regulations listed below.

1. Ustawa z dnia 20 marca 2025 r. o warunkach dopuszczalności powierzania pracy cudzoziemcom na terytorium RP (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 621 ze zm.), art. 5a, 61–71, 84
2. Rozporządzenie MRPiPS z dnia 21 listopada 2025 r. w sprawie państw, których obywateli mogą dotyczyć oświadczenia o powierzeniu pracy cudzoziemcowi (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1617)
3. Rozporządzenie MRPiPS z dnia 20 listopada 2025 r. w sprawie wysokości opłat w związku z wnioskiem o wydanie zezwolenia na pracę oraz oświadczeniem o powierzeniu pracy cudzoziemcowi (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1622)
4. Ustawa z dnia 23 stycznia 2026 r. o wygaszeniu rozwiązań wynikających z ustawy o pomocy obywatelom Ukrainy (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203), art. 19: art. 5a i art. 84 ust. 6; art. 41
5. Ustawa z dnia 11 marca 2026 r. o zmianie ustawy o Państwowej Inspekcji Pracy oraz niektórych innych ustaw (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473), art. 8: art. 69 pkt 5
6. Ustawa z dnia 15 maja 2026 r. o zmianie ustawy o systemie teleinformatycznym do obsługi niektórych umów (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 734), art. 5: art. 68 ust. 1 pkt 2