The Council of Ministers has adopted a resolution on Poland’s migration strategy for 2025-2030 under the slogan ‘Taking back control. Ensuring security’. The idea is to ensure that current migration processes are regulated in detail and remain under control, both in terms of the purpose of arrival, the scale of influx and the countries of origin of foreigners, while also ensuring security in the broadest sense. We look at the key points of this migration policy.
Entering Poland
With regard to entry into Poland, the implementation of the EU visa policy, including visa-free travel, the introduction of far-reaching digitalisation of procedures for processing applications for legalisation of stay and the implementation of measures to prevent staff turnover in Provincial Offices and the Office for Foreigners are among the priorities of the new migration policy
In addition, the systems for issuing visas and legalising stay will be harmonised to reduce bureaucracy and ensure that information collected in both procedures can be automatically verified.
The possibility of seeking asylum
The general approach to the possibility of seeking asylum is changing both within the European Union itself and in the policies of international organisations.
The new migration strategy for Poland clearly shows a greater concern for issues of internal and international security, a desire to effectively combat the smuggling of people through the territory of our country and to include foreigners in comprehensive, compulsory integration programmes aimed at their integration into Polish society.
Conditions for access to the labour market
Poland has to admit foreigners to the labour market, among other things, to make up for shortages in deficit occupations. It will also do this through special schemes for occupations where there is a long-term shortage of workers.
In order for foreigners to be admitted to the Polish labour market through the special procedure, several criteria must be met, such as:
- Possessing unique, highly specialised skills or being impossible to find such workers in Poland
- Monthly salaries at least comparable to that of Polish employees in a particular industry, so as not to create unfair competition
- A request from an employer making investments of strategic importance for the economy or defence
In addition, the system of declarations of employment of foreigners from selected countries will be maintained, with the possibility of changing the list of countries whose citizens are allowed to work in Poland.
The rules for the registration of intermediaries in the National Register of Employment Agencies will also be changed, and the procedures for removing agencies from the register will be speeded up.
Penalties for illegal intermediation and facilitating the illegal employment of foreigners will also be increased.
Study and educational migration
Poland plans to tighten the system for issuing student visas, including the introduction of enrolment quotas for foreigners to study at universities and semi-annual (instead of annual) clearance of absences.
Higher education institutions will also be more responsible for verifying the legality of students’ stay.
Integration
The new migration policy implies effective integration, which will take place in two dimensions: in relation to foreigners and in relation to society.
However, it is the foreigners themselves who will be required to adapt to the standards and social rules of the host country.
Actions aimed at the host society will be of an educational nature in order to help people better understand the consequences of the influx of immigrants. A particularly important aspect will be the prevention of any manifestations of racism or xenophobia.
These measures are intended to change the tone of the public debate on foreigners and immigration.
Independently of these plans, the Polish legislature is currently working on amending several existing legal acts regulating the employment of foreigners.
Electronic applications for stay available at Provincial Offices
The new draft Act on Foreigners proposes to:
- Replace the current paper applications for stay permits for foreigners with electronic applications
- the intention of the legislator is not to introduce an additional alternative form of application, but to eliminate paper and introduce only an electronic format
- applications would be completed in the electronic MOS system, signed with a qualified electronic signature and sent via this system to the relevant Provincial Office. Signing the application and sending it through the MOS system would be equivalent to submitting the document to the Immigration Office
- it will still be necessary to visit the immigration office in person to provide fingerprints and other required documents
- Replace the stamps in passports with a certificate of application for a stay permit
Graduation from schools providing post-secondary non-tertiary education (szkoła policealna) will not confirm Polish language skills
A major change awaits those who will apply for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit in the future.
This status is a kind of permit for permanent residence in Poland. It can be obtained by a foreigner who has legally resided in our country for 5 years prior to submitting the application and who has had a stable and regular source of income for the last 3 years. In addition, this type of permit requires knowledge of the Polish language at least at the communicative level (B1).
As a rule, knowledge of the Polish language is determined by a positive result of a state examination in Polish as a foreign language, confirmed by a certificate.
In practice, the Immigration Office has so far considered the condition of knowledge of Polish language to be fulfilled if the foreigner has graduated from a Polish secondary school, a Polish-language university or a foreign school with Polish as the language of instruction recognised in Poland. Thus, a foreigner who presented a document confirming that they had graduated from a Polish school where Polish was the language of instruction was not required to take the state examination.
The draft law provides for a change in this respect, as it excludes post-secondary schools (and their foreign equivalents with Polish as the language of instruction) from the list of educational institutions, the completion of which will allow future long-term residents to avoid the obligation to pass a language exam.
At present, many people choose post-secondary non-tertiary education as an alternative to the Polish language exam, among other reasons because, in addition to confirming their language skills, they gain new qualifications and free access to the labour market. The legislator is perhaps concerned that a post-secondary school, where studies can last only two semesters, does not always guarantee Polish language skills at the required level.
Draft act on access of foreigners to the labour market, i.e. new rules for employment of foreigners
The draft Act on the Conditions of Admissibility of Entrusting Work to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland will regulate the issues of their employment (and in this respect will replace the current Act on Employment Promotion and Labour Market Institutions) and the issues of integration programmes aimed at integrating foreigners into Polish society.
The draft act will have the same basic assumptions as the current regulations on employment promotion and labour market institutions with regard to the employment of foreigners, i.e.:
- Free access to the labour market for certain groups and a limited right to employment/work under the conditions specified in the work permit or other relevant administrative act, if any
The conditions for granting a work permit and the conditions for accepting (registering) a declaration of entrustment of work to a foreigner will be clarified and supplemented in order to facilitate their application and reduce abuse.
In particular, the draft provides for:
- The introduction of mandatory grounds for refusal of a work permit where the employer’s business was established or operates primarily for the purpose of facilitating the entry of third-country nationals
- The introduction of additional conditions for granting a work permit at the request of newly established entities or those using virtual offices
- A restriction of the possibility of making workers available under the guise of the so-called outsourcing of workers
- The abolition of the ‘labour market test’ procedure (checking whether it is possible to employ an unemployed person registered with the Labour Office for the vacancy to be filled by a foreigner)
- The introduction of provisions elevating sanctions for illegal employment of foreigners and providing false information in this regard (the amount of the fine will be proportional to the number of persons illegally employed and will range from PLN 3,000 to PLN 50,000 for each case of illegal employment)
- The electronic processing of administrative procedures related to the employment of foreigners, including the submission of an application for a work permit or a declaration, the collection of evidence in the case, the issuance or revocation of a decision, the appeal procedure
- The introduction of provisions for effective control by the Border Guard and the National Labour Inspectorate
- The introduction of provisions obliging employers to inform foreign workers of their rights in relation to their work or the possibility of joining trade unions
- The introduction of provisions on integration programmes for foreigners, such as assistance in learning Polish
The Ministry has announced that the latest draft of the law will not require foreigners to be employed solely on the basis of an employment contract.
In practice, this means that foreigners will still be allowed to be employed on the basis of civil law contracts.
Liberalisation of the conditions for obtaining an EU Blue Card
The Act on Foreigners has also been amended.
The draft amendment provides for the implementation of Directive (EU) 2021/1883/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2021 concerning new legal regulations related to entry, entitlements and the procedure for granting a temporary residence permit for the purpose of highly qualified employment (EU Blue Card)
The foreigner will be required to present a work contract (including a civil law contract) concluded for at least six months. Currently, the law requires a contract of at least one year.
In addition, Appendix 2 of the EU Blue Card application will be amended.
In addition to the existing obligation to present documents attesting to higher professional qualifications, workers will have to present documents certifying that they meet the formal requirements and other conditions required for the profession.
The grounds for refusing an EU Blue Card will also change.
The legislator has decided that the card will not be issued if the employer:
- Was established or operates primarily for the purpose of facilitating the entry of foreigners into the territory of the Republic of Poland
- Is managed or controlled by a person sanctioned by a final and non-revisable judgment for illegal employment of foreigners and who has been sanctioned again within 2 years of the judgment for a similar or other offence related to the illegal performance of work by a foreigner, or who has been convicted of an offence against the rights of persons performing paid work
- Fails to meet its obligation to pay social security contributions
- Is in arrears with taxes, except in cases where it has obtained an exemption, deferment, payment in instalments or total suspension of the execution of a decision by the competent authority, as provided for by law
- Carries out no economic activity or has declared bankruptcy
There will also be new grounds for withdrawing a granted permit, i.e.:
- If the circumstances of the case indicate that the permit is being used for a purpose other than that for which it was granted
- If the entity employing the foreigner does not fulfil its obligation to pay social security contributions or is in arrears with taxes (except as specified above)
Mobility of EU Blue Card holders
The amendment to the Act on Foreigners will introduce a new institution (previously unknown in Polish immigration law) relating to the mobility of EU Blue Card holders.
Mobility is the right of a foreigner to enter and stay in the territory of the European Union on the basis of a residence card or long-term visa issued in another EU Member State.
At present, the entry into Poland of a foreigner holding an EU Blue Card issued by another Member State does not confer any additional rights. The amendment will grant them the right to short-term and long-term mobility.
Short-term mobility is the right to stay and work in another EU country for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.
The term ‘work’ should be understood as an activity which:
- Is directly related to the economic interests of the entity employing the foreigner for that work in a highly qualified employment and is compatible with the professional duties of that foreigner
- Is carried out under a contract concluded with that entity in another EU Member State
- Involves attending internal or external business meetings, conferences or seminars, negotiating commercial contracts, undertaking sales or marketing activities, researching and identifying business opportunities or attending training courses
Long-term mobility is the right to enter and reside in an EU Member State for more than 90 days.
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