The list of circumstances exempting a foreigner from the necessity to have a work permit is quite wide, they include people who have:

•  a valid Pole’s Card;
•  graduate status of: Polish secondary schools, full-time studies (bachelor’s, engineering, master’s) at Polish universities, full-time doctoral studies at Polish universities, research institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences or research institutes operating on the basis of regulations on research institutes;
•  status of a full-time student or doctoral student in Poland;
• a declaration of entrusting work to foreigner entered in the register of declarations (in the period specified in this declaration);
•  the spouse of a Polish citizen with a temporary residence permit issued on this basis;
•  a person with a residence permit, e.g. permanent, long-term EU resident.

It depends. If a foreigner is exempt from the need to have a work permit (e.g. a graduate of a Polish university), he or she may legally work for another employer, without the need for a work permit. This is due to the fact that he/she is legally entitled to work without a permit. Moreover, the decision on the basis of which a temporary residence and work permit is granted to a foreigner who is a graduate of a Polish university (who joined the full-time graduation diploma in Poland during the procedure) does not specify the employer. It is enough for this foreigner to provide the new employer with a copy of the full-time graduation diploma in Poland. This copy must be included in the employee documentation in the case of an inspection of the legality of employment carried out, for example, by the Border Guard.

However, it is not possible to admit work to a foreigner who is not exempt from the need to have a work permit. In this situation, it will be necessary to register a declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner or submit an application for a type A work permit for a given foreigner.

It is a work permit issued by the Voivode competent for the seat or place of residence of the employer or the Masovian Voivode, when due to the specificity of work performed by a foreigner it is impossible to determine the main place of work;

Who? The permit is issued to a foreigner coming from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland who is not exempt from the obligation to have a work permit under separate regulations.

For how long? This permit is issued for a maximum of 3 years, with the possibility of its extension (the application for renewal should be submitted not earlier than 90 days and not later than 30 days before the expiry of the permit).

The starost’s information about the local labor market is information about the lack of possibility to meet staffing needs, and more precisely that there are no registered unemployed who could take the position indicated in the job advertisement submitted to the Poviat Labour Office. If there are no unemployed people who could work in the indicated position, the Starost will issue information about the inability to meet the staffing needs.