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 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.

A foreigner is not obliged to present the so-called Labour market test when:

• the occupation that the foreigner intends to perform for this employer is on the list of shortage occupations. These lists are published in the ordinances of Voivodes for specific Voivodeship.
• immediately before submitting the application, the foreigner had a work permit or a temporary residence and work permit for the same employer and in the same position.
•  in the period of 3 years before submitting the application, the foreigner graduated from a university in Poland with its seat on its territory or in the territory of another State of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation.
•  the foreigner is a PhD student in Poland
•  the foreigner has been legally and continuously residing in Poland for 3 years preceding the submission of the application
•  the occupation that the foreigner intends to perform is included in the regulation of the competent labor minister on the situation when the work permit is issued to the voivode without a labor market test
•  the foreigner is exempt from the obligation to have a work permit under separate regulations
•  the foreigner does not need the labour market test if, directly before submitting the application for a work permit, he/she was employed with the same employer and in the same position for a period of not less than 3 months on the basis of a declaration of intention to entrust work to a foreigner, which was entered in the register statements. To be able to take advantage of this exemption, 3 months must be worked on the basis of an employment contract and documents confirming the payment of social security contributions.
•  the foreigner is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation or Ukraine and wants to perform nursing and care work or domestic help.