GMI Legal Update: Employment of Foreigners without Work Permit under the Poland Business Harbor Program still Possible, but under New Rules

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has suspended the its participation in referring visa recommendations issued by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) to Polish consulates under the Poland Business Harbor program.

This means closure of the so-called business path of the Poland Business Harbor program, which so far allowed Polish companies to bring foreign workers to Poland and employ them in Poland without first going through the time-consuming process of obtaining a work permit.

Despite the above change, employing foreign workers in Poland without work permit using the Poland Business Harbor program is still possible under the so-called an individual path, which remains an attractive alternative to the standard immigration process of obtaining a work permit and then a work visa. The individual path can be used by employers who intend to employ IT specialists from Belarus, Russia, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan (as well as from Ukraine, however, Ukrainian citizens currently benefit from separate, even further going facilitation in undertaking employment in Poland).