#Alert: Russian citizens will lose facilitations in performing work in Poland

The Ministry of Family and Social Policy is planning to limit the possibility for Russians to work in Poland, starting from October. The exact date of the changes is not known yet. So far, Russian citizens have been able to undertake work under simplified rules. The changes are related to other sanctions introduced earlier by European Union countries (including Poland), e.g. restrictions on the issuance of visas or limitations on the possibility of entering Poland for certain groups of Russian travelers.

It is planned to remove Russia from the list of countries whose citizens can perform work on the basis of a declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner (registered by the employer at the local labor office). Currently, this type of document allows a foreigner to work for a period of up to 24 months, and its registration usually takes only a few days. This is a much faster solution than obtaining a work permit for a foreigner. Issuing a work permit takes up to several months – the awaiting time varies between regions in Poland.

Depending on the final shape of the adopted regulations, not only newly employed foreigners may lose the possibility to perform work on the basis of the declaration. Also, Russian citizens who have already started work on the basis of the declaration may also lose this possibility. The text of the new regulation has not yet been published. If the new regulation does not contain appropriate solutions for transition period, foreigners from Russia will have to stop working after the new regulations come into force, until a work permit is obtained for them.

Depriving Russians of the right to work on the basis of the declaration will extend the process of their possible employment, but will not prevent it. It will still be possible to obtain a work permit for a foreigner from Russia instead of the declaration. However, the awaiting time for a foreigner to start work will be significantly longer due to the longer time needed to obtain a document legalizing work in Poland.

Our team constantly monitors changes in Polish immigration law and will follow the progress of work on the removal of facilitations in the employment of Russians.