Karta Pobytu Tied to Employer? Poland TRC Guide 2026

It's Monday, 8:15. A warehouse employee messages you: another company made him an offer, and he asks whether he can simply switch jobs, because he already has a residence card. You are asking the opposite question: is a karta pobytu tied to the employer? Can you hire someone who arrives with a card issued for another company, and could you lose a worker you spent weeks recruiting? There is no single answer. It depends on what legal basis the foreigner's stay is built on. Here is how we walk company clients through it: what is in the decision, which deadlines run, and which mistakes cost the most.

Is a karta pobytu tied to the employer? It depends on the basis of stay

The karta pobytu (Polish residence permit, often searched as TRC) is just a card. It confirms identity and the right to stay. What binds a worker to one company is the decision behind the card. If it is a temporary residence and work permit (the single permit, zezwolenie jednolite), the voivode issues it in connection with a specific employer and specific working conditions. In practice: yes, that card is tied to the employer. Not as a printed name on the plastic, but as a condition set by the decision. Cards issued on other grounds (family, studies and similar) usually do not tie a person to one company. We cover that in our guide on cards not tied to an employer.

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What exactly ties a foreigner to your company under the single permit?

The single permit is one decision that combines two rights: to stay and to work. That is why the voivode looks at you, not only at the worker. These elements, taken from the documents you file together, keep the person attached to your company:

• the employer: the entity entrusting work, named in the application and in the decision;
• working and pay conditions, described in an attachment that the employer fills in and signs;
• the validity period: when the employer changes, offices list work that would last shorter than the permit as a ground for refusal;
• the pay level, which cannot be lower than the rules require.

Money matters too. According to voivodeship fee tables, the stamp duty for a temporary residence and work permit is PLN 440. The Warmia-Masuria Voivodeship Office also states that, under the act of 23 January 2026, the fee is not refunded even when the decision is negative; this applies to applications filed from 5 March 2026. Do not confuse this with the work permit. That is a separate document the employer applies for, different from the card. We explain the difference in work permit vs karta pobytu. A work permit itself cannot be moved to another employer: a change of employer means a new permit.

Your employee wants to change employer: how a change of permit works

A new contract does not finish the job. For a single permit, the change goes through a separate procedure at the voivodeship office. The order is usually this:

1. The new employer prepares the data for the attachment: position, salary, working time and employment period.
2. The foreigner files the application to change the permit at the office competent for their place of stay. According to office guidance, the foreigner signs the application and the employer fills in and signs the attachment. Check the current form of your office.
3. Fee: one voivodeship office (West Pomeranian) lists PLN 220 for changing a temporary residence and work permit. Confirm the amount with your own office before paying.
4. The office checks, among other things, the employment period and the salary. A refusal is also possible if the worker did not notify the voivode about losing the previous job on time.
5. Before the new hire starts on the new terms, confirm with the office or a lawyer from which date work is allowed. Do not assume it.

Work permits (not residence permits) follow different rules. We described them in changing jobs on a work permit.

An illustrative example (composite, not a real client): a logistics company wanted to hire a driver from Nepal who held a valid card issued for his previous employer. HR assumed a contract was enough. Only the document review showed that a change application was needed, and the former employer had never reported the end of cooperation. Sorting the paperwork took a few days instead of weeks of argument with the office.

Your employee loses the job or never starts: who watches the deadlines?

Deadlines run for both sides, and companies miss them most often. Information from the Zielona Linia portal and voivodeship offices says the following:

• the foreigner has 15 working days after the work ends to notify the voivode in writing (art. 121 of the Act on Foreigners) or to file an application to change the permit in that same window; the application then replaces the notification;
• if the worker does neither, a later change application may fail, and a missing notification is a listed ground for refusing the change;
• the voivode will not revoke the permit within 30 days of losing the job with the employer named in the decision;
• employer side: according to the Lubuskie Voivodeship Office, from 1 June 2026 notifications about a foreigner not starting work, interrupting it or ending it are submitted electronically through praca.gov.pl.

We do not give a single number of days for the employer, because sources quote different deadlines depending on the type of notification and the legalisation basis. Check the deadline and scope in the act on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners and on praca.gov.pl. General information for employers is also at gov.pl/web/cudzoziemcy.

Practical tip: For each foreign employee, put two dates in the HR calendar: the end of the permit's validity and the day cooperation ends. The worker's 15 working days and your notification through praca.gov.pl both count from the second one.

Hiring someone with a karta pobytu: what to check before the contract

A card in the candidate's hand is not enough. Before you sign, run through a short checklist:

• on what basis the card was issued: ask for the decision, not only the plastic (temporary residence and work permit or another basis);
• who is named as the employer and whether it is you; if not, a change of the permit is needed;
• until when the permit is valid and whether your contract fits inside that period;
• whether the salary meets the requirements; to understand the floor, read our article on the karta pobytu salary threshold;
• if the candidate is waiting for a decision and has a stamp in the passport, ask for the case documents and confirm exactly what they may do before you start paying for hours.

Getting it wrong costs more than a worker. Illegal entrusting of work to a foreigner brings sanctions for the company, including fines, described on Zielona Linia. The amounts depend on the provision and have changed over time, so check the current text of the act. Our piece on why cases fail on the salary threshold will help you avoid a mistake in the contract.

What Legal Solutions does, and what we do not do

We help companies on the residence card side: we check on what basis an employee stays in Poland legally, prepare documents, handle karta pobytu cases, appeals after refusals, and speed up stuck cases (ponaglenie, complaint about inaction). We do not obtain visas, work permits or oświadczenia; the employer or the consulate does that. If you employ foreigners and want clarity about what their decisions say and which deadlines run, see our offer for companies: legalsol.pl/b2b. We prepare, advise on the order of steps and accompany you in residence matters. We do not act as an advocate or legal counsel.

Have an employee with a karta pobytu and not sure whether they are tied to your company? Send us a message and we will review the documents before the office does. Legal Solutions — 98% approval rate.