Tuesday, 9:15. A production manager near Łódź messages HR: “The board approved 12 welders from India and 8 warehouse workers from Nepal. When do they start?” An hour later a second message arrives – an agency in Manila has forklift operators from the Philippines ready to travel. That is the moment you realise that hiring workers from India, Nepal and the Philippines in Poland does not begin with a contract. It begins with an application, a fee and a decision from the office. Every step has its own deadlines, and a mistake costs real money. Below is the map: what the company files, what the worker files, what the office checks, and what an error can cost.
Hiring foreign workers from India, Nepal and the Philippines: why the simplified declaration won’t work
The simplified route with a declaration on entrusting work is available to citizens of selected countries (for example Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova). Citizens of India, Nepal and the Philippines cannot use it – check the current list of countries on praca.gov.pl and the public employment services portal. For workers from Asia you need either a work permit or a temporary residence and work permit. Since 1 June 2025 the Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners applies: work permit applications are filed electronically only, via praca.gov.pl, and the earlier labour market test (the starosta’s information that no local candidates are available) is no longer required.
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In practice you have two main routes, and the choice depends on where the worker is today:
- Route 1 – work permit: your company files the application on praca.gov.pl, and after the decision the worker applies for a national visa at the consulate. This fits people who are still abroad.
- Route 2 – temporary residence and work permit (the “single permit”): the application goes through the MOS system and your company completes Attachment 1. This fits people who are already legally in Poland.
- Route 3 – continuation: extending stay and work for someone who already works for you. The deadline for filing before the end of legal stay is what matters here.
Work permit: the company’s application, the fee and wage conditions
The application is filed by the entity entrusting the work, not by the foreigner. You file through an individual account on praca.gov.pl, and the competent voivode is determined by your company’s registered seat. For each application you pay a fee: PLN 200 for work up to 3 months or PLN 400 for work longer than 3 months, with the foreigner’s name in the payment title. A permit can be issued for up to 3 years, but the authority may shorten it. Current rates and rules are published on the voivodeship offices’ pages on gov.pl.
- Position, working time and type of contract are stated in the application – they later define what the foreigner may do for you.
- Pay must not be lower than the minimum wage (PLN 4,806 gross per month in 2026) and not lower than pay for comparable employees.
- Changing the position, rate or workplace while the decision is valid? Check first whether it requires amending the permit – only then change the terms.
National visa or temporary residence and work permit: where is your worker today?
If the candidate lives in India, Nepal or the Philippines, then after the work permit decision they apply for a national visa at the Polish consulate through e-Konsul. Visa appointment times can be unpredictable, so never promise a worker or a client a fixed start date – build in a buffer. Filipino applicants also often ask about electronic delivery; we describe it in e-Doręczenia and MOS: what Filipino applicants must set up.
If the worker is already legally in Poland, then since 27 April 2026 the application for a temporary residence and work permit is filed electronically only, in MOS – the foreigner signs it with a Trusted Profile or a qualified electronic signature. The stamp duty is PLN 440 (the residence card is paid separately – check the current amount in MOS). Your part is Attachment 1: you fill it in within MOS and a person authorised to represent the company signs it through login.gov.pl. The official explanations are on the pages of the Office for Foreigners and the MOS portal. For the filing steps see Karta Pobytu via MOS Online: 7 Steps, and for the employer’s role Karta Pobytu for Your Employee: What the Employer Must Do.
Employer duties after work starts and fines for legalisation mistakes
The office’s decision is not the end of your role. If you are named in a temporary residence and work permit and the foreigner loses the job with you, you must notify the voivode who issued the permit in writing within 15 days. Entrusting work without the required authorisation can lead to a fine of PLN 3,000 to PLN 50,000, with the minimum counted per foreigner. For deliberate acts the range is PLN 6,000 to PLN 50,000. The basics are described by Zielona Linia, and our overview is in Employer Fines in Poland 2026.
- The first working day comes only once the right to work is in place – not “on a trial basis”.
- Contract, position and rate match what was stated in the application.
- Track the validity of the permit, visa or residence card – your own deadline calendar for each worker.
- Answer office letters fast; deadlines to respond can be very short (see our post on wezwanie letters).
Illustrative example (a generalised story, not a real client): a logistics company in Wielkopolska let four workers from Nepal onto the warehouse floor “on trial” before the permits were issued. An inspection found work without authorisation, the fine was counted per person, and the team stood idle for weeks. Afterwards the company adopted one rule: decision and complete documents first, first working day second.
Practical tip: keep one control card per foreign employee with three dates – the end of the visa or residence card, the end of the work permit, and the deadline by which a continuation application must be filed. That way you won’t learn about a problem from an office letter.
Five mistakes that cost companies the most time and money
- Starting work before the right to work exists – the most expensive error, because the fine applies to each person separately.
- Pay entered as “approximate” and lower than the minimum wage or than comparable employees earn.
- Trusting an intermediary without checking that the application was actually filed and paid.
- No deadline calendar of your own – a continuation application filed too late.
- Ignoring a letter from the office. See how a short deadline works: Wezwanie Letter from the Urząd: 7 Days to Answer
Employing foreigners or planning to, and want your paperwork to hold up? See our offer for companies: legalsol.pl/b2b. Drop us a WhatsApp on +48 735 248 525 – we read every message. Legal Solutions — 98% approval rate.