Does the PLN 4,806 apply if I only work half-time?

Yes. The official guidance says the monthly pay must reach the minimum regardless of whether you work a quarter, a half or full time. That means a half-time job has to pay the same monthly gross as a full-time one, or you need other documented work that brings the total up.

Is umowa zlecenie accepted, or do I need umowa o pracę?

The threshold doesn't depend on the contract type. The same PLN 4,806 gross a month applies whether you're on zlecenie or an employment contract. What matters is that the monthly pay in the paperwork really reaches that figure, including in your slowest month.

Can two part-time jobs add up to the minimum?

Yes. If you work for several employers, the requirement is met when the sum of your gross monthly pay from all of them reaches the minimum. The catch is paperwork: each job needs a proper contract, and the file has to show the total clearly.

Is PLN 4,806 gross or net?

Gross, meaning before tax and contributions. In 2026 that works out to roughly PLN 3,600 in your hand. So don't judge your pay by the transfer you get. Look at the gross (brutto) line on the contract and payslip.

Salary Threshold for Karta Pobytu 2026: PLN 4,806

It's the last week of the month. You open your payslip and the number at the top says PLN 4,300 gross. Your application for a Karta Pobytu (Polish residence permit) is in, or about to go in, and a friend just told you 'there's a minimum salary now.' Is he right? Does it apply if you work part-time? What about zlecenie? That's the salary threshold for Karta Pobytu 2026 in a nutshell: one monthly number that the office checks against your paperwork. Sri Lankan workers hit it often, and usually for reasons that have nothing to do with being a bad employee. Here's how it works, where it breaks, and how to check yourself tonight.

So, what is the salary threshold for Karta Pobytu in 2026?

Since 1 January 2026 the minimum wage in Poland is PLN 4,806 gross a month (PLN 31.40 an hour). For a temporary residence and work permit, the pay your employer declares must be no lower than what comparable colleagues earn, and on a monthly basis no lower than that minimum. The official Q&A on the foreigners' portal (MOS questions and answers) says it plainly: at least PLN 4,806 gross a month, regardless of working time and regardless of the contract type. General guidance for foreigners sits on gov.pl/web/cudzoziemcy.

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Read that rule twice, because two details trip people up. First, 'regardless of working time' means a quarter-time or half-time job is held to the same monthly figure as a full-time one. Second, 'regardless of contract type' means umowa zlecenie and umowa o pracę are judged by the same number. And it's the gross figure, the line called brutto, not what lands in your bank account. Don't compare your transfer to 4,806. Look at the gross line.

What the office is really looking at:

The gross monthly pay written in your contract and in your employer's application.
Whether that pay is at least what colleagues doing comparable work receive.
If you have more than one job, your combined gross monthly pay. Together the jobs must reach the minimum.

For the wider wage picture, including how the 2026 rise changed things, see our minimum wage in Poland 2026 breakdown.

A payslip and a calculator on a desk: the gross line is the only salary number the urząd cares about

Why do Sri Lankan workers' Karta Pobytu cases fail on salary?

Rarely because anyone lied. Usually because the paperwork says one thing and real life says another. These are the patterns we see again and again:

The hourly zlecenie that doesn't add up. PLN 31.40 an hour times 150 hours is PLN 4,710. That's PLN 96 short of the line, and a slow month on the rota can do that to a 'full-time' job.
The fractional contract. A quarter-time job at PLN 1,200 gross doesn't pass on its own. The part-time rule doesn't scale the threshold down.
The old template. The employer reuses a contract written before 1 January 2026, with a pay figure from the old minimum, and nobody notices.
Gross versus net confusion. HR says 'you get 4,000', meaning net, and the contract says something else entirely.
Two jobs, one document. You earn enough across both employers, but only one paper is in the file, so the total never shows.

Here's a composite example, not a real client. Dilan, a warehouse operator from Colombo, worked on an hourly zlecenie at PLN 31.40. His contract said 'up to 160 hours', but the rota gave him about 148 in most months. That's roughly PLN 4,647 gross, around PLN 159 under the threshold every single month. Before filing, his employer switched him to a fixed monthly gross above the minimum, and the pay problem was gone before the file ever reached the urząd.

Warehouse shifts rarely come out the same every month, which is exactly why hourly pay needs a worst-month check

Umowa zlecenie or part-time: what actually passes the check?

Both can pass. Neither passes automatically. The contract type isn't the test, the monthly gross is. Our guide to umowa zlecenie versus umowa o pracę for Karta Pobytu goes deeper on the contract side. For the threshold itself, use this rule of thumb:

Fixed monthly gross at or above PLN 4,806: the cleanest option, because the number doesn't move with the rota.
Hourly pay: calculate your worst realistic month, not your best. At PLN 31.40 an hour you need at least 154 paid hours (153 hours gives PLN 4,804.20, which is just under).
Part-time at a low monthly figure: either raise the monthly gross to the threshold, or document a second job so the combined gross clears it.
Ask for the pay to be written as 'monthly gross: PLN X' in the contract. Vague wording like 'according to the schedule' invites questions.

What if your pay changes after you file?

Life moves faster than paperwork. Hours get cut, a shift ends, an employer closes a site. If you lose the job, the clock for telling the office is short, as we explain in Lost your job in Poland: 15 working days to tell the urząd. If you move to a new employer, read changed employer in Poland: 15 working days to notify the urząd before you sign anything.

One more thing that catches people out: a new, lower-paid contract can reopen exactly this threshold question. If your new employer offers PLN 4,500 gross 'to start', that isn't a small compromise. It can put your status in question. Check the gross number before you sign, not after.

Signing a new contract? Read the gross monthly figure first and the start date second

How do you check your own pay before you file?

Ten minutes, a payslip and a phone calculator are enough:

Find the gross monthly figure (brutto) in your contract and on your latest payslip. Ignore the net amount.
Compare it with PLN 4,806. If it's lower, stop here and talk to your employer first.
If you're paid by the hour, multiply the rate by the hours of your slowest recent month, not your best.
If you have two or more jobs, add up the gross monthly pay of all of them, and make sure every contract is in the file.
Ask your employer for a corrected contract or annex before filing. You'll pay PLN 440 when you submit and PLN 100 for the card itself, so it's worth getting the number right the first time.

Practical tip: Before you file, ask your employer to confirm one line in writing: 'monthly gross pay: PLN ____'. If that number is under PLN 4,806, fix the contract first, not after the office asks.

Pay numbers feel boring until one of them decides your status, and then they're the only thing that matters. Legal Solutions — 98% approval rate. Drop us a WhatsApp — we read every message.