It’s a Monday in October. Your work permit ends on 15 January, and you’ve just typed “work permit extension Poland” into your phone. Three forum threads say the same thing: file between 90 and 30 days before expiry. Your manager shrugs: “HR will sort it.” Nobody says what “it” is. Here’s the catch. Work permit renewal in Poland in 2026 doesn’t work the way those threads describe. Since 1 June 2025 the extension procedure is gone. What exists now is a brand-new application for a new permit, and your employer, not you, files it. Let’s go through what that means for your dates, your money and your karta pobytu.
So, is there still a work permit extension in Poland?
No. Voivodeship guidance (for example from Poznań and Gdańsk) says the extension procedure was abolished on 1 June 2025. If the employer wants to keep you longer, it files a new application for a new permit. The change comes from the act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners (Dz.U. 2025, item 621), which replaced the old employment-promotion law. For the wider immigration picture, start at gov.pl/web/cudzoziemcy.
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Why do so many guides still say “90 to 30 days”? Because under the previous law an extension had to be filed no earlier than 90 and no later than 30 days before the permit ended. Some voivode pages still show that rule, but it is labelled as applying to applications filed up to 31 May 2025. Don’t build your plan around it.
On paper it feels like the same job: same employer, same position. Legally it is a fresh case. That means fresh documents, a fresh fee and a fresh look at your contract and pay. If you still mix up the work permit and the residence card, read Work Permit vs Karta Pobytu in Poland 2026 first. They are two documents, issued by different offices.
Who files the new work permit — you or your employer?
Your employer. Under Article 12 of the act, the only party to the work permit proceedings is the entity entrusting you with work. Applications go in online through the praca.gov.pl portal. You can’t file it yourself, and you shouldn’t be paying someone to pretend you can.
That doesn’t make you powerless. Here is what you can do this week:
- Send HR the exact end date of your current permit, in writing (WhatsApp or email counts, a hallway chat doesn’t).
- Give them a clean copy of your passport and your current permit, so nobody has to chase you later.
- Ask them to confirm that your job title, workplace and salary on the new application match your real job.
- Ask for the filing confirmation the day the application is submitted, and keep a copy.
How much does a work permit renewal cost in 2026?
For a normal permit longer than three months, the fee is PLN 400, and it is the employer’s cost. The numbers changed on 1 December 2025, so older figures you hear from friends may be wrong.
These are the fees under the regulation of 20 November 2025 (published in the Dziennik Ustaw 2025, item 1622), in force from 1 December 2025:
- PLN 400 — work permit for a period longer than 3 months.
- PLN 200 — work permit for up to 3 months.
- PLN 100 — seasonal work permit.
- PLN 400 — employer’s declaration on entrusting work (oświadczenie), per entry.
The fee is charged per foreigner and per application, and it is generally not refunded if the permit is refused. Before 1 December 2025, a new permit longer than three months cost PLN 100. If someone quotes you that number today, they’re quoting last year.
Because the employer is the party to the case, the employer pays. If anyone asks you to hand over cash to “secure” or “speed up” the permit, treat it as a red flag and read How to Get a Job Offer in Poland From Bangladesh for what a normal, employer-paid process looks like. Seasonal permits are a different track, covered in our seasonal work permit guide.
Can I keep working while the new permit is being processed?
Sometimes yes, but only if your employer files in time. According to the text of the act and the voivode’s procedure page, if the employer files for a further permit while your current permit is still valid, for the same position or type of work, and the application has no formal gaps (or the gaps are fixed on time), your work on the existing terms is treated as legal from the day the old permit expires.
Read the conditions again, because each one matters:
- The application must be filed before the old permit ends. One day late is a different situation.
- It must cover the same position or type of work.
- The application must be complete, or any missing items fixed by the deadline the office sets.
- You keep working on the same terms. A new employer, a new role or a different pay package is not covered by this rule.
How long that protection lasts depends on how your case proceeds, so we check the actual file, not a forum post. You are not going to be deported tomorrow because HR is slow. But working without a valid basis is a real problem for you and for the employer, and we’d rather prevent it than repair it.
One more thing: this is about the right to work, not the right to stay. Your stay depends on your visa or karta pobytu. If your residence application is pending, see Is My Stay Legal While Waiting for Karta Pobytu? for what the stamp means after the 27 April 2026 change.
How does this connect to your karta pobytu renewal?
Closely. If your karta pobytu (Polish residence permit) is based on work, the voivodeship office looks at your work basis and your residence together. A work permit that ends before the period you ask the card for creates questions you don’t want to answer in a hurry. Your contract and pay also have to clear the 2026 floor, which we explain in PLN 4,806 Floor: Karta Pobytu Work Salary Threshold.
The two renewals run on separate clocks. The card has its own 90-day calendar, laid out in Karta Pobytu Expiring? 90-Day Renewal Calendar. And if you come from one of the countries that can work under an oświadczenie instead of a permit, compare both routes in Work Permit vs Oświadczenie in Poland 2026.
Here is an illustrative example (a composite, not a real client). Sunil, a CNC machinist from Punjab, had a permit ending in late February. In November he sent HR the end date in writing and a copy of his documents. HR filed in January, well before expiry, with the same job title and pay. He kept working on the same terms and used the filing confirmation when he prepared his karta pobytu papers. Nothing dramatic happened, which is exactly the point.
A practical timeline for your work permit renewal
The law does not give you a magic “apply on day X” rule any more, so use a buffer. The dates below are our practical advice, not statutory deadlines.
- Today: find the end date on your current permit and put a reminder about 90 days before it.
- Ask your employer in writing whether they plan to continue your employment. A clear yes or no helps you plan.
- Your employer files the new application on praca.gov.pl while the current permit is still valid, and pays PLN 400 (or PLN 200 for a period up to 3 months).
- Save the filing confirmation and the application number, with the date visible.
- Keep the same job, workplace and pay until the decision. Don’t change roles mid-process without asking us first.
- When the new permit arrives, check the dates and the job details, then use it in your karta pobytu file.
Practical tip: Ask HR to forward the praca.gov.pl filing confirmation on the same day it is submitted. A dated screenshot is your proof that the new application went in while your old permit was still valid.
Your employer files the new work permit. The residence card that depends on it is our part, and we would rather check your dates today than fix them later. Legal Solutions — 98% approval rate. Drop us a WhatsApp — we read every message.