This article aims to present practical aspects of applying for a type A work permit through the praca.gov.pl platform.
A type A work permit allows a foreigner to be employed by an employer who has a registered office (residence or branch) in the territory of Poland. A type A work permit applies to a foreigner who, at the time of applying for the permit, is already in the territory of Poland, and therefore the recruitment process took place in the territory of Poland.
A type A work permit is therefore a completely different type of permit than a type C work permit (you can read about here: How to successfully complete an application for a Type C permit).
With a type A work permit, the applicant is the Polish employer and it is not possible for any other entity, even a foreigner, to apply.
Before filling out the application, make sure that you have the information obtained in advance from the relevant starost on the inability of Polish citizens to meet the employer’s staffing needs. This document is a mandatory attachment to the application. It is not necessary to ask the starost, among others, in the case where the foreigner has been continuously residing on Polish territory for at least 3 years, however, in such a case you should add “other attachments” that prove such a circumstance (e.g., an apartment lease agreement or a scan of all pages in the passport).
We recommend paying special attention to the following issues when filling out the application for a Type A work permit:
- The application for a Type A work permit is submitted by a Polish employer who wants to hire a specific foreigner in his company. You can submit this application either in person at the Voivodship Office in the Department for Foreigners (the relevant office is determined by the employer’s location submitting the application) or through the praca.gov.pl system (submitting the application electronically does not deprive you of the possibility of sending some of the documents in paper form;
- It is possible to submit the application through a professional attorney (which can be a significant convenience due to the complexity of the application), but it is not mandatory. Since the Polish employer typically uses the Polish language, the fact that the application for a type A work permit is only available in Polish should not be a problem. However, if an applicant is the attorney, you should remember to change the context each time (a term that appears on the praca.gov.pl platform) so that the application is completed on behalf of the relevant employer.
- In the physical (paper) “Type A work permit” document, the employer’s phone number and email address are indicated. Therefore, you must remember to include them in the application for a work permit. In practice, this is often forgotten, mainly due to not marking the email address as a required element in the application (no „asterisk”). However, if the employer’s email address is not provided (in section 1.3 of the application), the authority will request the application to be completed, which prolongs the process.
- Special attention should be paid to attachments.
The complete list of required documents can be found on the Voivodship Offices’ websites. However, please keep in mind that:
- The declaration of no criminal record must be completed by the employer (there is no possibility for an attorney to fill out this declaration). If you apply electronically, the safest way is to send such a statement by regular mail (original or certified copy);
- Be sure to include a power of attorney (as an “other” document – we also recommend sending it traditionally by post).
When filling out an application electronically, we recommend attaching attachments first, as uploading them often locks up the system and extends the application time significantly.
- Receipt of documents through the praca.gov.pl platform is done with a qualified signature, or a trusted signature. It is not possible to submit applications without having one of these signatures. As a rule, information about incoming letters should appear in the e-mail inbox (provided when creating an account on the praca.gov.pl platform), but we recommend self-verification in the system, as there are often situations where notifications land in spam or are not sent at all. Importantly, a letter is considered delivered 14 days after the letter is received in the inbox (on the praca.gov.pl platform). In the case of any formal deficiencies, the Office usually sets a deadline of either 14 or 21 days to correct them.
- In the case of a foreigner holding another document allowing legal work in Poland (e.g., a residence card of a family member of a EU citizen), the authority will refuse to initiate proceedings for the issuance of a type A work permit. It often happens that the employer, due to its internal procedures, requires the foreigner to possess, among other documents enabling work in Poland, a physical document titled “type A work permit” issued for employment with that specific employer. Unfortunately, in such cases, the authorities do not issue permits but rather issue decisions refusing to issue permits. The decision includes a comprehensive justification emphasizing the foreigner’s entitlement to legal work in Poland. Therefore, such a document can also serve as proof of the non-necessity of holding a specific “type A work permit.”
- It is important to remember that a type A work permit is tied to a specific employer. Thus, in the event of terminating the contract with the employer who applied for the permit, the next employer is obligated to submit a new application.
The procedure for obtaining a type A work permit currently takes even several months.
These are just some of the various issues you should pay special attention to when filling out an application for a Type A work permit. If you have any doubts about this type of permit – please feel free to contact us.
Maria Czechowska
Trainee attorney-at-law