While waiting for a residence permit in Poland, it is often necessary to change employers, or having a residence permit, it is also necessary to change employers. We will try to answer the question: How to change employer with a residence card in Poland.

Nowadays, changing jobs is not an exceptional situation, and foreigners are no exception. However, not all of them have unlimited access to the labour market. On the contrary: participation often depends on obtaining a work permit in advance.

What if a change of employer occurs during the process of applying for a Polish residence card, temporary residence and work permit? Which changes do not require a change of decision and which ones require a corresponding application? And lastly – is it possible to change employer after obtaining a residence permit?

Residence card legalisation of stay and work in one procedure

Temporary residence and work permit – one of the types of temporary residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Poland. As the name implies, the main purpose of stay in this case is work. On the basis of a single decision a foreigner obtains both a residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Poland and a work permit, therefore it is commonly referred to as a single permit.

Such regulation (Article 114 et seq. of the Aliens Act) entered the Polish legal system as a result of the implementation of EU regulations. We can also find similar solutions in other EU member states.

Change of a person entrusting the performance of work during the period of consideration of a case on an administrative offence.

The first case concerns the situation when a candidate reports that he/she has applied for a residence card or temporary residence permit in the territory of the Republic of Poland and the case is still pending. Such a situation is most often confirmed by a stamp in the passport indicating the date of application or a printout from the online case tracking system.

In such a situation, it will be necessary to include in the case file documents about the new employer and terms of employment. In the case of a temporary residence permit under Article 114 of the Aliens Act, it basically boils down to updating Annex 1, i.e. provide a new printout and documents confirming the authorisation of the person signed under it (most often this will be the permit and – to facilitate the inspector’s work and speed up the case – an extract from the relevant register).

Also do not forget to provide documents related to the change in the content of Annex 1, e.g. new information from the headman.

Changing the person entrusting the work after receiving the decision and the residence card.

It often happens, especially in the case of organisations that have not previously employed foreigners, that when recruiting new people they focus only on the residence card itself. Meanwhile, the residence card, i.e. the plastic plate, which is an identity document, was issued on the basis of a decision of the competent voivode, on the basis of which a foreigner is granted a residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Therefore, when employing a foreigner, the first thing we should pay attention to is the decision.

We can learn from it to what extent the foreigner has access to the labour market and then decide what steps should be taken to ensure that the candidate is employed in accordance with the rules.

What can be changed without submitting a new application for a residence card.

The Aliens Act allows for very limited post-judgment modification.

Firstly, the law lists the cases in which no modification of the judgement is required. So, according to Art. 119 of the Aliens Act

  • change of residence, name or legal form of the person entrusting the performance of work in Poland to a foreigner, or taking over the employer or a part thereof by another employer,
  • transfer of the workplace or part thereof to another employer,
    replacement of a civil law contract with a labour contract
    do not require a change or issuance of a new temporary residence and work permit.

This means that, for example, if the location of the company employing the foreigner changes after the permit is issued, and we remember that the location is a city and not a specific address, i.e. when the company moves from Warsaw to Krakow. The change of the decision is not required.

In the context of the quoted provision, one element is worth noting. In case of takeover or transfer of a legal entity, the regulation provides for a legal entity having the status of employer. In other words, if a foreigner, for example, was performing work under a labour contract, no change of permit is required. However, if it was a mandate contract and the principal has changed, this regulation does not apply.

When you can request a change of the decision on the residence card.

The Act on Foreigners in Article 120 lists the cases in which it is possible to change the decision. Thus, the decision on the basis of which the foreigner was granted a temporary residence and work permit may be changed at any time at the request of the foreigner by the voivode in charge of the foreigner’s current place of residence, if:

  • the alien intends to work for another employer-user;
  • the position in which the alien is to perform the work changes,
    the amount of remuneration is reduced (relative to the amount specified in the decision),
  • the working hours are changed,
  • the type of contract under which the alien is to perform the work is changed.

Under the above provision, a modification of the decision requires a reduction of the remuneration in relation to the amount specified in its contents. On the other hand, the modification of the decision does not require an increase in remuneration and its reduction if, as a result, it will not be lower than the amount specified in the decision.

In this case, in accordance with Art. 114 para. 1 para. 5 of the Aliens Act, which regulates the conditions for granting temporary residence and work permits, the remuneration may not be lower than the minimum wage.