Amendment to the Act on Foreigners and certain other acts

 On January 4, 2022, the President signed an amendment to the act on foreigners and some other acts. The purpose of introducing changes to the regulations is primarily to improve the legalization of foreigners' stay in Poland.

 The legislator simplified the conditions for granting a temporary residence and work permit by introducing the following changes to the provision: in order to obtain a permit, it is no longer required to have a source of stable and regular income sufficient to cover the costs of maintaining oneself and family members who are dependent on the foreigner and a place of residence in Poland, however, after the change, the amount of the foreigner's monthly remuneration may not be lower than the amount of the minimum remuneration for work, regardless of the working time and the type of legal relationship constituting the basis for the performance of work.

A new mode of changing the temporary residence and work permit has been introduced. Until now, the change of the permit was not possible due to the change of the entity entrusting the performance of work indicated in the decision. The amendment introduced the possibility of changing the permit for temporary residence and work with the above-mentioned reason within the period of validity of the permit granted so far. The Act provides that the application for amendment is to be submitted on the form specified by the minister competent for internal affairs by way of a regulation.

In addition, the catalog of circumstances that do not require a change of the temporary residence and work permit was extended, in addition to the existing ones, the legislator introduced: changing the name of the position at which the foreigner performs work, while maintaining the scope of his duties, or increasing the working time with a proportional increase in remuneration. In these situations, the foreigner does not have to apply for a change of the temporary residence and work permit.

The amendment also introduces a solution that facilitates obtaining a temporary residence and work permit by foreigners who intend to work in entities of particular strategic importance for the Polish economy. Examination of cases for such a permit will take precedence over other matters in order to attract foreign investors to Poland.

Another change is the extension of the validity period of the declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner. The amendment replaces "periods of work performed on the basis of declarations entered in the declaration register amount to a total of no longer than 6 months in the next 12 months" to "the period of work specified in the submitted declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner is no longer than 24 months", so the legislator not only extends the period of validity of the declaration, but also removes the restriction of the consent to work for a maximum of 6 months, after which there had to be a break.

The amendment also shortens the periods of consideration of cases in Provincial Offices:

• up to 60 days in cases for temporary residence in the first instance, counted in a special way, from the moment when all formal deficiencies in the application for a temporary residence permit have been corrected;
• up to 90 days in cases for temporary residence in second instance;
• up to 30 days for processing applications for certain national visas, i.e. visas issued for the purpose of study, research or development work, internships or participation in the European Voluntary Service program;
• up to 6 months in cases of granting a permanent residence permit and a long-term resident's European Union residence permit, counted in a special way, from the moment when all formal deficiencies in the application for a temporary residence permit have been completed.

 If you need help with the legalization of stay or work procedure, contact us at: info@consultinvest.pl and our specialists will help you with all formalities!