Work-based residence card. (Hourly residence card)

Temporary residence and work permit

A pobytu card or temporary residence and work permit (karta chasowy pobytu) is a type of temporary residence permit granted for the purpose of performing work in Poland. It is usually called a “single permit” because it combines elements of a residence permit (i.e. a permit that entitles you to stay in Poland) and a work permit (i.e. a permit that entitles you to perform work in Poland, according to its conditions).

This permit (card of hourly residence) is granted in the form of an administrative decision to third-country nationals (i.e. persons who do not have citizenship of one of the EU states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland) and stateless persons intending to find employment or continue working in Poland.

Due to its general nature, foreigners with different levels of qualifications and skills – both low-skilled and highly skilled workers – can apply for this permit. Nevertheless, before submitting an application, professionals are advised to check beforehand if they do not meet the requirements for a temporary residence permit for work in a profession requiring high qualifications (the so-called Blue Card permit), which is the permit intended for them.

Excluded from the possibility of this authorization were:

• Employees seconded by a foreign employer located outside the territory of the Republic of Poland – if you belong to this category of employees, check the possibilities of obtaining a temporary residence permit for the performance of work by a foreigner seconded by a foreign employer to the territory of the Republic of Poland.
• Foreigners transferred internally within the enterprise,
• Seasonal employees, i.e. foreigners performing work recognized by law as seasonal (e.g. in agriculture or tourism) – if you belong to this category of workers, check the possibility of obtaining a temporary residence permit in connection with seasonal work.
• Foreigners carrying out entrepreneurial activities in the territory of the Republic of Poland – if you belong to this category of workers, check the possibilities of obtaining a temporary residence permit for carrying out entrepreneurial activities, and then, if you intend to perform additional work for the benefit of another entity, apply for a work permit if this is necessary for you.
• Foreigners staying on the territory of Poland on the basis of obligations stipulated by international agreements on the facilitation of entry and temporary stay of certain categories of natural persons engaged in trade exchange or investment.
• Foreigners staying on the territory of Poland on the basis of a visa (national or Schengen) issued by the consul of the Republic of Poland for tourist purposes or to visit family or friends.
• Foreigners staying on the territory of Poland on the basis of a tourist visa or for the purpose of visiting family or friends issued by another Schengen state.

Such a permit (card of hourly visit) is issued by the voivode competent in the place of stay of the foreigner, and in case of appeal – by the Head of the Office for Foreigners, for the period necessary for the realization of the purpose of stay – minimally for a period of more than 3 months, but not more than 3 years.

Such a permit is not automatically renewed – a foreigner interested in continuing his/her stay in Poland until its expiry must apply for a temporary residence permit, e.g. the following temporary residence and work permit, or a permit of indefinite duration (i.e. permanent residence permit or long-term resident’s EU residence permit), provided that he/she meets the requirements necessary for its granting.

Such a permit (hr. pobytu card) may contain requirements to perform work in Poland, including specifying the entity entrusting the work (possibly also the employer), as well as specifying the position and the lowest level of salary received. Performing work in accordance with these requirements, if specified in the content of the judgment and not subsequently modified, is contrary to law and may result in a default judgment or criminal liability.

Requirements for obtaining a residence card.

In order for a foreigner to be able to obtain a temporary residence and work permit (Hourly Residence Card), the following requirements must be met in total:

• he/she must be a person entitled to a temporary residence and work permit – thus, he/she must be a citizen of the Third State or a stateless person and, at the time of applying for it, be legally present in Poland on the territory of Poland on the basis of a short-term residence permit (with the exception of a stay for humanitarian purposes, visiting family or friends, in connection with a business trip);
• both the stated and actual purpose of his stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland must be to perform or continue work in the territory of the Republic of Poland (Art. 114 para. 1), which is not seasonal work, and he is not seconded by a foreign employer, or does not serve on the board of a joint stock company or a limited liability company whose shares or stock he does not own, or does not act as a trustee.
• performance of such work must serve as a basis for applying for a temporary residence and work permit and must justify his/her stay on the territory of Poland for more than 3 months;
• will fulfill the formal requirements related to the permit, including: submitting the application in person, on a form, together with the necessary annexes, as well as presenting a valid travel document (or in legal cases, if the foreigner does not have a travel document and it is impossible to obtain one – another document confirming his/her identity), submitting fingerprints (except in cases where fingerprinting is physically impossible) and paying stamp duty;
• has health insurance in accordance with the Act of August 27, 2004 on publicly financed health services or confirmation by the insurer of coverage of medical expenses on the territory of the Republic of Poland;
• the entity entrusting the performance of the work does not have the possibility to meet the needs for personnel on the local labor market – this requirement does not apply in strictly statutory cases, namely if: the foreigner immediately before submitting the application had a work permit or a temporary residence permit and worked for the same employer in the same position, or if, for 3 years before submitting the application, he or she was legally and continuously present on the territory of the Republic of Poland, or if he or she is a graduate of a Polish secondary school (in the case of a foreigner who is a graduate of a Polish secondary school), or if he or she is a graduate of a Polish secondary school.
• the salary that he/she will receive, which is indicated by the entity entrusting the work in the annex to the application for temporary residence permit, is not lower than the salary of employees performing in the same staff regime work of a comparable type or in a comparable position;
• for regulated professions – meets the specific, statutory requirements for performing work in the profession.

IMPORTANT!

• The remuneration received must be at least PLN 3,490 gross per month, regardless of the extent to which the foreigner performs or intends to perform the work (i.e. whether the application concerns 1/4, 1/2 full-time or full-time work). temporary employment) and on what its performance is based (e.g. employment contract, contract for specific work).
• If the foreigner performs work for more than one person, the remuneration requirement will be considered met if the amount of remuneration received in each month exceeds the minimum remuneration for the work (i.e. if the foreigner performs work for employer A in 1/4 full-time jobs and employer B, 3/4 full-time jobs, and the remuneration from both sources listed in the attachments to the application exceeds PLN 3,490 gross per month, the foreigner will meet the requirement to issue a permit covering

What documents are required to apply for the Sentry Card.

Documents required at the application stage.

A foreigner applying for a temporary residence and work permit shall submit to the voivode corresponding to the place of his/her stay:

• filled in, in accordance with the instructions, the application form for temporary residence permit – on pain of leaving the application without consideration.The rules for filling in the application form are set out in the next step: “Filling in the application form”.
• Appendix No. 1 to the application for a temporary residence permit, fully completed by the employer and signed by a person authorized to represent the employer – on pain of leaving the application without consideration. It should be remembered that the terms and conditions of the assignment of work set out in Appendix 1 must be valid on the date of the permit and must be consistent with those arising from other documents, such as the employment contract or the headman’s certificate.
• 4 current photographs showing the foreigner’s face without headgear and darkening glasses, meeting the specific criteria established by law, i.e.. undamaged, in color, with good sharpness; 35 mm x 45 mm in size; taken not earlier than 6 months before the date of application; presenting an image of the face from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, so that the face occupies 70-80% of the photograph, on a uniform white background, depicting the alien looking straight ahead, with open eyes, uncovered by hair, with a natural expression and closed mouth, and showing the natural color of his/her skin; a clear picture of the alien’s eyes, especially his pupils, and the line of the alien’s eyes must be parallel to the upper edge of the photograph – on pain of leaving the application without consideration.The regulations allow for a situation in which:

– an alien who wears a headdress according to the principles of his religion shall attach to the application photographs depicting him wearing that headdress, provided that the facial image is fully visible in the photograph, and he shall attach to the application the alien’s declaration of belonging to a religious community;

– An alien with congenital or acquired defects of the organ of vision may attach to the application photographs showing him or her wearing dark glasses; however, in this case, he or she must attach documents proving the disability and, if they cannot be produced, file a disability declaration;

– the foreigner attaches to the application photographs with closed eyes other than natural facial expression or with open mouth, if this would be objectively justified (e.g. due to his/her health condition).

• A photocopy of a valid travel document (at the same time provide the person accepting the application with the original for familiarization – on pain of leaving the application without consideration); In a particularly justified case, if the foreigner does not have a valid travel document and it is impossible to obtain it, he can submit another document confirming his identity. At the same time, he must document an objective inability to obtain a travel document and make efforts to obtain one.
• Proof of payment of stamp duty.

At the application stage, it is advisable to submit also the documents necessary to confirm the data contained in the application and the circumstances justifying the application for a temporary residence permit. This evidence is not relevant to the fear of abandonment and may be supplemented during the course of the case. The timeframe for resolution depends on the date they are submitted. If the required documents are not attached to the application, the Township requires that they be sent within a minimum of 14 days.

Keep in mind, however, that attaching complete documentation as early as the application stage is an action consistent with a party’s interest. It streamlines and simplifies its consideration, because already at the preliminary stage the authority can make the right conclusions regarding the situation of the foreigner, which undoubtedly speeds up the process of consideration of the application, as well as minimizes the risks associated with the need to supplement the documentation by the foreigner in the course of further consideration of the case for a temporary residence permit.

Other documents

Evidence to be presented at trial includes:

• Information of the starosta on the impossibility to meet the employer’s staffing needs on the basis of the registers of unemployed and job seekers or on the negative result of recruitment organized for the employer, alternatively a document confirming the exemption from the obligation to submit it;Information of the starosta on the impossibility to meet the employer’s staffing needs on the basis of the register of unemployed and job seekers or on the negative result of recruitment organized for the employerThis document is issued upon the application of the subject, who has been granted the right to submit a document on the basis of the register of unemployed and job seekers or on the negative result of recruitment organized for the employer. This document is issued after conducting the so-called “labor market test” aimed at ensuring the priority of employment of Polish citizens and certain categories of foreigners.This document is not required in every case – make sure that you are obliged to submit it.

The alien is not required to provide information from the alderman if:

– the profession performed or the work assigned to him/her is on the list of professions and types of work determined by the voivode, for which the issuance of a work permit does not require taking into account the information of the headman, or

– the profession performed is specified in the list, which is an annex to the Order of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy on the definition of cases where a work permit for foreigners is issued regardless of the specific conditions for issuing work permits for foreigners (i.e. Z.V. of 2019, item 154), covering the following professions:

– computer administrators

– computer systems analysts

– Computer systems analysts and programmers not elsewhere classified

– assistant to a person with disabilities

– Concrete, reinforcing and related trades

– carpenters

– roofers

– Construction electricians and related professions

– concrete engineer

– glass engineer

– industrial and manufacturing engineers

– electrical engineers

– bus driver

– truck drivers

– Specialist physicians (with II degree specialization or specialist title)

– construction painters and related trades

– machinists and operators of construction machinery and equipment

– insulation fitters

– Bricklayers and related trades

– earthmoving equipment operators

– caregiver in a social care home

– nursing home care

– nurses without specialization or during specialization

– nurses with advanced degrees

– tilers

– application developers

– network application and multimedia designers

– database designers and administrators

– road construction workers

– Locksmiths and related trades

– Welders and related professions

– database and computer network specialists, not classified in other headings

– experts in information systems development

– computer network experts

– construction technicians

– Electronics technicians and related professions

– electrical technicians

– plasterers and related trades, or

– Intends to do the job as:

– a domestic or care assistant for the benefit of individuals in the household, or

– a sports coach or athlete working in the interests of sports clubs and other entities whose statutory activities include the dissemination of physical culture and sport, or

– A physician/dental practitioner in training or pursuing a specialty program based on the specialty regulations for physicians and dentists, or

– will document that:

– is a full-time graduate of a Polish higher education institution (upon presentation of a diploma of graduation), or

– is a graduate of a secondary school completed on the territory of Poland (by presenting a school-leaving certificate), or

– is a graduate of a higher education institution in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, completed within the 3 years immediately preceding the application (by presenting a diploma of graduation), or

– has a valid Pole Card, or

– has been legally and continuously present in the territory of the Republic of Poland for 3 years immediately preceding the submission of the application, or

– continues employment and immediately before the application was submitted had a work permit or temporary residence permit and worked for the same employer in the same position,

– is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation or Ukraine, who performs work on the basis of an application for a work assignment with the same employer in the same position for a period of min. 3 months, immediately before submitting the application for temporary residence and work, on the basis of an employment contract and on the terms and conditions specified in this application,

– the work performed by the foreigner is based on acting as a proxy, acting as a member of the board of directors of a joint stock company or a limited liability company whose shares or stock the foreigner does not own.

Remember!

In case of doubts about the necessity to submit this document, you should contact the relevant organizational cell of the voivodship office dealing with the issuance of work permits for foreigners or contact the office serving the Minister competent for labour issues (currently the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy) with a request for clarification of the provisions.

• a current document proving the existence of a place of residence in Poland, e.g. a certificate of residence registration, an apartment rental agreement or an agreement on the provision of accommodation for use, an application of the owner of the residential premises to provide the foreigner with a place of residence;
• if the work is performed under an assignment contract – a valid document confirming the availability of health insurance;

• in the case of regulated professions, documents confirming formal qualifications or fulfillment of prerequisites;
• in the case of the wish to be represented in the examination of the case by an authorized person – a power of attorney with proof of payment of stamp duty.

Remember!

• documents, must be attached in the original or a copy certified in conformity with the original by a notary public or a party’s attorney who is an attorney or legal counsel; certifications of conformity of the copy with the original may also be made by an authorized employee of the voivodship administration in the chancery, upon presentation of the original document;
• documents that were drawn up in a foreign language must be submitted together with a sworn translation into Polish; the register of sworn translators is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice.
• closely related documents must be submitted together (e.g. a sublease agreement together with a lease agreement) and remain valid on the date of issuance of the residence decision.