Polish government wants to simplify the procedures for legalizing stay and work for foreigners

The government plans to simplify and accelerate the procedures for granting temporary residence and work permits to foreigners, according to the list of legislative and program works of the Council of Ministers. The adoption by the Council of Ministers of the draft amendment to the Act on foreigners is planned for Q3.

"The draft act amending the Act on foreigners [...] is primarily aimed at streamlining the procedures for granting foreigners temporary residence permits in the territory of the Republic of Poland, in particular temporary residence and work permits, which are the most frequently granted type of temporary residence permits in Poland.

Moreover, there is a need to improve certain legal solutions concerning the access of foreigners to the Polish labor market in the interest of Polish employers, as well as to facilitate the recruitment of foreign workers by strategic investors. The project also aims to improve other applicable solutions in broadly understood cases of foreigners, including procedures for the admission of intra-corporate transferees.

It is also planned to shorten the procedure of applying for a temporary residence permit.

The draft amendment introduces simplifications regarding the granting of temporary residence and work permits to foreigners:

a) resignation from the requirement to have a secure place of residence and the requirement to have a source of stable and regular income for granting a temporary residence and work permit (it is planned to impose the obligation for a foreigner to receive remuneration not lower than the minimum remuneration for work, regardless of the working time and type of legal relationship constituting the basis for the performance of work by a foreigner),

b) introducing a new procedure for changing a temporary residence and work permit in the event of a change of the entity entrusting work performance or under the conditions of exemption from the obligation to have a work permit,

c) extending the catalog of circumstances that do not require changing the temporary residence and work permit,

d) introducing a solution accelerating the obtaining of a temporary residence and work permit by foreigners who intend to work in entities of particular strategic importance for the Polish economy;

In addition, it is also planned to:

a) introducing 60-day deadlines for settling the matter of granting a temporary residence permit in the first instance, counted from the moment when all formal shortcomings of the application for a permit were corrected, and at the same time the foreigner appeared in person at the voivodeship office and submitted all the required documents

b) introducing specific 90-day deadlines for considering the case for the appeal body in matters of granting a temporary residence permit,

b) introducing provisions according to which in the proceedings for a residence permit, the exchange of information between the voivode or the head of the Office for Foreigners and the services providing information on state defense or security or public order may take place by means of electronic communication,

c) reference of remuneration as a requirement for granting a temporary residence permit for the purpose of performing work in a profession requiring high qualifications to the average remuneration in the year preceding the submission of the application for this permit, and not in the year preceding the conclusion of the contract for the performance of work,

d) ordering the provisions on initiating the procedure for granting a temporary residence permit in cases where the application is not submitted in person by the foreigner who is to receive this permit,

e) introduction of special, 6-month deadlines for settling the matter of granting a permanent residence permit and a long-term resident's European Union residence permit, calculated in a special way, from the moment when all formal defects of the application for a temporary residence permit have been corrected, and at the same time the foreigner he appeared in person at the voivodeship office as well as submitted all the required documents.

At the same time, as part of the amendments to the Act on employment promotion and labor market institutions, it is planned to introduce changes to declarations on entrusting work to a foreigner and procedures for issuing a seasonal work permit. The draft also provides for the facilitation of obtaining a work permit by foreigners intending to work in entities of particular strategic importance for the Polish economy.

In addition, the draft provides for the introduction of a temporary regulation, assuming a simplified procedure for granting a temporary residence and work permit with regard to proceedings initiated before January 1, 2021 and not completed.

The draft also includes amendments and supplements to the existing regulations and minor legislative changes.

Source: ISBnews