Work Permit and Legalization, How Not to Lose Legal Status During the Transition Period

Work Permit and Legalization, How Not to Lose Legal Status During the Transition Period

In this article, JDG (Jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza) means the sole proprietorship that foreign nationals typically register in Poland to work under a B2B arrangement. PIP (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy) is the National Labour Inspectorate, the authority that, as of 8 July 2026, has the power to independently reclassify a B2B contract as an employment relationship. PUP (powiatowy urząd pracy, district labour office) is the authority that maintains the register of declarations and receives notifications about the employment of foreign nationals under temporary protection. ZUS (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych) is the Polish social insurance fund. All these terms are covered in detail in the series’ pillar article, “PIP 2026 in Poland: A Complete Guide for Those Working on B2B.”

• Not One Document, but Four Separate Mechanisms for Legalizing Work
• The Main Rule, Moving from JDG to an Employment Contract Does Not Invalidate Any Permit
• Four Separate Clocks, A Deadline Calendar for the Employer
• Example 1, An Employee with a PESEL Under UKR Status, the Most Common Case Among Ukrainians
• Example 2, An Employee with a Declaration, the Second Most Common Situation
• Example 3, When Increasing Working Hours to Full-Time Does Not Require a New Permit
• What Happens If You Miss One of the Deadlines
• The Window Until 8 July 2027 Does Not Replace Any of the Obligations Above
• Employer Checklist by Type of Employee Legalization
• Frequently Asked Questions
• What Else to Read in This Series
• What to Do With This Information
• Sources

Not One Document, but Four Separate Mechanisms for Legalizing Work

Legalizing a foreign national’s work in Poland is not a single thing, it is one of four different mechanisms, depending on citizenship, the basis for residence, and the type of employer. Confusing them is the main reason employers either panic unnecessarily or overlook a real obligation. Before reading about the transition period, establish exactly which mechanism applies to your employee.

Mechanism 1: work permit (zezwolenie na pracę). A formal administrative permit issued by the voivode for a specific employer, a specific position, and specific working conditions. Needed mainly for citizens of countries not covered by the simplified declaration procedure, or for board positions, secondments, or seasonal work⁷.

Mechanism 2: declaration of intent to entrust work to a foreign national (oświadczenie o powierzeniu pracy cudzoziemcowi), entered into the register of declarations. A simplified procedure for citizens of a defined list of countries (Ukraine among them), administered by the starosta through the PUP. It is arranged faster and more cheaply than a permit, but it is also tied to a specific employer and specific conditions⁸.

Mechanism 3: notification to the PUP about the work of a foreign national covered by temporary protection. This is not a permit in the proper sense: a person with a PESEL under UKR status (the document confirming temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens) has free access to the labour market by virtue of that status alone and needs neither a permit nor a declaration⁹. But the employer must still notify the PUP of the fact and conditions of employment, an obligation of transparency, not legalization, and this is exactly where the most common mistake hides when transitioning to an employment contract, discussed below.

Mechanism 4: the right to work built into the residence card. Some residence cards (for example, the temporary residence and work permit, the “single permit,” Article 114 of the Act on Foreigners) themselves grant the right to work without a separate document, provided a specific employer and position are indicated on the card itself. The difference between this mechanism and a residence card based on one’s own JDG (Article 142) is discussed in detail in the series article “JDG-Based Residence Card and PIP 2026: What Will Happen to Your Residence Status.”

Legalizing a foreign national’s work is not a single document, it is one of four mechanisms, and each responds differently to a transition from JDG to an employment contract.

If you are not sure which mechanism applies to a specific employee, a simple test: check whether you (as the employer) hold at least one of the documents “zezwolenie na pracę” or a confirmation letter of an entry in the register of declarations. If you do, it is mechanism 1 or 2. If you don’t, and the employee has a PESEL under UKR status, it is mechanism 3. If the employee has a residence card specifically naming your company and position, it is mechanism 4.

The Main Rule, Moving from JDG to an Employment Contract Does Not Invalidate Any Permit

Neither a work permit nor an entry in the register of declarations loses validity merely because a civil-law contract is replaced by an employment contract, whether voluntarily or by a PIP decision. The Act on the conditions for permitting foreign nationals to work explicitly exempts both mechanisms from the requirement of a new document precisely in this situation: “the Polish entity entrusting work to the foreign national and the foreign national concluded an employment contract instead of a civil-law contract, or a decision (…) established the existence of an employment relationship” is one of the expressly listed cases in which a change or a new document is not required¹.

This applies to both variants: when the employer itself, voluntarily, within the window until 8 July 2027, converts a B2B arrangement into an employment contract, and when a district labour inspector does the same by decision. In both cases, a valid permit or declaration continues to apply on the same terms, as long as the position and the content of the work do not change materially.

Example. In 2023, the company “Technobud” (a fictitious name) obtained a work permit for a contractor from Georgia for the position of “logistics specialist” under a B2B contract. In June 2026, before any PIP inspection, the company decides on its own to move him to an employment contract in the same position and with the same scope of duties. Does the company need to apply for a new work permit?

No. Replacing a civil-law contract with an employment contract, without changing the position and without materially changing the scope of work, is exactly the case that the law explicitly exempts from a new permit¹. The company continues to rely on the valid document until the end of its validity period.

This does not exempt the company from the remaining obligations: delivering a copy of the new contract to the authority that issued the permit, before the actual start of work under the new conditions, and, if needed, raising the salary to a level not lower than the minimum and not lower than the salaries for comparable positions¹⁰.

Four Separate Clocks, A Deadline Calendar for the Employer

This is exactly where the practical risk of the transition lies: the fact that the legalization document does not need updating does not mean the employer has nothing to do. The moment the employment contract is signed, several separate deadlines start running simultaneously, each toward a different authority.

The most common mistake employers make: they remember only about ZUS, because it gets the most media coverage, and forget about the PUP or the voivode, because those obligations are less well known. Every row in the table is a separate proceeding with a separate fine: fulfilling one does not exempt you from another.

Example 1, An Employee with a PESEL Under UKR Status, the Most Common Case Among Ukrainians

If your employee has a PESEL under UKR status, the main obligation when transitioning to an employment contract is re-notifying the PUP, not ZUS. This is what gets overlooked most often, because people assume temporary protection requires no paperwork at all.

The law requires the Polish employer to re-notify the PUP of the entrustment of work if the type of contract between the employer and this employee has changed, within 7 days of the day of the change⁹. This is exactly the provision triggered by a transition from B2B or a mandate contract (umowa zlecenie) to an employment contract, even if the position and salary remain the same.

Example. The café “Smak” (a fictitious name) has worked with barista Oksana, who has a PESEL under UKR status, under a B2B contract since 2023, and at the time filed the initial notification with the PUP about this. In July 2026, the owner offers Oksana an employment contract in the same position, at the same salary. Does the owner need to notify the PUP of anything else, besides registering with ZUS?

Yes, and this is exactly what gets overlooked most often. A change in contract type between the same employer and the same employee under temporary protection requires a new PUP notification within 7 days of the day of the change, separately from registration with ZUS⁹. Missing this obligation is punishable by a fine of PLN 1,000 to 3,000 per foreign national, even if all other documents are in order².

The other side of the same rule: if the transition happens without a change in contract type (for example, from one mandate contract to another mandate contract with the same employer), a new notification is not needed, because the contract type has not formally changed.

Example 2, An Employee with a Declaration, the Second Most Common Situation

If your employee has a declaration of intent to entrust work to a foreign national, entered in the register of declarations, transitioning to an employment contract does not require a new entry, but it does require notification of the actual start of work under the new conditions. This is a separate obligation, established originally for the initial arrangement itself, and it applies again whenever the conditions change materially.

The law requires the employer to notify the starosta who made the entry of the foreign national taking up work within 7 days of the day work begins, and of not taking up work within 14 days⁴. Since replacing a civil-law contract with an employment contract does not by itself require a new entry⁵, the key question is whether anything changes in the declaration you already have.

Example. The IT company “Kodeks” (a fictitious name) obtained a declaration in 2025 for a developer from Moldova for the position of “junior developer,” 40 hours a week, under a B2B contract. In August 2026, the company moves him to an employment contract, the same position, the same number of hours, and the salary increases by 10%. Does the company need to register a new declaration?

No. Replacing a civil-law contract with an employment contract in the same position and with the same number of hours is exactly the case where a new entry is not needed⁵. The company should only deliver a copy of the new contract to the authority that made the entry, before the actual start of work under the employment contract⁸, and make sure the salary is not below the minimum.

If, however, the position or scope of work changes materially, for example if the developer is promoted to a tech lead role with a different scope of duties, this is no longer “the same position,” and a separate check is needed as to whether the situation requires a new declaration precisely because of the change in the nature of the work, not merely because of the change in contract type.

Example 3, When Increasing Working Hours to Full-Time Does Not Require a New Permit

If your employee has a work permit for part-time work, and the employment contract provides for full-time work, the law allows this without a new permit, under one condition: the salary increases proportionally. This is a separate, narrower case than a plain change in contract type, and the two are often confused.

The law explicitly exempts from a change or new permit the situation in which “the working time specified in the work permit was increased, not more than to full-time, with a simultaneous proportional increase in remuneration”⁵. This is particularly relevant because part-time permits (up to half of full-time or 20 hours a week) are issued for no more than a year, often precisely because the scope of work is initially smaller¹².

Example. In January 2026, the restaurant “Weres” (a fictitious name) obtained a work permit for a cook from Uzbekistan for 20 hours a week, under a B2B contract, with a salary corresponding to that workload. In July 2026, following the decision to move to an employment contract, the scope of work increases to full-time. Does the restaurant need a new permit because of the increase in hours?

No, if the salary increases proportionally. Increasing the workload from part-time to full-time, with a corresponding proportional increase in salary, is explicitly exempt from a new permit⁵. If, however, the restaurant increases the hours but leaves the salary at the old level, that is a different situation: a mismatch between the salary and the new workload is in itself grounds for the authority to question the legality of the entire arrangement.

What Happens If You Miss One of the Deadlines

Every missed deadline is a separate administrative violation with its own fine, and the fines are not interchangeable: paying one does not close the other. Here are the specific amounts set by the law as of mid-2026.

Missing the PUP notification of a change in contract type for an employee covered by temporary protection (Mechanism 3 above): a fine of PLN 1,000 to 3,000 per such foreign national². This is the cheapest of the individual fines on this list, but precisely for that reason it is the one most often ignored, until several employees accumulate at once.

Missing the notification to the starosta about taking up or not taking up work under a declaration (Mechanism 2): a fine of PLN 500 to 5,000⁴.

Generally illegal entrustment of work to a foreign national (for example, if after a contract change it turns out that none of the four mechanisms above actually covers the new situation): a fine of PLN 3,000 to 50,000, and no less than PLN 3,000 per foreign national regardless of the circumstances¹³.

Separately from these specific fines for violating the procedures for legalizing a foreign national’s work, there remains the general fine for improperly structuring an employment relationship under the Labour Code: PLN 2,000-60,000 under Articles 281-283 of the Labour Code, as of 8 July 2026¹⁴. This fine relates to the very fact of substituting a civil-law contract for an employment contract, not to the separate notification obligations, and it is discussed in detail in the series article on PIP 2026 fines.

Missing ZUS deadlines carries a different kind of consequence than a fine. A formally late registration is not by itself punished with a separate fixed amount on this list, but it leads to interest being charged for the period during which the employee was not properly insured, and if the transition happened through a PIP decision, also to a separate calculation of the 5-year statute of limitations for underpaid contributions³. The calculation of specific ZUS amounts after reclassification is discussed in the series article on the real cost of the transition.

The Window Until 8 July 2027 Does Not Replace Any of the Obligations Above

The voluntary transition window under Article 16 of the new PIP Act exempts the employer from liability for the mere fact that the employment relationship was previously improperly structured as a civil-law contract. It does not exempt the employer from the obligations to notify the PUP, the starosta, ZUS, or the voivode at the moment of the transition itself.

This is the key distinction that gets confused most often. The window until 8 July 2027 (12 months from the effective date of the new PIP Act) means: if you yourself, voluntarily, moved a contractor to an employment contract during this period, you will not be punished for having used B2B up to that point in a situation that was in fact an employment relationship⁶. But the moment of the transition itself, the date the new contract is signed, still starts all four clocks from the table above: the PUP, ZUS, the work-legalization authority, and, if needed, the voivode. The amnesty covers the past, not the moment of the change itself.

Employer Checklist by Type of Employee Legalization

Use this list as a working checklist right after deciding to move a specific employee from B2B to an employment contract.

If the employee has a PESEL under UKR status (temporary protection):

1. Sign the employment contract through the normal procedure, a work permit is not needed here at all.
2. Notify the PUP of the change in contract type within 7 days of the day of the change².
3. Register the employee with ZUS under the new insurance title within 7 days of the date of the contract³.
4. Check whether the prior PUP notification about this employee existed at all: if not, this is a separate gap worth closing regardless of the transition to an employment contract.

If the employee has a declaration in the register of declarations:

1. Check whether the position and scope of work remain the same: if so, a new declaration is not needed⁵.
2. Deliver a copy of the new contract to the authority that made the entry, before the actual start of work under the new conditions⁸.
3. Notify the starosta of taking up work under the new conditions within 7 days⁴.
4. Register the employee with ZUS within 7 days³.

If the employee has a work permit:

1. Check whether the position does not change materially: if it does, separately assess whether a new permit is needed.
2. If the number of hours increases to full-time, raise the salary proportionally, this is the condition for exemption from a new permit⁵.
3. Deliver a copy of the new contract to the voivode who issued the permit, before starting work under the new conditions¹⁰.
4. Register the employee with ZUS within 7 days³.

If the employee has a residence card of the single-permit type (temporary residence and work permit) specifically with you:

1. Check whether the employer and position on the card itself remain the same.
2. Notify the voivode of the replacement of the civil-law contract with an employment contract within 15 working days¹¹.
3. Register the employee with ZUS within 7 days³.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a new work permit needed if I move a contractor from B2B to an employment contract in the same position?

No. The law explicitly exempts you from a new work permit or a new declaration entry in this situation, regardless of whether you did it voluntarily or through a PIP decision¹.

I forgot to notify the PUP of the change in contract type for an employee under temporary protection. What now?

Notify as soon as possible: the longer the delay, the higher the probability it will be noticed during an inspection. The fine is PLN 1,000-3,000 per foreign national², and it does not depend on whether the employee is already registered with ZUS.

Can I notify the PUP and register with ZUS at the same time, or does it have to be in a specific order?

The law does not set an order between them: these are two separate, parallel obligations with the same 7-day deadline, and they can be done on the same day, as long as neither is missed.

The contractor’s B2B salary was above the minimum, but on the employment contract, after deductions, it looks lower. Is that a problem?

Compare the gross salary under the employment contract with the minimum level set by law, not the amount that lands in the account after taxes and contributions. If the gross rate in the employment contract is not lower than the statutory minimum wage and not lower than the pay of employees in comparable positions, the requirement is met.

For an employee with a declaration, the position changes along with the transition to an employment contract. Is that the same case exempt from a new entry?

No, if the position or the nature of the duties actually changes, it is no longer “the same position,” and a separate assessment is needed as to whether the situation requires a new entry in the register of declarations precisely because of the change in the nature of the work.

Does the amnesty window until 8 July 2027 cover the obligation to notify the PUP or ZUS about the fact of the transition itself?

No. The window under Article 16 exempts you from liability for past improper structuring, not from the current notification obligations at the moment of the transition itself⁶.

Who exactly is liable for a missed deadline, the employer or the foreign national?

In all four mechanisms discussed in this article, the notification obligation rests with the employer (the Polish entity entrusting work to the foreign national), not with the foreign national. The exception, discussed in another article in the series, is the foreign national’s own obligation to notify the voivode of the cessation of the basis for residence in the case of a JDG-based residence card.

Can all four obligations be fulfilled retroactively if the deadline has already passed?

Technically, a notification can still be filed after the deadline has passed, but this does not exempt you from the fine for the mere fact of being late. The longer the delay, the higher the probability that PIP, ZUS, or the PUP will notice the discrepancy automatically, through the data-exchange system that links these authorities to each other.

What Else to Read in This Series

This article focuses specifically on work-legalization obligations, not on the residence-status change procedure itself. The step-by-step algorithm for changing the basis of residence, including the list of documents for the single permit and the voivode’s processing deadlines, is covered in the series article “What to Do If Your Employer Wants to Move You to an Employment Contract: Step by Step.” The question of whether a residence card is even at risk of revocation through a PIP decision is covered in the series article “JDG-Based Residence Card and PIP 2026: What Will Happen to Your Residence Status.” If the situation is broader than one employee, and the work practice itself needs to be fixed before a PIP inspection, not just the legalization documents, see the checklist in the series article “How to Fix a B2B Contract for PIP 2026: A 12-Point Checklist.”

What to Do With This Information

A general article cannot account for the exact type of permit held by your specific employee or the date the contract change actually took place. At MojaFirma, there are two formats depending on your situation.

If you are an independent contractor on a JDG transitioning to an employment contract with one client. The basic format, an online B2B audit: you fill out a questionnaire about your situation (type of permit or temporary protection, transition date, terms of the new contract), and within 48 hours you receive a report listing exactly your notification obligations and deadlines. If the situation is more complex, the next step is an individual consultation: 60 minutes with a lawyer who will check your specific permit and prepare a list of actions.

If you are the owner or an HR person at a company simultaneously moving several foreign contractors to employment contracts. Each employee may have a different legalization mechanism, and accordingly a different set of deadlines from the table above. Missing even one for anyone on the team means a separate fine for each person. This is what the B2B operating model audit is for: checking the type of legalization for each contractor, a calendar of all notification deadlines for the coming months, and a compliance check to ensure that none of the four mechanisms is left without the required notification.

See also: PIP 2026 in Poland: the complete guide for B2B contractors, Temporary Residence Permit in Poland Based on Work or Study, Posted Workers in the EU, the A1 Certificate Explained.

Sources

1. Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals in the territory of the Republic of Poland, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 33(2)(3) (work permit) and Art. 69(5) (declaration).
2. Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 5a(5) (obligation to re-notify the PUP within 7 days) and Art. 84(6) (fine of PLN 1,000-3,000).
3. Act of 13 October 1998 on the Social Insurance System, consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 199, Art. 36(4) (7-day deadline from the date the insurance obligation arises) and Art. 36(4e), added by the PIP 2026 amendment (7-day deadline from the day the PIP decision became final).
4. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 70(1) (notification to the starosta of taking up work within 7 days, of not taking up work within 14 days) and Art. 84(10) (fine of PLN 500-5,000).
5. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 33(2)(2) (increase of working time to full-time with a proportional increase in remuneration) and Art. 69(3).
6. Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate and certain other acts, Journal of Laws 2026 item 473, Art. 16 (impunity window until 8 July 2027).
7. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 6.
8. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 68(1)(2).
9. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 3(1)(12) (free access to the labour market for persons benefiting from temporary protection) and Art. 5a(1) (notification to the PUP within 7 days of starting work).
10. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 17(1)(1) and (2).
11. Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners, consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1079, Art. 119(1)(5) and (2) (notification to the voivode within 15 working days).
12. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 34(1)(2).
13. Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals, Journal of Laws 2025 item 621, Art. 84(1) and (13).
14. Act of 11 March 2026 amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate, Journal of Laws 2026 item 473, Art. 3 (amending Art. 281 § 1, Art. 282 § 1, and Art. 283 § 1 of the Labour Code: fine of PLN 2,000-60,000).

Legal status as of: August 28, 2026.

This article does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is individual and depends on the type of permit held by your employee, the date of the transition, and the specific terms of the new contract. Author: Valerii Kushnirskyi, practicing lawyer on the MojaFirma team. This article was prepared based on the Act on the conditions for permitting the entrustment of work to foreign nationals (Journal of Laws 2025 item 621), the Act on the Social Insurance System (Journal of Laws 2026 item 199), the Act on Foreigners (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1079), and the Act of 11 March 2026 on PIP (Journal of Laws 2026 item 473).