Poland is an attractive country for a huge number of labor migrants from Ukraine, Belarus and the CIS countries. The main document on the basis of which a work visa is issued is an invitation to work in Poland. In order not to have problems when submitting papers, you should carefully approach its registration and beware of forgeries and the provision of incorrect data.
What is a job offer and what is it for?
An invitation to work in Poland (Oświadczenie o zamiarze powierzenia pracy cudzoziemcowi - Employer's declaration of intent to entrust work to a foreigner) is drawn up by a Polish employer for a specific natural person, a foreign citizen. It is important to remember that the initiator of this process is always the employer, so no additional petitions or statements will be required from you.
The prepared document is the basis for applying for a national visa of the D05 class for everyone who travels to Poland for the purpose of employment. The applicant provides an invitation to the consular service along with the rest of the required documents.
Subsequently, staying in the country on a work visa for a period specified by law (currently 5 years) gives the right to apply for a residence permit.
What are the types of invitations to work in Poland
Currently, three types of invitations to work in Poland are available for foreign citizens:
- on behalf of a Polish company for off-season work for a period of 7-30 days;
- on behalf of a Polish company for seasonal work for up to 180 days;
- on behalf of the governor for a period of 12 months to 3 years.
A voivodeship invitation takes longer to issue, but it gives much more opportunities for work.
Procedure for issuing an invitation to work in Poland
There are two ways to get a document in your hands: by contacting the employer directly or by entrusting all communications with the Polish company to an intermediary. In the second case, you will need to pay for the services of an organization that will represent your interests and check documents. Working directly, you can get an invitation to work in Poland for free.
Before starting the procedure, make sure that you are really interested in the proposed vacancy, because, having arrived in Poland, you will no longer be able to change your mind and start looking for another employer - this is contrary to local legislation and may lead to deportation.
Moreover, you are obliged to work not only in the company indicated in the document, but also in the same position. That is why, before taking an invitation to Poland to work, find out all the details of your future work activity and job responsibilities.
Obtaining an invitation directly from a Polish employer
For a potential employee, this procedure is quite simple, since the main burden of preparing the necessary paper falls on a Polish company. After you have applied there and agreed on your employment, in fact, all that remains is to wait until the document is drawn up and delivered to the future employee, that is, to you.
Thus, the stages of obtaining an invitation include:
- job search in Poland;
- negotiations with the employer and mutual agreement on acceptance for the position;
- provision by the applicant of his passport data and contacts;
- the employer's appeal to the Urząd Pracy (Labor Office) at the place of registration of the company with an application of the established form;
- sending the finished document from the employer to the applicant.
Cooperation with an intermediary company
Paperwork through an intermediary has its own nuances. Very often such firms work with a limited number of Polish employers and the vacancies they provide. Thus, by contacting them, you can go through the full cycle of employment in Poland, starting from the selection of a vacancy and ending with legal support in obtaining a work visa on the basis of the invitation received.
The stages of obtaining a document through an intermediary are as follows:
- selection of a firm / employment agency;
- contacting a consultant and providing your personal data (passport, education and work experience);
- selection of a suitable vacancy;
- communication of company employees with a Polish employer on your issue;
- handing out to the applicant a ready-made job invitation;
- further cooperation and assistance in obtaining a Polish work visa if desired.
When working through an intermediary, give preference to those firms that are ready to conclude an official contract with you for the provision of services.
The cost of an invitation to work in Poland
Despite the fact that the execution of this document does not require the applicant to pay any fees or fees, some costs are still inevitable: translation services, the cost of phone calls abroad, notarization of papers. At the same time, not a single zloty should be demanded from you on behalf of the Polish employing company itself.
The amount of the intermediary's remuneration directly depends on the number of services rendered by him. The type of invitation issued for the applicant is also important: voivodship for a period of up to 360 days will cost more. On average, intermediary firms charge about 50-60 € for their work.
How long is it issued and how long is the invitation valid
The standard processing time for a document is from 10 to 14 days. In some cases, the process can take up to a month. If you are asked to make a document in 2-3 days, this is a serious reason to think about whether you will get a fake in your hands. A visa issued on the basis of a fictitious invitation may be invalidated, which will create significant difficulties at the border when trying to enter or leave the country.
The issued invitation is considered valid for 3 months. During this time, the applicant must have time to come to Poland and get a job. If he does not, the paper will expire.
After employment, an invitation to work in a Polish company remains valid for the entire period specified in it - as a rule, 180, 270 or 360 days. After that, a new document is drawn up, on the basis of which a visa is issued again.
If you refuse to work in the company that issued the paper, the validity period of the document is reduced to the initial 3 months if you receive a regular invitation and up to 30 days if you receive an invitation from the governor.
If during this time it is not possible to find another vacancy and issue a new invitation, the previous document is canceled. You can change employer after employment only once during the validity period of a work visa.
How to tell a real invitation from a fake one
Unfortunately, unscrupulous intermediaries often trade in fake documents, passing them off as genuine ones. Sometimes employers also send fake papers, because they have to pay a fixed amount established by law for registering an application for their readiness to hire a foreign citizen. In addition, contacting the Labor Office takes time, and not all representatives of Polish companies are ready to spend it.
What data should be checked and what details to pay attention to when considering an invitation received from a Polish employer:
- Contact information: check whether the telephone number indicated in the corresponding column actually answers, whether the employer is real and what is at the registration address indicated by him.
- QR code in the upper left corner. You can use it to verify the authenticity of your employer.
- How the document looks like.If this is an old form (before January 1, 2021), then it is invalid.
- Personal wet signature of the employer, unless it is indicated that the paper was certified by an electronic signature.
- Signature and wet seal of Urząd Pracy.
- If you are interested in immigration to Poland, make sure that the salary indicated in the invitation is not less than PLN 1,750. If your salary is less than this amount, you will not be able to obtain a residence permit under the law.
- The accuracy of your personal and employer data. Errors invalidate the document.
To have something to compare with, download in advance a sample invitation for a visa to Poland from the company.
Resources where you can check a Polish employer:
- praca.gov.pl - register of active employers;
- stat.gov.pl - register of legal entities;
- ceidg.gov.pl is a register of ordinary communities and private entrepreneurs.
Procedure for detecting a forgery or cancellation of a document
If you find errors in the document after it has been handed over to you, you should apply to a Polish employer or intermediary to reissue it.
In the event that fake data about a Polish company is found, in the absence of the necessary signatures on the document or its execution on an invalid form, there are two options for resolving the issue:
- renewal of the invitation by the employer or intermediary firm;
- in case of refusal to settle the issue amicably, a lawsuit against the intermediary firm and the return of funds paid for the services rendered in bad faith.
In the second case, do not forget that the claim is filed at the place of registration of the defendant company, which somewhat complicates the process.
Another unpleasant situation is the cancellation of the invitation on behalf of the employer after the visa applicant has issued a visa and arrived in Poland.
This is completely legal, and the Polish employer has the right to do so. In this case, the visa remains valid, but you will need to find another employer and issue a new invitation to enter the country. Moreover, if you have already arrived, you will have to go back.
Summing up
An invitation to work in the Republic of Poland is a mandatory document for Belarusians, Ukrainians, Russians and other foreign citizens wishing to work in the territory of this country.
You can get the document directly from the employer. It is advisable to contact intermediaries if you are interested in the full cycle of employment, from searching for a vacancy to applying for a visa.
Document processing time is from 10 to 30 days. An invitation from an employer is always free, but the firm can deduct the cost of shipping from your first salary.
In order not to become a victim of fraudsters, carefully check the relevance of the invitation form, the correctness and reliability of the data specified in it. Do not forget that it is this paper that confirms the grounds for applying for a visa to enter the country. And even if the fake is not exposed at the consulate, it can happen at the border or upon arrival in the country.
