Sometimes situations arise in a person's life when you need to go to work, and Poland is an ideal option for these purposes. Poles, although Western, but Slavs, that is, with almost the same mentality as ours. It is to this EU country that the easiest way to get is via the Baltic Sea (Khrabrovo Airport is currently under reconstruction before the football championship, although air travel is already too expensive for those whose goal is to make money). Moreover, there is always work in Gdansk. But one should not think that Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians are hired in Poland with great eagerness. Despite the difference in wages to compatriots and migrants, if there is a vacancy and two candidates (a Pole and a foreigner), the advantage will be given to a Polish citizen, and not an Eastern Slav.
Why the city is attractive for job seekers
Gdansk is former Danzig (formerly part of West Prussia), its half-million indigenous population is mainly Kashubians, who identify themselves with hardworking Germans, not Poles, and there are still many German words in their speech.
Gdansk is located in the north of the country on the shores of the Baltic Sea. It is the sixth most populous in Poland. According to travel agencies, the city is very beautiful, and due to the fact that Gdansk is a port city, you can find many English-speaking interlocutors in it.
Since the city has a huge port, it is easy to find work in shipbuilding and ship repair yards.
In addition, they are employed here at enterprises of the chemical, petrochemical, energy industries, as well as in food production and in the IT sphere.
Moreover, high-tech segments - mechanical engineering, telecommunications, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, electronics - are constantly increasing their production volumes. Amber processing also replenishes the city budget.
Moreover, during the summer tourist season, Gdansk, which is over 1000 years old, receives many guests. Accordingly, there is an additional opportunity to find a job through temporary vacancies in the service sector. But if you are used to sitting in the office, then here you will have to do more active activities: in order to bring home some earnings, you have to work hard and for a long time.
How to look for work in Gdansk
There are several ways to find a job. Resellers make the search process easier, but they often offer jobs with minimum wages. According to statistics, 75% of migrants working in Poland, including Gdansk, have higher education, but they work as slingers, bricklayers, welders - in general, “sleepers”.
Plus, the reseller service will cost you about $ 100, and that's not fraud insurance. One-day firms are created with the aim of enriching, but while you get to the border, such emergency situations sometimes manage to close, and you are returned to your homeland at customs.
Employment issues are best dealt with with direct employers. According to Polish law, the latter have the right and the opportunity to provide work to foreigners.
The second option is to look for the relevant groups in social networks, which contain sufficiently reliable and adequate information about vacancies.
And the third option is to learn the language, write a resume and post it on the appropriate site (examples below). Eastern Slavs, without an invitation from an employer, will not be able to confirm the purpose of the trip when obtaining a work visa.
What you need to work in Gdansk
Let's imagine that you have a job invitation certified by the relevant government agencies. The Russian, like the rest of the former USSR, will need a Category D visa, which also provides for visits to other Schengen countries.
Although it is believed that a tourist visa is enough for picking strawberries, you should not put yourself at risk, so here is a list of basic documents:
- a visa application form filled in in Latin letters (in Polish, English, Russian with transliteration) with a photograph of 3.5 x 4.5 cm;
- another photo 3.5 x 4.5 cm;
- foreign passport with a copy of the first page;
- a copy of the internal passport, namely, pages with a photograph, marks on the issuance of a passport, marital status and registration;
- health insurance policy with a minimum coverage of 30 thousand euros, valid in all EU countries (original and photocopy);
- a receipt confirming the payment of 60 euros of the consular fee.
In addition to these documents, if the applicant has the citizenship of a third country, it is necessary to provide proof of legal stay in the Russian Federation (for example, a residence permit, long-term visa or registration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs), valid for at least three months after the planned return from the Schengen area, or a document on that the applicant had started the process of renewing his legal stay in Russia.
You will also need documents confirming the purpose of the trip:
- Pole's card (if any) or work permit in the Republic of Poland;
- original and copy of a document that guarantees work in the Republic of Poland, issued by a voivode or other authorized person;
- alternatively, the original and a copy of the employer's declaration of intention to provide the foreigner with a job registered with the county employment office.
The decision to issue a work visa is made at the consulate within five calendar days from the date of application.
Rarely, but sometimes the period is extended to 30 days.
To learn more, read how a work visa to Poland is issued.
Firms and recruitment agencies for employment in Gdansk
Demand creates supply, which is why there are many companies specializing in employment in Poland. By the way, after the introduction of a visa-free regime, Ukrainians began to open a similar business in Poland, including Gdansk. Similar announcements are found in the Ukrainian OLX segment.
To find a job in Gdansk, you need to carefully search for information on the Internet: there are a huge number of pages with vacancies from direct employers.
For example, on these Russian-language resources. There are specialized Polish-language sites, further in the ranking are such portals and systems for finding vacancies. You can safely leave a resume on them: people with higher education will not be offered the job of domestic staff.
Industry in Gdansk
In large companies located in Gdansk, it will also be possible to find vacancies. The most labor-intensive segment is shipbuilding. You always need working hands at Aluship Technology, Crist, Stocznia Północna, Stocznia Wisła, Acxiom, Gdańska Stocznia Remontowa and Gdańsk Shipyard.
The city requires builders in Hydrobudowa, Polnord Energobudowa, Skanska and Stabilator. The energy segment also needs relevant specialists: Elektrociepłownie Wybrzeże, Elnord, Energa Trading, Energa Trading, Grupa Lotos, Orlen Morena and Petrobaltic.
There are automotive companies such as Delphi and Porsche. Chemical industry companies are also located in Gdansk: Flügger (production of primers and paints, a Danish subsidiary), Fosfory Ciech (fertilizers). As in every port city, there is a developed infrastructure: retail trade, a filling system, production and processing of food products (Dresser Wayne, HD Heavy Duty, Jysk, LPP), where workers are always needed.
Large IT companies in Gdansk
The whole world is interested in programmers and employees of related services. And Poland is no exception in this respect: programmers here are the highest paid specialists.
Gdansk is home to Amazon, Acxiom, Fineos, IBM, Intel, Compuware, Kainos, Lufthansa Systems, Wirtualna Polska, SII, Satel (and security systems), Suruga Seiki, Young Digital Planet, ZenSar Technologies. Therefore, knowing at least one of the low-level programming languages (Delphi or C of any edition), you can master the languages more demanded by the employer or look for vacancies with the existing knowledge.
Other in-demand jobs in Gdansk
The city also brews steel and collects a variety of equipment (companies Cognor, ThyssenKrupp Johann A. Krause and Llentabhallen). Accordingly, steelmakers and workers with skills in handling aluminum are needed there.
Arla Foods produces dairy products, Dr. Oetker constantly requires high-level culinary specialists in its packaging line for finished products, while Atlanta Poland imports and processes nuts and dried fruits. There is a milling production Dr. Cordesmeyer. Even in Gdansk, its own cosmetics are produced at the Ziaja factory.
Ukrainians, on the other hand, thanks to their mental attachment to the land, go to pick strawberries every year. But this work is not easy: regardless of the weather or state of health, the employee must go to the garden. Moreover, the berries must be sorted during the picking process.
The work is two-shift - it continues both day and night, so you will have to forget about the standardized working day. However, in this case, Ukrainians are at risk when they use only visa-free and do not apply for a category D visa.
Salary in Gdansk
The average salary in the city is 4.5 thousand zlotys, which is slightly more than 1,000 euros. But it all depends on the gender of the employee, age and specialty: the work of a programmer is valued more expensively, but, for example, it is more difficult for women to find a high-paying job.
As of January 1, 2021, the minimum wage in Poland was PLN 13.7 per hour, and the average monthly minimum wage in the Republic of Poland was no less than PLN 2.1 thousand gross (gross - salary without deducting taxes and other obligatory payments).
Consequences for illegal work
Invitations and work permits for foreigners are recorded in the relevant register. Therefore, it is not recommended to work illegally, while on the territory of the Republic of Poland many people work anyway without registering. Therefore, since the beginning of 2018, the Polish government has obliged the employer to pay for a permit or invitation to work for a foreigner.
Working in Poland without completing the relevant documents, you can get a fine in the amount of 1000-5000 zlotys at any time.
In addition, you can be expelled from the country and banned from entering for a period of one to three years to any of the Schengen states.
But an even larger amount of the fine (PLN 1-5 thousand) falls on the shoulders of the employer, in addition, he also becomes responsible for your deportation.
Cost of living and prices for goods in Gdansk
In addition to work, a person in earnings needs somewhere to sleep, eat something, somehow get to work (table below).
It should be noted the differentiation of the cost of renting housing depending on the distance to the center: you can rent a 1-room apartment in the outskirts for $ 263 a month, and in the center - for $ 339. Utility bills are not included in the rental price.
Some employers who hire seasonal workers rent hostels for them. The declared number is 3-4 people in an apartment, the actual number may be over 10.
| Expenses | Minimum (in dollars) | Average (in dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| Lodging | 136 | 138 |
| Nutrition | 95 | 190 |
| Transport | 18 | 54 |
| Communications and electricity | 62 | 103 |
| clothing | 19 | 71 |
| Recreation and sports | 18 | 65 |
| Total | 433 | 824 |
Comparison of cities in Poland
Renting a home takes away the largest part of your earnings. According to the rental price rating (from the lowest to the highest), excluding expensive utilities, Polish cities are located as follows: Torun, Bydgoszcz, Lodz, Olsztyn, Bialystok, Szczecin, Gdynia, Poznan, Lublin, Katowice, Gdansk, Krakow, Wroclaw and Warsaw.
However, there are tons of offers on olx.pl. Often, housing with good reviews is provided by the employer himself, for example, employees of the Polish McDonald’s can rent this for 200 zlotys.
Accommodation costs PLN 150 for Porsche employees with the opportunity to live completely free of charge, provided they work 200 hours a month.
Prices for food, beer, clothes differ within the limits of PLN 5 in different cities of Poland. But, for example, in the Mazovian Voivodeship, everything is much more expensive due to the proximity to the capital and the abundance of museums and cultural monuments.
Prices are also influenced by the seasonality factor, which depends on the number of students who arrived or returned in September and January, but this almost does not apply to industrial Gdansk.
Conclusion
So, several conclusions can be drawn. You can go to work in Gdansk, but only on a legal basis. And in order to make good money, you have to master the Polish language, which is not so difficult, because in fact it is Slavic, but using the Latin alphabet. This will especially be a colossal advantage for people with higher education.
Having Polish roots, it makes sense to apply for the Pole's Card, which will further provide a residence permit. It is issued by the consulate of the Republic of Poland on the territory of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. For nine months, holders of this card receive benefits (the amount varies and may vary) and a 37 percent discount on rail travel.
If you have a card, you are also allowed to open your own business, in which case the general taxation system of the Republic of Poland applies.
