What Documents Should I Submit to Apply For a Temporary Residence Permit for a Highly Skilled Employment?

The application for a temporary residence permit to perform highly skilled work should be submitted in person, not later than on the last day of legal residence in the Polish territory. In Pomeranian Voivodeship, applications for this permit should be submitted to the Branch of the Voivodeship Office for Legalisation of Residence of Foreigners in Gdańsk.

If the application is not submitted in person or is sent by mail – after the application has been delivered to the voivode, the foreigner will be summoned to appear in person within a period not shorter than 7 days from the delivery of the summons under pain of the application being left unprocessed. During the appointment, fingerprints will also be taken from the foreigner.

In order to submit the application for a temporary residence permit to perform work in a highly qualified profession, the following documents need to be completed:

• standard application for a temporary residence permit for a foreigner, in which in the field: “the main purpose of stay” the option: “performing work in a highly-qualified profession” should be selected; two copies of the application should be submitted.
• attach the annexes required to submit an application for a temporary residence permit, i.e.:
  • four photographs meeting the set requirements,
  • photocopy of a valid travel document,
  • two photocopies of the passport page with personal data and a photo,
  • proof of payment of stamp duty for issue of the permit.
• if in a given case the applicant is not exempt from this obligation, they should also attach information from the starost responsible for the main place of work of the foreigner about the inability to satisfy the employer’s HR needs established on the basis of the registers of the unemployed and job seekers or about a negative result of recruitment organised for the employer. The lack of such information does not constitute a formal defect.

IMPORTANT! The application should also contain a document called Annex 1 to the application for granting a temporary residence permit to a foreigner, which is filled in and signed by a person representing the entity entrusting work AND a document called Annex 2 to the application for granting a temporary residence permit to a foreigner, in which the foreigner should indicate:

• type of qualifications
• held evidence of formal qualifications
• whether they have previously resided in another member state of the European Union for at least 18 months on the basis of a residence permit marked as “EU Blue Card”, issued by that state.

Lack of any of the aforementioned documents will result in the foreigner being requested to supplement it within a period not shorter than 7 days from the delivery of the request under pain of the application being left unprocessed.

The application for a temporary residence permit for the purpose of performing highly qualified work should be submitted with other documents confirming the circumstances indicated in the application:

• if the conditions for an exemption from the obligation to hold a work permit are met – a document confirming the fulfilment of these conditions (e.g., Pole’s Card or a diploma from a Polish university),
• a document certifying professional higher-education qualifications;
• a document certifying fulfilment of the qualification requirements and other conditions if the foreigner intends to work in a regulated profession;
• consent of the relevant authority to hold a specific position, pursue a profession or engage in other activities where the obligation to obtain it prior to the conclusion of the contract results from separate provisions;
• employment contract, outwork contract, civil law contract concluded for a period of at least 1 year on the basis of which the foreigner performs work, provides services, or remains in a service-based relationship;
• documents confirming health insurance.

If there is a need to clarify or provide more details regarding the case evidence held by the authority during the proceedings, the foreigner may be called upon to provide other documents or to give evidence confirming the circumstances referred to in the application.