Poland

Poland is a country of 36.3 million people with an employment rate above the EU average: 78.8% of people aged 20–64 have a job (EU: 76.1%).

Unemployment is low and has changed little in recent years – 3.1% in 2025, compared with 2.9% in 2022. That is about half the EU average of 6.0%. Youth unemployment is also below the EU level: 12.2% among people aged 15–24, compared with 15.2% – although it went up from 10.8% in 2024.

As an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen you do not need a work permit – you can move, look for a job and start working on the same terms as Polish citizens. The statutory minimum wage is PLN 4,806 gross a month (2026), and if you are under 26 you pay no income tax on earnings up to PLN 85,528 a year.

The official forecast of where workers are needed is the Occupational Barometer (Barometr zawodów), prepared by the Regional Labour Office in Kraków for the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. For 2026 it lists 17 shortage occupations across the whole of Poland:

• health and care – doctors, nurses and midwives, psychologists and therapists, carers for older people and people with disabilities,
• education – teachers of general subjects and foreign languages, teachers of vocational subjects, practical vocational training instructors, special needs and inclusive education teachers,
• transport and logistics – lorry and articulated lorry drivers, bus drivers, warehouse workers,
• construction and technical trades – installation fitters, operators and mechanics of earthmoving machines, welders, electricians and power engineering technicians,
• other – certified accountants and members of the armed forces.

Separate barometers are published for each region (voivodeship) and for districts (powiaty), so check the one for the city you are interested in.

Many of these jobs need specific qualifications. For regulated professions – such as doctors, nurses or teachers – you will first need your qualifications recognised (see below).

In Poland vacancies are published by the public employment services – mainly the district labour offices (powiatowe urzędy pracy) – on company websites and on private job portals. You can also contact employers directly and send them your CV with a cover letter. Start here:

• ePraca – the Central Job Offers Database (Centralna Baza Ofert Pracy) of the labour offices: job offers, internships, apprenticeships and job fairs, in Poland and in the EU,
• the ePraca app (Android, iOS) – job offers from the labour offices with notifications about new offers and a map search,
• EURES – the EU job portal, plus EURES advisers in your home country and in Poland who help with moving for work,
• nabory.kprm.gov.pl – vacancies in the civil service, run by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister; a filter shows posts that are also open to foreigners.

Applications are submitted in person, by post or electronically – always in the way the employer asks for in the ad.

For step-by-step advice on job search, CVs and interviews in any EU country, see our How to find a job abroad – 10 practical guides.

A typical Polish application contains:

• a CV – as concise as possible, one or at most two A4 pages, with your personal data, work experience, education and qualifications; you can use the Europass CV,
• a consent clause at the end of the CV – a formal statement that you agree to the processing of your personal data for the recruitment, with a reference to the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679); Polish employers require it,
• a cover letter (list motywacyjny) – explaining why you are applying for this particular job; it is a little more personal than the CV, usually one A4 page and signed by hand.

Selection: the employer first chooses candidates on the basis of their documents and then invites them to an interview. The interview may include a knowledge test to check your qualifications.

Diplomas: the Polish ENIC-NARIC centre is NAWA (Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange), which deals with the recognition of foreign degrees. For regulated professions, the authority responsible for that profession decides; if your training differs substantially, it may require an adaptation period of up to 3 years.

• Minimum wage: PLN 4,806 gross a month, and a minimum hourly rate (minimalna stawka godzinowa) of PLN 31.40 gross – both from 1 January 2026.
• Contract: you must receive a written employment contract (umowa o pracę) – or a written confirmation of its terms – before you start work. Check which type of contract you are offered: the rules below apply to employment contracts.
• Working time: up to 8 hours a day and on average 40 hours a week. Including overtime, you may work on average no more than 48 hours a week, and you are entitled to at least 11 hours of rest every day.
• Overtime: at most 150 hours a year for the employer’s particular needs. You get a 100% bonus for overtime at night, on Sundays and public holidays, and a 50% bonus on other days – or time off instead (hour for hour if you ask for it, 1.5 hours per hour if the employer decides).
• Holidays: 20 days of paid leave a year if you have been employed for less than 10 years, and 26 days after that. A university degree counts as 8 years towards this period.

Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland can work in Poland without any permit, just like Polish students.

• Contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia): if you are a student under 26, no social security or health insurance contributions (ZUS) are paid on it. On an employment contract they are always paid, whatever your age.
• Tax relief for young people (ulga dla młodych): if you are under 26, your income from employment, contracts of mandate, apprenticeships and professional internships is free of income tax up to PLN 85,528 a year. You do not need to apply. The relief does not cover social security and health contributions.
• Graduate traineeships (praktyki absolwenckie): for graduates under 30. They last at most 3 months and may be paid or unpaid; the pay may not exceed twice the minimum wage. A paid traineeship can be ended with 7 days’ notice, an unpaid one immediately.

Students from outside the EU who study full-time at a Polish university (a public university or one approved by the minister of the interior) can work without a work permit, and so can graduates of full-time studies in Poland. Part-time and distance-learning students are not covered by this exemption. Internships that are part of the study programme do not need a permit either.

Thinking of studying there first? See Studying in Poland – practical information.

1. Register your address (zameldowanie na pobyt czasowy) at the municipal office no later than on the 30th day after you arrive. It is free (a certificate confirming it costs PLN 17 if you need one); in Warsaw it can also be done online with a Polish trusted profile (profil zaufany) or a qualified electronic signature. During registration you are also given a PESEL – the Polish personal identification number.
2. Register your stay as an EU citizen: if you stay longer than 3 months, apply at the voivode’s office (urząd wojewódzki) no later than the day after 3 months from your arrival. It is free of charge (PLN 17 stamp duty only if you act through a proxy). You get a registration certificate (zaświadczenie o zarejestrowaniu pobytu obywatela UE), valid for 10 years.
3. Social and health insurance: as an employee you are compulsorily insured. Your employer registers you with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), which also collects your health insurance contribution and passes it on to the National Health Fund (NFZ).
4. Tax: income tax is deducted from your salary by the employer. The rate is 12% on income up to PLN 120,000 a year, minus a tax-reducing amount of PLN 3,600, and 32% on income above that (scale valid in 2026). Under 26? See the tax relief for young people above.
5. Bank account: you can open one easily, with few restrictions.

Problems with your rights as an EU worker? Your Europe Advice and SOLVIT help for free.

If you are not an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, you need a residence permit and, in most cases, permission to work. The main routes:

• Graduates of Polish universities (first-cycle, full-time second-cycle or doctoral studies) can get a temporary residence permit for 9 months to look for a job or start a business – only once. Apply in person at the voivode’s office right after you finish your studies, while your stay is still legal.
• EU Blue Card (Niebieska Karta UE) – for highly qualified jobs paying at least 150% of the average wage in the national economy in the previous year; Statistics Poland put the 2025 average at PLN 8,903.56 a month. The permit is issued for 3 months longer than the job, for at most 3 years.
• Work permit (zezwolenie na pracę) – for most other jobs your employer needs a work permit for you, and you need a visa or residence permit. Since 1 June 2025 new rules apply: instead of the labour market test, district authorities can list occupations for which no work permits are issued in their area.

All residence permits are explained by the Office for Foreigners (Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców) on gov.pl/web/udsc.

• Eurostat – population on 1 January, unemployment by age, employment rate (data for 2025 and 2026),
• EURES – Living and working conditions: Poland,
• Barometr zawodów – national report 2026 (shortage occupations, in Polish),
• Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy – overtime, written contract before work; Zielona Linia – minimum wage 2026, annual leave, student contributions, foreign students and work permits, EU Blue Card,
• Public Employment Services – psz.praca.gov.pl, ePraca job offers,
• Ministry of Finance – income tax rates, tax relief for young people,
• Ministry of the Interior and Administration – registration of stay of EU citizens; City of Warsaw – address registration for EU citizens,
• ZUS – Social Security in Poland (2025),
• Office for Foreigners – permit for graduates looking for a job; Statistics Poland – average wage in 2025,
• NAWA – recognition of foreign qualifications,
• Your Europe – working abroad.

Updated: October 2026.