Employment of foreign students - what will change for employers from 1 July 2026?
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
For several months now, the topic of employing foreigners studying in Poland has been generating increasing interest among employers, HR departments, and employment agencies. This is due to changes in regulations concerning formal requirements related to the performance of work by foreign students.
How did the rules look until now?
For years, a relatively simple model of employing foreign students was in place. A foreigner studying full-time in Poland and holding legal residence could perform work without the need to obtain a work permit, a declaration of entrusting work, or additional legalization of employment.
In practice, for many employers the primary document was a valid student ID or a certificate from the university. This solution was particularly popular in such sectors as gastronomy, logistics, retail, seasonal work, service centers, and temporary employment agencies.
What changes from 1 July 2026?
The new regulations do not completely eliminate the possibility of working without a permit for foreign students, but they significantly limit the scope of this exemption. After the end of the transitional period, i.e. from 01.07.2026, what will be crucial is not only whether a foreigner has student status, but also at which university they study and what its status is in official registers.
In practice, the right to work without additional documents is expected to be maintained primarily by students of public universities and students of universities included in relevant registers or meeting specific statutory criteria. This means that a student ID alone will no longer be sufficient as a basis for considering employment legal.
Transitional period – until when do the current rules apply?
The regulations provide for a transitional period lasting until 30 June 2026. Its purpose is to allow employers to adjust procedures, universities to meet new requirements, and students to regularize their residence and employment status.
Until then, the current rules still apply, but after its end some students may lose the possibility of working without additional employment legalization.
How will this affect employers?
For employers, the changes primarily mean greater responsibility in verifying foreign employees’ documents. Before allowing a person to work, it may be necessary to more carefully verify the type of university, its status in official registers, and the basis for exemption from the obligation to hold a work permit.
Experts note that incorrect verification may result in employment being considered illegal. Consequently, companies will need to implement new HR procedures, more frequent document checks, and in many cases also submit declarations or work permit applications, as well as plan the entire employment legalization process in advance.
The changes will be particularly felt by sectors that heavily rely on the work of foreign students.
At the same time, it is worth noting that graduates of Polish universities remain exempt from the obligation to hold a work permit. This also applies to graduates of post-secondary schools who have passed a state exam – in their case, employer formalities related to employment remain unchanged.
Why were these changes introduced?
The changes are part of broader efforts aimed at tightening the visa system and limiting abuses related to a fictitious student status. In public discourse, there have been repeated cases where student status was used primarily as a way to simplify access to the labor market, rather than for actual education.
The new regulations are intended to increase control over this process and link the possibility of working without a permit to the status of the university.
What is worth doing now?
Although some provisions will only come into force in July 2026, employers hiring foreigners should already analyze the structure of employment of foreign students and verify which universities their employees come from. It will also be important to prepare document verification procedures and continuously monitor published lists of universities and interpretations of regulations.
For companies employing a larger number of foreigners, early preparation may significantly reduce the risk of formal issues after the end of the transitional period.
