What is a seasonal work permit

A seasonal work permit concerns selected sectors in which demand for workers rises at certain times of the year (Art. 45 para. 2 of the Act on the Conditions for Permitting the Entrusting of Work to Foreigners, hereinafter: the Act on Entrusting Work). The application is submitted by a Polish employer to the starost (Art. 46). The fee for the application is 100 PLN (§ 2 point 4 of the regulation, Journal of Laws 2025, item 1622).

Sectors

The sectors are listed in the annex to the regulation of the Council of Ministers of 25 November 2025 (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1654), according to the PKD classification. They include, among others:

  • growing of cereals, vegetables, tobacco, fibre plants, grapes and fruit trees,
  • horse breeding and mixed farming combined with animal breeding,
  • support activities for crop production and post-harvest crop activities,
  • tourist accommodation facilities, camping sites and mobile food service activities.

For some subclasses the regulation excludes certain types of activity, e.g. cultivation in heated greenhouses. In these sectors the voivode will not issue an ordinary work permit (Art. 26 para. 2 point 1), and the declaration of entrusting work is excluded (Art. 61 para. 1 point 3).

Period of work

The permit is issued for a period of no more than 9 months in a calendar year (Art. 45 para. 1 point 4 and Art. 54 para. 1). When you enter on a visa for seasonal work or visa-free, the period is counted from the day of the first entry into the Schengen area in the given year after the certificate of entry has been issued (Art. 54 para. 2).

Entry in the register of applications

If you are only going to enter Poland, the starost first enters the application in the register of applications and issues the employer a certificate of entry (Art. 50 para. 1). The starost does this within 7 working days of the submission of a complete application, and in cases requiring clarification - within 30 days (Art. 50 paras. 3 and 6).

After your entry, the employer presents to the starost a declaration of reporting for work together with a copy of the travel document with the visa or the entry stamp (Art. 51 para. 1). Only then does the starost issue the permit. Work on the terms from the certificate of entry is legal from the day these documents are presented until the decision is delivered (Art. 51 para. 3). Without the declaration, the proceedings are discontinued by operation of law after 90 days from the work start date (Art. 52 para. 1 point 1).

When you are already in Poland

If you are staying in Poland on a basis other than a seasonal visa or visa-free travel, work on the terms from the application is legal from the submission of an application without formal defects until the decision is delivered, for no longer than 30 days (Art. 49). The permit may then be issued for the period of legal stay, in total no longer than 9 months in a year (Art. 54 para. 3).

Citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine

For citizens of these states (§ 1 point 2 and § 2 of the regulation, Journal of Laws 2025, item 1617) additional rules apply:

  • the starost may enter the application for periods of up to 9 months a year, falling within no more than 3 consecutive years, if the employer entrusted work to this foreigner on a seasonal permit at least once in 5 years (Art. 53),
  • the employer may entrust work other than seasonal work, in total up to 30 days during the validity of the permit, for remuneration not lower than in the permit (Art. 56 para. 1).

Accommodation and contract

When the employer provides accommodation, the employer concludes with you a separate written lease or loan-for-use agreement. Rent cannot be deducted from remuneration, and a provision on automatic deduction is void. Before signing, the employer presents a translation of the agreement into a language understandable to you (Art. 59 paras. 1, 2 and 4). If the accommodation does not meet the conditions for rooms intended for human habitation, you can report this to the starost (Art. 59 para. 5). See also: work permit.