+48 22 490 20 44 Help for foreigners living in Poland

Important information

Please note that the information provided on this website does not constitute a source of law. We assure you that we have made every effort to ensure that it complies with current legislation. However, please note that this website is for informational purposes only and the information provided on this website may not be used in disputes with governmental authorities. In case of doubt, we recommend that you contact the authority conducting administrative proceedings in a particular case and familiarize yourself with the provisions of the legislation that may have a decisive influence on its resolution. You can also contact our infoline migrant.info: +48 22 490 20 44

Granting the unemployed person status

You can apply for the UNEMPLOYED PERSON status if you are:

1.

  • a citizen of a European Union Member State,
  • a citizen of the European Economic Area country not belonging to the European Union,
  • a citizen of a country that is not a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, who may exercise the freedom of movement of persons on the basis of agreements concluded by the countries with the European Community and its Member States (i.e. a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland),
  • a foreigner who:
  1. holds the status of a refugee in the Republic of Poland,
  2. holds a permanent residence permit in the Republic of Poland,
  3. holds a long-term EU resident's residence permit in the Republic of Poland,
  4. holds a temporary residence permit in the Republic of Poland granted in connection with the circumstances referred to in art. 127 or art. 186 par. 1 point 3 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners (Journal of Laws of 2018, items 2094, 2399),
  5. holds a temporary residence permit referred to in art. 114 par. 1 or 1a or art. 126 par. 1 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners (Journal of Laws of 2018, items 2094, 2399), or a visa issued for the purpose of performing work on the territory of the Republic of Poland and immediately prior to registration as an unemployed person, they were continuously employed on the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period of at least 6 months,
  6. holds a residence permit for humanitarian reasons or a tolerated stay permit in Poland,
  7. is under temporary protection in the Republic of Poland,
  8. benefits from subsidiary protection in the Republic of Poland;
  • a foreigner accompanying a foreigner on the territory of the Republic of Poland who is:
  1. a citizen of a European Union Member State,
  2. a citizen of the European Economic Area country not belonging to the European Union,
  3. a citizen of a country that is not a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, who may exercise the freedom of movement of persons on the basis of agreements concluded by the countries with the European Community and its Member States (i.e. a citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland),

* as a family member referred to in art. 2 par. 24 of the Act of 14 July 2006 on the entry into the territory of the Republic of Poland, on the stay and departure from the territory of citizens of the European Union Member States and their family members (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 293),

  • a foreigner who, being a family member of a Polish citizen, obtained a temporary residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Poland, or after submitting an application for a temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit or long-term EU resident's residence permit, resides on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of art. 108 par. 1 point 2 or art. 206 par. 1 point 2 of theAct of 12 December 2013 on foreigners (Journal of Laws of 2018, items 2094, 2399) or on the basis of a stamp placed in the travel document, which confirms the submission of the application for a long-term EU resident's residence permit, if immediately prior to submitting the application for a temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit or long-term EU resident's residence permit, they ahve a permit for a temporary stay,

and

2. a person who is not employed and does not perform any other gainful work, capable and ready to take up full-time employment in a given profession or service or other gainful work, or if they are disabled, capable and ready to take up employment at least half of this period of time work, not studying at school, with the exception of studying in schools for adults or taking an extramural exam within the school's curriculum, and studying at a second-cycle industry school and post-secondary school, providing full-time or extramural education, or at a university, where they study at part-time studies, registered in the poviat labour office competent for the place of permanent or temporary residence and seeking employment or other gainful work, if:

  • is more than 18 years old,
  • is under 60 years of age - if she is a woman or 65 - if he is a man,
  • has not acquired the right to an old-age or disability pension, training pension, social pension, or survivor's pension in the amount exceeding half of the minimum remuneration for work or after termination of employment, other gainful work, cessation of non-agricultural activity, they are not paid the teacher compensation benefit, pre-retirement allowance, pre-retirement benefit, rehabilitation benefit, sickness benefit, maternity benefit or an allowance equal to the maternity allowance,
  • has not acquired the right to an old-age or disability pension granted by a foreign pension or disability pension body, in the amount of at least the lowest old-age or disability pension, referred to in the Act of 17 December 1998 on pensions and disability pensions from the Social Insurance Fund (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 1270, as amended),
  • is not the owner or an independent or subsidiary owner of agricultural real estate, within the meaning of the provisions of the Act of 23 April 1964 - Civil Code (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1145, as amended), with an area of agricultural land exceeding 2 conversion hectares or is not subject to retirement and disability pension insurance for permanent work as a spouse or household member on a farm with an area of agricultural land exceeding 2 conversion hectares,
  • does not receive income taxable with income tax from special departments of agricultural production, unless the income from special departments of agricultural production, calculated to determine the income tax from natural persons, does not exceed the amount of the average income from work in individual farms from 2 conversion hectares determined by the President of the Chief of the Statistical Office on the basis of the provisions on agricultural tax, or is not subject to retirement and disability pension insurance for permanent work as a spouse or household member in such a farm,
  • has not submitted an application for entry in the business register or after submitting an application for entry:
  1. has submitted an application to the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity for the suspension of economic activity and the period of suspension has not yet expired, or
  2. the period until the date of commencement of business activity specified in the application for entry in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity has not expired,
  • is not a person under temporary arrest or is not serving a sentence of imprisonment, with the exception of imprisonment served outside the prison in the electronic supervision system,
  • does not receive monthly income in the amount exceeding half of the minimum remuneration for work, excluding income earned from interest or other income from cash accumulated in bank accounts,
  • does not receive a permanent allowance on the basis of the provisions on social aid,
  • does not receive, on the basis of the provisions on family benefits, a nursing benefit, a special care allowance or a supplement to the family allowance for raising a child alone and for the loss of the right to unemployment benefit due to the expiry of the statutory period of its collection,
  • after termination of employment, does not receive the training benefit referred to in art. 70 par. 6,
  • is not subject, under separate regulations, to the obligation of social insurance, with the exception of social insurance for farmers,
  • does not receive a caregiver's allowance on the basis of the provisions on the establishment and payment of caregiver benefits.

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