Internship and volunteering

A foreigner may apply for a temporary residence permit if the purpose of their stay in Poland is an internship with an internship organizer approved by the minister responsible for internal affairs or participation in the European Voluntary Service program.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS - INTERNSHIP

in addition to the basic documents referred to in the TEMPORARY RESIDENCE - GENERAL INFORMATION tab, the foreigner must also submit:

• documents confirming health insurance or confirmation that the insurer covers the costs of treatment on the territory of Poland;
• documents confirming sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of subsistence and return travel to the country of origin or residence or the costs of transit to a third country which will grant permission to enter;
• documents confirming a place of residence in Poland. Such documents may be, for example, a rental contract, confirmation of check-in or a hotel reservation;
• a document confirming graduation from a higher education unit within 2 years immediately preceding the submission of the application for a permit or a document confirming the completion of higher education outside the European Union;
• an agreement on the basis of which the foreigner will perform the internship;

Note! The agreement may be concluded between the foreigner and the internship organizer being a legal person or an organizational unit that is not a legal person, the law of which grants legal capacity, where the internship takes place, having its registered office in Poland. The internship organizer must be approved by the minister responsible for internal affairs (the list of approved organizers is published in the official journal of the minister responsible for internal affairs).

The agreement under which the foreigner will undertake the internship should be concluded in writing and include:

• description of the internship program;
• duration of internship;
• conditions for the internship and supervision, including the location of the internship and the appointment of a tutor;
• internship hours;
• the parties' rights and obligations (including arrangements for covering the costs of internship or insurance);
• the method of confirming the acquired knowledge, practical skills, and professional experience.

Note! The above list cannot be considered complete. The set of documents necessary to obtain a temporary residence permit for the purpose of internship may differ due to the given foreigner's situation and the office where the foreigner applies for the permanent residence permit.

Note! In the case of an internship, the permit is granted for the period necessary to perform the agreement on the basis of which the foreigner will perform the internship, for a period of more than 3 months, but not longer than 6 months. Another permit may be granted once for each period necessary to complete the internship agreement, not longer than 6 months.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS - VOLUNTEERING

in addition to the basic documents referred to in the TEMPORARY RESIDENCE - GENERAL INFORMATION tab, the foreigner must also submit:

• documents confirming health insurance or confirmation that the insurer covers the costs of treatment on the territory of Poland
• documents confirming sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of subsistence and return travel to the country of origin or residence or the costs of transit to a third country which will grant permission to enter;
• documents confirming a place of residence in Poland. Such documents may be, for example, a rental contract, confirmation of check-in or a hotel reservation.
• the agreement under which the foreigner is to perform services as a volunteer.

Note! The agreement on the basis of which the foreigner is to provide services as a volunteer should be concluded with the organizational unit for which the foreigner is to provide the services and include:

• description of the voluntary services;
• duration of volunteering;
• conditions for carrying out and supervising volunteering;
• service hours;
• funds to cover the costs of living and accommodation of the foreigner and the minimum amount of pocket money for the foreigner;
• training for the foreigner, as necessary to perform the services.

The organizational unit for which the foreigner is to provide services as a volunteer should be approved by the minister responsible for internal affairs.

Note! In the case of voluntary work, the permit is granted for the period necessary to perform the agreement on the basis of which the foreigner is to perform services as a volunteer, for a period of more than 3 months, but not longer than 1 year, with the possibility of applying for further permits.