- Poland will end visa-free work access for Colombians, Georgians, and Venezuelans on August 15, 2026.
- Workers need a national D-type visa, and employers face fines up to PLN 30,000 per violation.
- Some workers keep temporary rights through the grandfather clause or verified filings in the MOS system.
Poland has tightened work access for nationals of Colombia, Georgia and Venezuela, ending a visa-free route for jobs on August 15, 2026. Workers now need a national D-type visa before they start. The clock is short.
Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, the family minister, issued the draft regulation in February 2026. Her ministry said the change was meant to "reduce abuses involving visa-free travel being used for gainful employment and to strengthen control of migration." Tomasz Siemoniak linked the shift to Poland’s wider migration strategy, calling for "active selection" over "passive acceptance." The line is deliberate.
Free toolSchengen Short-Stay Visa Calculator
The grandfather clause protects foreigners who already had valid work authorization or a pending legalization case when the new rules took effect. People already in Poland before the switch keep the old basis until the case is decided or the authorization ends. Existing workers get a narrow bridge, not a permanent pass.
The clearest transition now sits inside the filing system. Anyone who lodged a temporary residence/work application before April 27, 2026 and has a verified filing in the new MOS system can keep working for the same employer on the same terms while the case is pending. Paper forms have largely disappeared. That part is already live.
A separate carve-out covers foreigners holding temporary protection certificates who started work before March 5, 2026. For that specific job, the employer does not need the new notification. The exemption is job-specific. Nothing broader.
Only a few paths still bypass the permit line
| Group | Current rule | Date or condition |
|---|---|---|
| Existing workers who were already on a valid permit while staying visa-free | They may continue until the end of their current visa-free stay or work permit validity. | August 22, 2026 |
| Foreign students | The automatic work-permit exemption ended, and only students at MSWiA-approved institutions keep the right to work without a permit. | July 1, 2026 |
| Simplified oświadczenie route | The route now covers only Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Georgia was removed from the list. | December 1, 2025 |
| Employers who hire without the proper D-visa after the deadline | They face a penalty of up to PLN 30,000 per violation. | August deadlines |
| Poland’s foreign workforce | The country hosts approximately 1.13 million foreign workers, equal to 7% of social insurance registrants. | Current figure |
The student lane changed again on July 1, 2026. The automatic work-permit exemption for all foreign students ended, and only students at MSWiA-approved institutions keep the right to work without a permit. Graduates of Polish universities still sit outside the new restrictions. Different track.
The simplified oświadczenie route now covers only Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Georgia fell off that list on December 1, 2025. New applicants outside the exempt nationalities now need the standard permit path. Poland also hosts approximately 1.13 million foreign workers, about 7% of social insurance registrants. The market is large.
The new line sits inside a broader political reset. Poland’s migration strategy for 2025 to 2030, titled Regain Control. Ensure Security, favors stricter screening from the start. Siemoniak used that language to describe the government’s approach.
"Regain Control. Ensure Security," "active selection" over "passive acceptance."
The legal hook is the Act of March 20, 2025, on the employment of foreign nationals. It gave the labor minister authority to exclude specific nationalities from work-while-visa-free rights. Officials also pointed to border sabotage and to defending the EU’s external borders while tightening migration rules in 2026.
Employers are already feeling the pressure. They now have to run a compliance audit of their workforce, and hiring after the deadlines without the proper D-visa can trigger fines of up to PLN 30,000 per violation. The route that once let some workers enter for 90 days as tourists and then apply for work permits is closing fast.
The pressure has already shown up at the border and in offices. Georgians and Colombians have faced more workplace inspections and entry refusals before the official cutoff, while the Polish Embassy in Bogotá and other regional consulates are expected to see a significant spike in D-visa applications. That could slow processing for new hires. The first deadline lands on August 15, 2026. The second follows on August 22, 2026.
