Restrictions on Employing Foreigners Complicate the Situation of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs in Poland

According to Gremi Personal, the restrictions apply to situations in which employment requires the use of procedures such as a notification, a declaration of entrusting work, or a work permit.

At the same time, entrepreneurs running sole proprietorships can hire Polish citizens, citizens of other European Union countries, the European Economic Area and Switzerland without restrictions, as well as foreigners who have full access to the Polish labor market, for example on the basis of a permanent residence permit or EU long-term resident status.

According to Gremi Personal, entrepreneurs affected by these restrictions have several possible options.

One of them is establishing a limited liability company. This provides broader organizational possibilities, but also entails additional costs related to accounting support, administration and formalities.

The second option is B2B cooperation with other entrepreneurs. However, this model requires genuine independence on the part of the contractor. If, in practice, the cooperation resembles an employment relationship, this arrangement may be challenged.

For some workers, this is also not an attractive solution, as it requires them to run a business, handle accounting and settle taxes independently.

The third option is cooperation with a temporary employment agency. Under this model, the agency becomes the foreigner's official employer, prepares the documents required for legal employment, and calculates taxes and contributions.

The entrepreneur using the worker enters into an agreement with the agency and pays for the actual hours worked.

This model also has its limitations. Temporary work is subject to established time limits and cannot apply to all types of work.

The general limit is 18 months within a period of 36 months for one worker at one user employer. A temporary worker also cannot be assigned work considered particularly hazardous.

Gremi Personal points out that this model can also be beneficial for workers whom a particular entrepreneur cannot hire directly under the required procedure.

“Before signing an agreement with an agency, it is worth making sure that the company is entered in the relevant KRAZ register, has the necessary authorization to work with foreigners, and can legally employ a specific worker under the appropriate conditions,” advises <strong>Yevhen Kirichenko<\/strong>, founder of Gremi Personal.

The scale of the problem is also important because many Ukrainian citizens run their own businesses in Poland.

According to the Polish Economic Institute, Ukrainian citizens registered 109,100 sole proprietorships in Poland between 2022 and 2025. In 2025 alone, 31,400 such businesses were established.

The largest share of new Ukrainian sole proprietorships operated in construction — 24% — as well as in telecommunications and computer programming — 13%.

At the same time, according to a Deloitte and UNHCR study, the estimated economic contribution of Ukrainian refugees in 2025 amounted to approximately 2.4% of Poland’s GDP, or about PLN 94 billion. The employment rate in this group rose to 76%, compared with 69% a year earlier.

“Under these conditions, the ability to legally employ foreign workers is important not only for the development of Ukrainian entrepreneurship in Poland, but also for Ukrainians’ access to work. If an entrepreneur cannot hire a worker directly, cooperation with an agency may become an alternative for both parties,” Kirichenko believes.

Gremi Personal.