Termination of an Employment Contract and a Residence Permit: Legal Consequences
Why Termination of an Employment Contract Affects the Legal Basis of Residence
Termination of an employment contract does not automatically make a foreigner’s stay illegal.
However, in most cases it undermines the legal basis of residence and triggers deadlines, obligations, and risks that are systematically underestimated.
The key mistake is treating dismissal as a purely private matter between the employee and the employer.
For the immigration authority, it is a signal that the purpose of stay may have ceased.
If the permit was issued as a temporary residence and work permit
In this type of permit, employment with a specific employer constitutes the very purpose of residence.
Once the employment relationship ends, the authority may consider that:
the purpose of stay has ceased (cel pobytu ustał).
This opens the legal path to withdrawal of the permit.
At the same time, the law provides for a limited “protective corridor”:
- the foreigner has 15 working days to notify the voivode in writing of the loss of employment;
- if this deadline is met, the permit cannot be withdrawn earlier than 30 days from the date employment ended.
These 30 days are not a guarantee of a new permit. They only provide time to:
- find a new employer,
- submit an application to amend the existing permit or apply for a new one,
- or switch to a different legal basis of stay.
Termination does not affect the permit instantly, but in practice it is almost always fatal if deadlines are ignored.
When dismissal does not automatically create problems
If the residence permit was issued on a basis other than employment (studies, family reunification, business activity, EU long-term residence), termination of an employment contract does not, by itself, mean that the purpose of stay has ceased.
Risks arise not from dismissal as such, but from incorrectly applying the logic of a “residence and work” permit to other types of permits – or vice versa.
An important nuance:
If, within the same 15 working days, an application to change a temporary residence and work permit is submitted for a new employer, a separate notification of job loss is not required. This applies only if the application is genuine and filed on time.
Termination, notice, expiration: why the distinction matters
All of these concepts lead to the end of an employment contract, but they represent different legal mechanisms:
- notice of termination – a unilateral declaration; the contract remains in force until the notice period ends;
- termination – the result: the contract has ended;
- expiration – automatic termination by operation of law.
For the immigration authority, the decisive moment is the actual end of the employment relationship, not the label of the mechanism. All statutory deadlines are calculated from that date.
Fifteen working days: the deadline that determines everything
The obligation to notify the authority of the loss of the residence basis arises under the Act on Foreigners.
For residence and work permits, it is regulated in detail.
Key points:
- the deadline is counted in working days, excluding weekends and public holidays;
- it starts on the date the employment relationship actually ended;
- the notification must be written and properly identifiable (case number, date, supporting documents).
This deadline does not grant immunity, but it prevents immediate action by the authority.
Failure to notify or late notification: real consequences
Failure to notify within the deadline is one of the worst-case scenarios.
In practice, it leads to:
- faster withdrawal of the permit,
- a negative assessment of cooperation with the authority,
- formal recording of the violation in the case file,
- difficulties with future permits and visas.
Late notification is formally better than none, but:
- the 30-day protective period no longer applies;
- the withdrawal decision may be issued at any time;
- the violation does not disappear – it is merely explained.
Once a withdrawal decision is issued, the stay becomes illegal as of the date indicated in the decision, even if the physical residence card is still in the foreigner’s possession.
Does the reason for dismissal matter?
The voivode does not resolve employment disputes.
The authority focuses on two issues only:
- whether the purpose of stay still exists,
- whether the foreigner complies with statutory obligations.
The reason for dismissal matters only if it is connected with:
- a breach of law,
- false information,
- a threat to public order.
Redundancy, liquidation of the employer, or termination by mutual consent are neutral, provided the foreigner reacts correctly afterwards.
Repeated dismissals: the myth of “the second time is the end”
The law does not count dismissals.
Each termination constitutes a separate loss of purpose that must be legally addressed.
In practice, however, a chaotic employment and residence history may accumulate and affect the overall assessment of credibility – not because of dismissal itself, but due to a lack of status stabilization.
Pending proceedings and job loss: how the authority reacts
Pending proceedings may be:
- continued on the basis of new circumstances (change of employer),
- concluded with a refusal,
- or discontinued as groundless if the purpose has ceased and no alternative basis is provided.
There is no automatic closure if the foreigner reacts quickly and submits a new legal basis.
Typical mistakes that cost legal status
The most serious problems arise after dismissal, not at the moment it occurs:
- no notification or chaotic letters without evidence,
- months without work and without any application,
- reliance on the fact that “the card is still physically valid,”
- ignoring correspondence from the authority,
- attempts to legalize stay only after withdrawal of the permit.
This creates a migration record that may affect the foreigner for years.
Conclusion
Termination of an employment contract is not an automatic disaster.
The disaster is an incorrect reaction afterward. For the authority, emotions and workplace conflicts are irrelevant. Deadlines, documents, and the logic of the residence purpose are decisive. Everything else is merely background that either limits the consequences or multiplies them.
Ukrainian version of this article
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