Changing Employers While Waiting for a Residence Card in Poland: Legal Risks and Consequences
Risks and consequences most foreign nationals underestimate
Changing an employer while an application for a temporary residence and work permit (pobyt czasowy i praca) is still pending is one of the most legally sensitive situations in the entire legalization process in Poland.
Not because such a change is explicitly prohibited.
But because Polish immigration law leaves substantial discretion to the voivode, while applicants often confuse three fundamentally different concepts:
- legality of stay,
- legality of work,
- and the internal logic of administrative proceedings.
The result is predictable: refusals, months of delays, or the need to restart the procedure from the beginning.
The core mistake: “I am not breaking the law”
Submitting an application for a temporary residence and work permit does not grant the right to work.
It also does not bind the authority to issue a positive decision in the future.
An application is merely a request.
The voivode assesses the actual factual situation at every stage of the proceedings.
The key point is this:
If the basis on which the application was submitted – a specific employer and employment conditions declared in Appendix No. 1 – ceases to exist, the authority has full legal grounds to conclude that the purpose of stay no longer exists.
This remains true even if:
- your passport contains a stamp,
- you have a registered case number,
- six to eight months of waiting have already passed.
Why changing jobs is not a “neutral” event
An application filed under Article 114 of the Act on Foreigners is tied to:
- a specific employer,
- a specific position,
- specific working conditions.
The authority does not assess abstract “employment in Poland.”
It evaluates exactly the configuration declared in your application.
A change of employer automatically means:
- a different legal entity,
- different financial capacity,
- a different risk profile,
- a new labour market assessment.
In practical terms, it is a different case, even if the same administrative file remains open.
“Different practices” is a disadvantage, not an advantage
Polish law does not clearly regulate what should happen if an employer changes while proceedings are ongoing.
As a result, voivodeships have developed their own internal practices.
In practice, two approaches exist.
Option 1: Updating the existing case
The applicant submits a new Appendix No. 1 and documents from the new employer as so-called updating actions.
Risks:
- the case effectively rolls back to the verification stage,
- statutory time limits are recalculated from the last submitted document,
- a weaker employer may result in refusal, even if the previous employment was flawless.
Option 2: Filing a new application
The authority – or legal advisors – require a new application for temporary residence and work.
Consequences:
- new administrative fees,
- new deadlines,
- the previous case may be left without examination,
- months of waiting time are lost.
Neither option is inherently “safe.”
A rule applicants systematically misunderstand
When a residence and work permit has already been issued, changes to working conditions (position, working hours, salary, contract type) usually require an application to amend the permit.
However, employment with a different employer typically requires a new unified residence and work permit, not a transfer of the existing one.
During pending proceedings, this rule functions as a risk indicator:
A change of employer almost always triggers a renewed review of the case and may end with a demand to file a new application — depending on the practice of the specific voivodeship.
Changing the employer is not a technical correction.
It is a change of the subject assessed by the authority.
The worst possible moment to change employers
The closer the case is to a decision, the more costly any change becomes.
At the final stage:
- the authority has already formed a preliminary assessment,
- the employer has been verified,
- the labour market analysis has been completed.
Changing the employer at this point means:
- a new evaluation,
- new checks,
- a real risk of refusal if the new basis appears weaker.
This is when applicants most often hear:
“The proceedings did not confirm the purpose of stay.”
Legal stay does not equal legal work
This is one of the most dangerous misconceptions.
Yes, a stamp in the passport or a certificate of pending proceedings legalises stay.
It does not legalise work.
When changing employers, a foreign national must have an independent and valid basis for employment, such as:
- a work permit,
- an employer’s declaration,
- or another special legal regime.
Working for a new employer simply because “the residence card is in process” is a classic scenario of illegal employment – one that authorities often detect retroactively.
What the authority actually assesses
The voivode does not evaluate emotions or personal logic.
The assessment focuses on:
- continuity of legal employment,
- compliance with the 15-day notification obligation after job loss,
- absence of gaps in work authorisation,
- the employer’s credibility and solvency,
- salary compliance with market standards,
- overall plausibility of the applicant’s situation.
Frequent job changes are not prohibited as such.
However, short contracts combined with new applications and documentary gaps are a typical trigger for refusal.
Why a “better job” does not necessarily help
One of the most common practical problems:
The new job is objectively better, but:
- the employer has outstanding debts,
- the company lacks real activity,
- the salary does not match the position,
- documents are submitted late or inconsistently.
From the authority’s perspective, this is not an improvement but a weaker evidentiary basis.
Administrative decisions are not based on motivation.
They are based on formal compliance.
Key conclusion
Changing employment while waiting for a residence card in Poland is legally possible, but it is neither neutral nor purely technical.
Each such change:
- increases the risk of delays,
- may nullify months of waiting,
- and in the worst case leads to refusal.
This is why the issue remains one of the most common reasons for loss of time, money, and legal stability – even among applicants who formally “did everything right.”
Further analysis
In subsequent materials, the following topics will be addressed separately:
- termination of employment and its impact on residence permits,
- breaks in employment,
- typical mistakes when transitioning between employers.
This article marks the boundary of general legal analysis.
Beyond this point, individual risk assessment becomes decisive.
Ukrainian version of this article
Contact For professional assistance regarding Polish immigration, residence procedures, and administrative compliance, you may contact me via Telegram: @aleks_dokumenty