Changing Employer During Temporary Residence – When Do You Need to Change Your Permit?

Changing employer, position or employment terms? Or maybe you’re ending your job and starting your own business? Not every one of these situations calls for the same action. Depending on exactly what is changing, the right path may be amending your existing permit, filing a completely new residence application, or obtaining a separate work permit – and choosing the wrong path can mean working in breach of your decision.

Who is this article for?

This article is especially important for people who:

• are changing employer while the main purpose of their stay remains work;
• are experiencing a change in position, salary, working hours, or type of contract;
• want to additionally work for another employer;
• are planning to start their own business;
• have lost their job with the employer named in their decision;
• have a current residence and work permit that is about to expire.

Don’t want to risk choosing the wrong procedure? Let’s review your situation together.

1. Three paths when your work situation changes – overview

When a foreigner’s professional situation changes, three entirely different procedures may come into play. Choosing the wrong one can lead to work that does not comply with your decision, or to problems with your continued stay.

2. Amending an existing permit – when is it the right choice?

If you hold a valid residence and work permit that names an employer or specific working conditions, and work remains the main purpose of your stay, you can apply to amend the already-issued permit. You do not have to file a completely new residence and work application from scratch.

An application to amend the permit is filed in particular when:

• you want to change your employer or the user employer;
• you intend to do a different type of work or take a different position;
• the salary stated in the decision is changing;
• your working hours are changing;
• the type of contract that is the basis for your work is changing;
• you have gained an exemption from the requirement to hold a work permit and want to work without the restrictions previously entered in the decision.

3. Example 1 – moving to a new employer

4. When is amending the permit not necessary?

Not every change on the employer’s side requires amending the decision. According to current MOS information, amending the permit is not necessary, among others, when:

• the employer’s registered office, place of residence, name or legal form changes;
• the workplace or part of it is transferred to another employer;
• a civil-law contract is replaced by an employment contract;
• working hours increase and the salary increases proportionally at the same time;
• only the job title changes while the scope of duties stays the same.

5. When do you need a completely new residence application?

A new full application is the right choice above all when it is no longer just a matter of changing employment terms within the same purpose of stay:

• the validity of your current permit is ending and you want to stay in Poland longer;
• the main purpose of your stay is changing;
• you stop being an employee, and running a business becomes the main purpose of your continued stay;
• you want to move to a different residence category that cannot be achieved by amending the current decision.

6. Losing your job – the 15-working-day deadline

If you lose the job with the employer named in your decision, you must notify the voivode in writing within 15 working days. If you file an application to amend the permit within this period, the notification obligation is considered fulfilled.

7. The extra 30-day protection period – how does it work?

The regulations also provide for a 30-day period counted from the loss of the job, during which – provided the statutory conditions are met and proper notification is made – the voivode does not apply grounds for revoking the permit related to the purpose of stay ceasing or requirements not being met. This period is meant to allow you to sort out your new professional situation.

8. Can I already work for the new employer?

You shouldn’t assume so. As long as the current decision names the old employer and specific conditions, working in a way that does not match the decision may be illegal. You need a specific basis to work for the new employer.

Depending on the situation, that basis could be, for example, an amended permit or a separate document legalising the work. The mere fact that an application has been submitted does not automatically “transfer” the right to work to the new company.

9. Separate work permit – who is it for?

This solution is especially relevant when you are still working for the employer named in your decision, that job remains the basis for your stay, but you want to additionally work for another entity.

10. Example 2 – additional work for a second employer

A separate work permit legalises work for an additional employer, but does not automatically change the basis of your stay.

11. Work permit vs. residence permit – don’t confuse the two

A work permit and a residence permit serve different functions. A work permit does not extend your stay and does not automatically change the terms of your residence card.

12. Starting your own business while keeping your job

Starting a business does not automatically mean your current permit needs to be amended. What matters is whether the business is additional, or whether it becomes the main basis for your continued stay.

If you continue working for the employer named in your decision and that job remains the main purpose of your stay, you may run an additional business only if the regulations allow you to run a business in the chosen form. Not every foreigner can run a sole proprietorship (JDG) on the same terms as a Polish citizen.

Simply running an additional business does not transform a residence-and-work permit into a residence permit for the purpose of running a business.

13. When does business activity become the new purpose of your stay?

If you end your employment and from that point your own business is meant to justify your stay in Poland for more than 3 months, the main purpose of your stay is changing. Amending the decision on the single permit for residence and work is not enough.

If business activity becomes the main purpose of your stay, the office assesses the conditions specific to a permit for running a business. Simply having an entry in CEIDG or shares in a company is not enough.

14. What to check before starting a business

Before starting a business, check two things:

1. Does your current status allow you to run a business in the chosen form, e.g. a sole proprietorship?
2. Is the business meant to be merely additional, or is it meant to become the main basis for your stay?

15. How and where to file an application to amend your permit

• the application to amend is filed with the voivode competent for your current place of stay;
• the application to amend is filed in paper form;
• the application must be filed within 15 working days of the circumstance requiring the change arising;
• the stamp duty for amending a permit is PLN 220;
• filing the application to amend does not require personal attendance or fingerprinting;
• amending the permit does not automatically involve replacing the residence card.

16. What documents are needed?

• the application form for amending the residence and work permit;
• appendix no. 1 filled in by the new or current employer;
• a copy of the decision to be amended;
• confirmation of payment of the PLN 220 fee;
• documents concerning the new employment;
• documents confirming exemption from the requirement to hold a work permit – if applicable;
• other documents required in the specific case.

17. Table: situation and the correct procedure

18. Common misconceptions

“I changed employer, so I always have to file a completely new residence application.”
Not always. With a valid single permit, amending the existing decision is often the right choice.

“A work permit from the new company is enough.”
No, if you are ending the job that is the basis for your current stay. A work permit does not change the basis of your stay.

“I started a business, so my residence-and-work permit covers that activity too.”
No. Additional business activity and business activity as the main purpose of stay are two different situations.

“I filed the application to amend, so I can immediately work for the new employer.”
Don’t assume that. You need a specific basis for legal work with the new employer.

“I still have a valid card, so losing my job changes nothing.”
It does. Losing a job with the employer named in the decision must be reported within 15 working days.

19. Summary of the key rules

The most important distinction is this: changing work terms is not the same as changing the main purpose of your stay.

• If work remains the main purpose of your stay and the employer or the terms named in the decision are changing – amending the existing single permit is usually the right choice.
• If you keep your current job and only want to additionally work for another entity – a separate work permit for the additional employer may be possible.
• If you end your job and running a business becomes the main purpose of your continued stay – you need a new residence application suited to business activity.
• If the validity of your current permit is ending – the amendment procedure will not extend it; you need a new application for a further permit.
• You report the loss of a job with the employer named in the decision to the voivode within 15 working days.

20. Checklist before changing employer or starting a business

• ✅ Is my current permit still valid?
• ✅ Does the decision name a specific employer?
• ✅ Will work still be the main purpose of my stay?
• ✅ Am I completely changing employer, or just adding a second one?
• ✅ Is my position, salary, working hours, or type of contract changing?
• ✅ Have I lost my job with the entity named in the decision, and did I report it on time?
• ✅ Do I need to amend my decision, file a new full application, or get a separate work permit?
• ✅ Do I want to start a business?
• ✅ Is the business meant to be additional, or become the main purpose of my stay?
• ✅ Does my status allow me to run a business in the chosen form?
• ✅ Is my current permit not about to expire?

Previous article in the series: Legal Stay Does Not Always Mean Legal Work – How Do These Two Conditions Differ?

Next article in the series: Losing Your Job During Temporary Residence – How Much Time Do You Have and What Must Be Reported?

Sources:

• Office for Foreigners, “Amending a residence and work permit,” gov.pl/web/udsc/zmiana-zezwolenia-na-pobyt-czasowy-i-prace
• Case Handling Module (MOS), “Amending a permit” – single permit, mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl
• Case Handling Module (MOS), Q&A database: “Residence and work permit,” mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl
• Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners, in particular Articles 120–123 – consolidated text available via ELI
• Case Handling Module (MOS), information on temporary residence for the purpose of running a business

This article is for general information only and does not replace an individual analysis of a residence decision, the right to work, or the permissible form of running a business by a specific foreigner. Legal status of the article: 28 September 2026.