Short version: since 1 June 2025 you cannot apply for a zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy i pracę, the work-based karta pobytu, while you are in Poland on a student visa. The wojewoda will refuse wszczęcie postępowania, meaning the case is never opened: this is what art. 116 pkt 5 ustawy o cudzoziemcach (the Act on Foreigners) requires. From that visa you can apply for a study-based card, for the 9-month permit for a graduate looking for work, or for the Niebieska Karta UE.
Below we go through what exactly is barred, which routes remain open and how a graduate of a Polish university can move to a work-based card without a refusal.
What changed on 1 June 2025
The ban was introduced by the ustawa z dnia 4 kwietnia 2025 r. o zmianie niektórych ustaw w celu wyeliminowania nieprawidłowości w systemie wizowym (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 622). It rewrote art. 116 pkt 5: the wojewoda refuses to open a work-based residence case if, on the day you file, you are in Poland on a visa issued for one of the purposes listed in art. 60 ust. 1 pkt 1-3, 7, 9-11, 14-16 or 18. The list covers:
- tourism, visiting family or friends, sports events;
- cultural activities and conferences;
- first- or second-cycle studies (studia pierwszego or drugiego stopnia), long-cycle master's studies (jednolite studia magisterskie) and doctoral school (szkoła doktorska) (pkt 9, the ordinary student visa);
- vocational training and other forms of education;
- transit, airport transit and medical treatment;
- cultural or educational exchange programmes, humanitarian aid programmes and working holiday programmes.
The rule applies to applications filed from 1 June 2025 (art. 22 of the same ustawa). On its page about the work-based permit, the Mazowiecki office says it plainly: in this situation "Twoje postępowanie nie zostanie wszczęte i wniosek nie będzie rozpatrywany" (your proceedings will not be opened and your application will not be examined). There will be no decision on the merits, so filing on the work basis in the last weeks of a student visa is pointless.
The ban concerns only the visa. If you live in Poland on a study permit (a karta pobytu under art. 144), art. 116 pkt 5 does not apply to you.
Other changes in hiring foreigners
Also from 1 June 2025, the ustawa o warunkach dopuszczalności powierzania pracy cudzoziemcom na terytorium Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 621) is in force. Three of its changes matter for graduates.
- The labour market test (test rynku pracy) has been abolished. Urząd Pracy m.st. Warszawy puts it this way: "Pracodawca nie musi już przeprowadzać tzw. testu rynku pracy" (the employer no longer has to carry out the so-called labour market test). Instead of the test, the starosta may adopt a list of occupations for which no zezwolenie na pracę is issued in that powiat (art. 31).
- Since 1 December 2025, the oświadczenie o powierzeniu pracy cudzoziemcowi is available only for citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine (rozporządzenie MRPiPS, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1617). Georgia was taken off the list. A Georgian citizen whose oświadczenie was entered in the register before 1 December 2025 can keep working under it until it runs out.
- The fine for illegally employing a foreigner is 3,000 to 50,000 PLN for the employer and at least 1,000 PLN for the worker (art. 84 ust. 1 and 2).
The right to work after graduation
A graduate of a Polish university can work without a zezwolenie na pracę and without an oświadczenie. This is art. 3 ust. 5 pkt 3 ustawy o warunkach dopuszczalności powierzania pracy cudzoziemcom: the exemption covers anyone who graduated from a university based in Poland, provided they are in the country on a visa (a student visa counts), on a zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy or visa-free. The law contains no ministry list of universities on which the exemption depends. Nor is there a three-year limit after graduation.
This provision says nothing about the mode of study. But the Mazowiecki office page on the graduate permit still says that graduates of studia stacjonarne (full-time) can work without a zezwolenie, while graduates of studia niestacjonarne (part-time) need a zezwolenie na pracę. If you studied part-time, clarify this before signing the contract.
The right to work without a zezwolenie is not a basis for staying in Poland. When your student visa expires, you will need a separate permit, and you cannot apply for a work-based one from that visa.
What you can file while in Poland on a student visa
Study-based karta pobytu
If you are continuing your studies, for example you have been admitted to a master's programme, apply for a zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy w celu kształcenia się na studiach (art. 144). The university must be approved by the minister of the interior where such approval is required for it, and must not be under a ban on admitting foreigners. The opłata skarbowa is 340 PLN, and students pay 50 PLN for the card itself (Mazowiecki office fee table).
This card gives you free access to the labour market (art. 3 ust. 1 pkt 14 ustawy 2025 poz. 621), so you need no zezwolenie na pracę. The Mazowiecki office warns that if the proceedings show that the main purpose of your stay is full-time work rather than study, this can end in a refusal.
Once you live in Poland on a study permit rather than a visa, the art. 116 pkt 5 ban no longer applies and you can apply for a work-based card.
Permit for a graduate looking for work
Right after finishing your studies you can apply for a zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy ze względu na inne okoliczności for a graduate of a Polish university who is looking for work or plans to start a business (art. 186 ust. 1 pkt 6). It is granted once, for 9 months (art. 190 pkt 3). The Mazowiecki office states this separately: "O zezwolenie możesz się ubiegać tylko bezpośrednio po zakończeniu studiów" (you can apply for the permit only directly after finishing your studies).
Conditions: a diploma from a Polish university, health insurance, accommodation in Poland and enough money for living costs and the journey home (art. 188 ust. 1a and 2a). The office puts the minimum at 776 PLN per month of stay for one person. The opłata skarbowa is 340 PLN, the card 100 PLN.
The permit itself does not give you the right to work; the office's page says so directly. You work under the graduate exemption in art. 3 ust. 5 pkt 3. The art. 116 ban does not extend to this permit; art. 190a closes it only to ICT trainees and to people who have applied for or already hold a Niebieska Karta UE. Once you find a job, you apply for a work-based card while already staying in Poland on this permit.
Niebieska Karta UE
If the job requires high qualifications, you can apply for a zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy w celu wykonywania pracy w zawodzie wymagającym wysokich kwalifikacji (art. 127). Conditions: a contract for at least 6 months, higher professional qualifications for the job, and an annual salary under the contract of at least 150% of the average wage in the economy for the previous year. A student visa is no obstacle here: under art. 131 the case is refused to people staying in Poland on a tourist visa or a visa for visiting family or friends (art. 60 ust. 1 pkt 1 and 2), and the student visa is not on that list. The opłata skarbowa is 440 PLN.
Leaving and coming back on a work visa
Work visas (art. 60 ust. 1 pkt 5, 5a and 6) are not on the art. 116 pkt 5 list. If you have no other basis, the remaining option is to leave, get a work visa at a consulate and apply for a work-based card from that visa. This is the longest route, and the consul decides whether to issue the visa.
How a graduate moves to a work-based card
Say you defended your thesis in June, your student visa is valid until the end of September and an employer is ready to sign a contract. You cannot apply for a work-based card from this visa. The order is:
- While the visa is still valid, you apply through MOS for the 9-month graduate permit (or for a study-based card if you are continuing your studies). The application must be filed no later than the last day of your legal stay (art. 105 ust. 1). If it is filed on time and without formal defects, your stay counts as legal until the final decision (art. 108 ust. 1), and the office sends you a zaświadczenie confirming the filing through MOS.
- You work without a zezwolenie na pracę under art. 3 ust. 5 pkt 3, if that exemption applies to you.
- Once you have the permit, you apply for the work-based card (art. 114). The employer fills in Załącznik nr 1 and signs it electronically (art. 106d ust. 4).
Documents for a work-based card
When you apply for a work-based card no longer from a student visa, the basic set is:
- the wniosek in MOS with your electronic signature: podpis zaufany or kwalifikowany podpis elektroniczny (art. 106d ust. 3);
- Załącznik nr 1 from the employer with the employer's electronic signature;
- a scan of all pages of your valid passport and a photo (art. 106d ust. 1);
- a contract paying no less than the minimum wage: in 2026 that is 4,806 PLN gross (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1242), regardless of working hours and contract type (art. 114 ust. 1 pkt 5);
- health insurance or confirmation of NFZ cover (art. 114 ust. 1 pkt 1);
- your Polish university diploma, if you work under the graduate exemption;
- proof of payment: the opłata skarbowa for a work-based card is 440 PLN, plus 100 PLN for the card itself.
Common mistakes
1. Filing for a work-based card from a student visa. Since 1 June 2025 such a case will not be opened. Choose one of the routes above.
2. Waiting until the last day of the visa. The Mazowiecki office advises against leaving the application until the last day of legal stay. An application filed after the visa has expired does not make your stay legal.
3. Missing the window for the graduate permit. It is granted only directly after finishing your studies, and only once.
4. Confusing the right to work with a basis of stay. The exemption from the zezwolenie na pracę lets you work, but it does not extend your visa.
5. Working where nobody checked your documents. Before you start work, the employer must ask you for a valid document giving the right to stay (art. 4 ust. 2 ustawy 2025 poz. 621). Both sides are liable for illegal work: the employer faces a fine of 3,000 to 50,000 PLN, the worker a fine from 1,000 PLN.
Studying and applying for a work-based card at the same time
Not on a student visa: the work-based card is closed to you from it. If you already live here on a study-based card, you have a choice. The study card already gives free access to the labour market, but its purpose is study, and the office checks whether you are actually studying. The work-based card is tied to your employer and the conditions in the decision. If work comes first for you and the contract is already signed, the "work" basis makes more sense; if your studies come first, stay on the "study" basis.
When you need a lawyer
You can handle this yourself if you have a study-based card or the graduate permit, your employer has hired foreigners before, and you have had no refusals or returned applications in the past.
It is worth talking to a specialist if:
- your student visa is ending and you do not yet have a basis for the next application;
- you graduated from studia niestacjonarne and are not sure whether you need a zezwolenie na pracę;
- you are considering the Niebieska Karta UE and are unsure whether your salary and qualifications meet the requirements;
- your family (spouse, children) is applying at the same time;
- you have had a refusal, a returned application or a revoked permit before.
A consultation at LegalWin costs 300 PLN: we go through your documents and give you a written plan, and if you order a service afterwards, the 300 PLN is credited towards it. Handling a karta pobytu case starts at 2,000 PLN.
Karta pobytu after studies: let us work out your switch →
This article is a general overview. The right route depends on your basis of stay, mode of study and job. For individual cases, consult a specialist.
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