If you hold a zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy i pracę (temporary residence and work permit) and your contract has ended, you have 15 working days to notify the voivode in writing (art. 121(1) of the Act on Foreigners). In parallel, 30 calendar days run during which the voivode will not revoke the permit for lack of work (art. 123(1)). Both periods start on the day you lose the job, but they are counted differently. If within those 15 working days you file an application to change the permit to the new employer (PLN 220), the notification duty is met (art. 121(3)).
This article covers deadlines and the order of steps. What ties the card to an employer and which changes at work do not need a new decision is explained in our article on the karta pobytu and your employer.
Two deadlines that start on the same day
| 15 working days | 30 days | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | art. 121(1) | art. 123(1) |
| What you do | notify in writing the voivode who issued the permit | nothing, it is a protection period |
| How to count | Monday to Friday only, without public holidays | all calendar days |
| If you are late | the voivode refuses to change the permit (art. 120(4)(6)) and the 30-day protection does not apply | after 30 days without work the voivode may revoke the permit (art. 101(1) and (2)) |
| How often | every time you lose a job | once per permit (art. 123(2)) |
The day you lose the job is the last day of the contract. That day is not counted (art. 57 § 1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, KPA). The Act on Foreigners does not define working days, so count conservatively: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are out.
The 30-day protection works only if you notified the voivode, or if the notice did not arrive for reasons beyond your control. For a permit to work in an occupation the Polish economy needs (art. 114(1a)) the rule is softer: up to 3 months without work, no more than twice during the permit (art. 123(3)).
A worked calendar
Suppose your employment contract ends on Friday 30 October 2026.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Fri 30.10 | last day at work, not counted |
| Mon 2.11 | working day 1 (1 November is a Sunday and a public holiday) |
| Wed 11.11 | Independence Day, not counted |
| Mon 23.11 | working day 15: last day for the notice or the change application |
| Sun 29.11 | end of the 30-day protection |
A letter is on time if before the deadline you post it at a Poczta Polska office, or send it to the voivode's e-Doręczenia (electronic delivery) address and receive a proof of receipt (art. 57 § 5 KPA). A courier does not have that effect: what counts is the day the letter reaches the office.
The protection period does not mean you need a new decision within 30 days. Before it ends you must file for a change of the permit or a new residence application. The Mazowiecki Voivodeship Office says plainly that if you do not, it will start revoking the permit because the purpose of stay has ended.
When you may start working for the new employer
On the old permit you work for no one else until the voivode changes it. There is one exception: a separate legal basis for work with the new employer (art. 2(2)(e) of the Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners). That basis depends on your nationality.
| Your situation | Fastest legal route to work | What happens to the residence permit |
|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian national | the employer files a powiadomienie (notification) with the labour office within 7 days of the start of work (art. 5a of that Act and art. 41 of the Act of 23 January 2026, until 5 March 2029) | notice within 15 working days, then a change or a new application |
| National of Armenia, Belarus or Moldova | oświadczenie o powierzeniu pracy, entered in the register within 7 working days if no clarification is needed (art. 66) | same |
| Other nationality, including Georgia from 1 December 2025 | type A work permit, or a break in work until the change decision | same |
| Same employer, different position or lower pay | change the permit first, then the new terms (art. 122(1)) | change on application, PLN 220 |
The list of countries eligible for oświadczenie is set by the regulation of 21 November 2025 (Dz.U. poz. 1617). The difference between oświadczenie and a type A permit is covered in a separate comparison.
Change of permit or a new application
| Change of permit (art. 120) | New residence and work application | |
|---|---|---|
| How to file | paper form to the voivode of your current place of stay (art. 120a(1)) | MOS portal only |
| Fee | PLN 220 | PLN 440 + PLN 100 for the card |
| Card | stays the same | new card after the decision |
| Validity | unchanged (art. 120(3)) | new, up to 3 years |
| Refund after refusal | no (art. 120c, since 5 March 2026) | no (art. 113c) |
Moving to another voivodeship does not force a new application. The change is handled by the voivode where you live now (art. 120(1)), even if another office issued the permit.
A new application makes sense in two cases. First, the new employer wants to hire you for less time than the card is valid; then the voivode must refuse the change (art. 120(4)(5)). Second, only a few months are left on the card, and it is better to apply for a new period straight away instead of paying PLN 220 for a change and then PLN 540 for the next permit.
Traps that lead to a refusal
The period of work in Załącznik nr 1 (the employer's annex) is shorter than the card. Example: the card is valid until 31 December 2027, and the new fixed-term contract runs until 30 June 2027. With that annex the voivode will refuse the change, even if everything else is fine.
Pay that meets the minimum wage on the day you file, but not on the day of the decision. From 1 January 2027 the minimum wage is PLN 4,950 gross (Council of Ministers regulation of 14 September 2026, Dz.U. poz. 1213); in 2026 it is PLN 4,806. The Mazowiecki office stresses in its description of the residence and work permit that the terms in Załącznik nr 1 must be current on the day the permit is issued. An application filed in autumn 2026 with PLN 4,806 may well be decided in 2027.
Counting 15 days from signing the new contract. The period runs from losing the old job, not from finding a new one.
Notifying through MOS. The portal does not accept notices about a change of employer. The Office for Foreigners tells you to send them to the voivode by paper letter or to the e-Doręczenia address.
A second job loss during the same card. The 30-day protection applies once, so the second time the voivode may start revocation right after you lose the job.
A trial day without a legal basis. That is illegal work: the foreigner faces a fine of at least PLN 1,000, the employer PLN 3,000 to 50,000 per person (art. 84 of the Act on entrusting work to foreigners). More on fines for companies in our article on illegal employment.
What the old and the new employer do
The old employer notifies the voivode that the foreigner has lost the job within 15 days of that event (art. 121(4)). That is a separate duty and does not release the employee from their own notice.
Before you start, the new employer:
- signs a written contract with you, and if the contract is in Polish and you do not speak Polish, gives you its content in a version you understand (art. 5(1) and (2) of the Act of 20 March 2025);
- for a Ukrainian national files a powiadomienie with the labour office within 7 days of the start of work; with an oświadczenie, reports the start of work within 7 days (art. 70(1));
- fills in and signs Załącznik nr 1 for the change application: period of work at least until the card expires, pay not below the minimum wage and not below what employees in comparable positions earn (art. 114(1)(4) and (5)).
Only the foreigner is a party to the change proceedings (art. 120(7)). The employer cannot file for you, but without its Załącznik nr 1 the application will not go through.
What to put in the notice
A short letter to the voivode who issued the permit is enough. Give your name as in the passport, date of birth, nationality, the decision number, the employer named in the decision and the date the contract ended. Attach a copy of the świadectwo pracy (employment certificate) or the termination agreement if you have it. Keep the postal receipt: when deciding on the change the voivode will check whether you met the 15 working days.
In Warsaw, address the letter to Wydział Spraw Cudzoziemców, Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki, ul. Marszałkowska 3/5, 00-624 Warszawa.
How we can help
After a job loss we usually count the deadlines with the client, check Załącznik nr 1 from the new employer and choose between a change and a new application. A consultation costs PLN 300, and if you then hire us for the case, the amount counts towards the fee. Full handling of a karta pobytu case starts at PLN 2,000 plus official fees.
Karta pobytu and permit changes with LegalWin
This article is for information. An unusual case, for example after an earlier revocation, has to be assessed on the documents.
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