Work In Europe

As a freelancer, you are free to come to Poland and start working whenever you’d like to; however, it’s important to keep visa processing timelines in mind.

For Americans, the visa process is incredibly fast and can be done in as little as 2-4 weeks. Citizens of visa-free countries (e.g., Canada) can also travel to Poland visa-free and submit all the paperwork after arrival; however, this is a more tricky process.

For nationals of countries that require a visa to enter Poland (e.g., South Africa), you can expect the process to take about 4–8 months.

English Wizards offers 3 options for freelancers and others (teachers included!) looking to work in Poland to obtain permission to work (and thus, be eligible to apply for a work visa:

• Direct Employment – getting hired directly as an employee by a school or other company
• Sole Trader – registering as an independent freelancer, or ‘sole trader’ (EU/US citizens mainly or those with current Polish residence through other means)
• Incubator – freelancing under subcontract with a business incubator, serving as an employer of record

For a full outline of the costs, benefits, drawbacks, and options available for each of the above visa pathways, click the link below, download our full informational here.

Once you’ve obtained permission to work using one of the above pathways, your next step is to go to your nearest Polish embassy and get a visa (Type-D), or if you are already in Poland, go to the Immigration Office to obtain a Temporary Residence Permit (TRC). For more information on these procedures and how we can help you, click here to download our basic guide.

Got more questions? Shoot us an email back and we’ll get back to you ASAP. There’s no such thing as too many questions when it comes to moving abroad!

Yes!

There are currently no nationality restrictions; however, we have found that nationals of certain countries often encounter visa problems. For nationals of English-speaking countries (US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa), as well as most Spanish-speaking countries (Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, etc.), we have never had any problems. If you come from another country, we still invite you to apply and will advise you on any potential visa problems you may encounter.

Poland has two options for freelancers to register and get a visa, and while one option is restricted to only certain nationalities, the other option has no restrictions. Our team can advise on which is best for you.

Yes, assuming you meet the rest of the eligibility requirements. A bachelor’s degree is not required for any visas in Poland.

You must, however, have completed high school, secondary education, or your country’s equivalent. To find out more on the minimum standards with accepted education documents, click here.

There are no age restrictions. Age discrimination is illegal in the European Union.

Poland does not require health checks for any visa applications, so there are no medical restrictions. As a self-employed person, you may (depending on your country of origin) be covered by Poland’s national healthcare system through your taxes, and thus from a healthcare point of view, Poland will treat you just like one of its own citizens.

We also recommend looking into the private healthcare plans that we offer if you are concerned about the availability of medical services in Poland.

When it comes to finding work & our placement programs, if you do not have any medical conditions that will impact on your abiltiy to perform the work, your reliability or without detriment to others then please apply!

Those that are wheelchair bound, we truly sympathise with you however Poland’s schools are not known for having great accessibiliy options.

Absolutely! Poland never separates families.

Our standard visa assistance includes assistance for any dependent family members (minor children or non-working spouses) who wish to join you.

Note that this visa will not allow the family member to work. If your family member is also intent on working in Poland, he/she can apply for a freelance visa through us as well!

As this visa is (partially) designed for professionals coming to Poland to seek freelance job opportunities, there is no level of income you must have when applying at the embassy. However, if you are applying without an existing source of income, you will be asked to show that you have enough funds to support yourself as you seek work (usually a few thousand euros is sufficient).

In order to guarantee a comfortable standard of living and the smooth renewal of your visa should you decide to stay longer, we don’t recommend coming if you are not earning (or capable of earning) above 5000 PLN (about 1200 EUR/USD) per month.

On this visa, you will become a tax resident of Poland, meaning you will have to pay and file monthly taxes and (depending on your nationality and visa category) social security. However, our accounting team can process all of our taxes through our payroll system, so you’ll never have to deal directly with the tax office.

Income tax for freelancers in Poland is between 6% and 17%, depending on your type of work (English teachers and others working in education pay the lowest amount). For those covered by Poland’s national healthcare and social security system, social security is charged at a flat rate of between 350 and 700 PLN per month.

For managing taxes, our accounting service costs 300 PLN per month. You are of course welcome to find your own accountant; however, our prices and services are very competitive in comparison to what others offer in the Polish market.

Absolutely!

All EU-issued visas are valid for travel in the entire Schengen Area, which includes all EU countries except Ireland. Furthermore, a number of other nearby countries such as Albania, Georgia, and Serbia, also accept EU-issued visas.

Maybe spend the winter up in Swedish Lapland with Santa Claus or the summer baking in the sun on the Greek islands? Europe is your oyster!

You must be earning (or capable of earning) above the legal minimum wage in Poland, which as of 2024, is 4300 PLN per month (about €1000). 

Though this minimum is usually not checked at the point of the visa application, you will encounter tax and residence problems down the line if you are regularly earning less than this.

Indeed!

This visa does not limit you to one job, one employer, or one profession.

Not usually! 

Many freelancers obtain their visa in their home country first, and then travel to Poland to find work or begin working.

Not at all! English Wizards helps all of those who wish to come to Poland to work as a freelancer. We take care of the immigration & arrival support.

As Poland is a member of the border-free Schengen Area, your Polish freelance visa will allow you to travel to all EU countries, except Ireland. However, this freedom only allows for visits; you can only live and work in Poland.

That being said, you can work remotely for clients based anywhere in the world. So if you find a job offer in Germany or France that will allow you to work remotely as a freelance contractor, that’s absolutely allowed as long as you’re living and paying taxes in Poland.

No. We are not a recruitment agency and cannot guarantee that a company will offer you a job. Although we’ll offer you a lot of support, your ability to find work will ultimately be up to your skillset, qualifications, ability and determination to seek jobs and interview successfully.

As in most of the world, the majority of well-paying jobs that you’ll be to find as an English-speaking professional will be found in major cities. Finding a job in a smaller city or town will be considerably harder if you don’t speak Polish, not only because English proficiency drops drastically outside of the major cities, but also because there are fewer international companies that operate in English setting up shop in small towns.

That being said, since the pandemic, more and more companies in Poland are offering “fully remote” jobs. So, while your company might be based in Warsaw and you might have to go in for a meeting a few times a year, you’ll be free to live anywhere in the country with a job like this.

Also, an exception exists for English teachers. Language schools in smaller cities and towns are often very desperate to attract teachers to move from the big cities to their towns, and offer pay that’s on par, or often even better, than what schools in the major cities pay.

There is no limit to this.

You can work full-time for one company, or an hour here and an hour there for dozens of companies or individual clients.

Not at all!

“Freelance” is merely a tax distinction. It means that you’ll be working as a contractor and filing taxes yourself. It has nothing to do with the stability of your work, your hours, or your pay.

While many on this visa do operate as “traditional” freelancers and have numerous clients, the majority of freelancers are working full-time for a single company and receiving a fixed monthly salary or close to that.

In most cases, no.

As you will be paying taxes in Poland classified as a resident here for tax purposes, most countries will not require you to pay taxes. Poland has signed double tax treaties with over 30 countries which can further ensure that you won’t be ‘double taxed.’

With all this being said, we are not able to advise on tax matters outside of Poland. If you’re unsure about how this can affect your tax situation at home, we recommend contacting a tax advisor in your home country.

Sadly not. 

This is an “active income” visa, which means that your income must come from active sources, or in other words, working for client(s). Of course, if you do have a pension or other passive income, that’s great and not an issue, but that income cannot be used to meet any tax or income requirements in Poland under this visa.

The majority of freelancers that have come to Poland have ended up working in the following industries: Teaching, programming, software development, graphic design, content creator / influencer, web designer, content writer, social media / marketing specialist, business consultant.  Whilst it is possible to work in other industries, we ask that you contact us to be 100% sure it will be permitted under this class of visa.