Where to start
Where to start?
In order to register as an unemployed person, you have to report
to the district labour office competent for your registered
permanent or temporary address.
Registration takes place on the day of submitting a set of required
documents and certifying the data it contains with a signature in
the presence of an employee of the district labour office.
Foreigners who may register with a district labour office in Poland:
- citizens of a European Union member state,
- citizens of a country that belong to the European Economic Area,
- citizens of the Swiss Confederation,
- foreigners who have been granted the refugee status in the Republic of Poland,
- foreigners who have a permanent residence permit (until 1 May 2014 it was a settlement permit),
- foreigners who have a EU long-term residence permit granted in Poland,
- foreigners who have a temporary residence permit referred to in Article 127, Article 151 par.1 or 2 or Article 186 par.1 point 3 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on aliens – these are foreigners who have been granted a temporary residence permit for the purpose of:
- undertaking a highly qualified job or
- conducting scientific research or
- due to possessing a long-term EU residence permit granted in other EU member state in relation to that fact that they intend to move to Poland in order to perform work, start a business, take up or continue studies or vocational training, or because of other circumstances that justify moving to Poland.
(until 1 May 2014 this point referred to foreigners who had a residence permit for a fixed period granted in relation to circumstances indicated in Article 53 par. 1 point 13 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on aliens)
- foreigners who have a residence permit for humanitarian reasons or permit for tolerated stay in the Republic of Poland,
- foreigners who have been granted temporary protection in the Republic of Poland,
- foreigners who have been granted supplementary protection in the Republic of Poland,
- foreigners who have a temporary residence permit in Poland referred to in Article 114 par.1 or Article 126 par.1 of the Act on aliens, provided that directly before registration with the labour office as an unemployed person have been continuously employed in Poland for 6 months – these are foreigners who have a temporary residence and work permit granted for the purpose of:
- performing work or
- performing a function in a management board of a legal person, provided that they do not possess any shares of that company,
- foreigners who have a visa granted for the purpose of performing work in Poland, provided that directly before registration with the labour office as an unemployed person have been continuously employed in Poland for 6 months,
- foreigners who are family members of citizens of EU member state, or other European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation,
- foreigners who are family members of Polish citizens, who:
- have been granted a temporary residence permit in Poland or
- after submitting an application for a temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit or long-term EU residence in Poland, stay in Poland on the basis of a stamp in a passport, that confirms submitting the application on time and without any formal defects, provided that directly before submitting an application they had a valid temporary residence permit.
(until 1 May 2014 these were foreigners who were family members of Polish citizens who had a residence permit for a fixed period, settlement permit or long-term EU residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of Article 61 par.3 or Article 71a par.3 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on aliens, provided that directly before submitting an application they had a valid residence permit for a fixed period).
In order to register, the following documents are required:
- A passport, identity card or another identification document,
- PESEL number (if granted),
- All the work certificates that a foreigner has obtained so far in Poland,
- If a foreigner worked abroad, he also needs the E 301 or U1 form,
- Diplomas, certificates of graduation or a school certificate that is recognized in Poland; certificates of completion of courses or trainings,
- A confirmation of residence,
- A document that confirms the foreigner’s right to stay in Poland (e.g. a temporary or permanent residence permit).
In certain cases some other documents may be required to establish the applicant’s rights.
You may register on any day convenient for you (provided that on this day you meet all the requirements), there is no set time for registration.
In order to register as an unemployed person, you have to report to the competent district labour office. Registration takes place on the day of submitting a set of required documents to the district labour office competent for your registered permanent or temporary address, after certifying the data with a signature in the presence of an employee of the district labour office.
It is important to keep all of the documents you receive from the labour office, for example the decision issued on the day you are registered, they all may come in handy when you want to verify any information.
If you are missing a certificate of employment and the company no longer exists, on websites such as www.zus.pl and archiwa.gov.pl you may find search engines that can be used to determine the storage location of personal and payroll records of the bankrupt employers.
Remember!
A registered person is obliged to inform the district labour office within 7 days form the occurrence of any changes to the data contained that were submitted during registration.
Online booking of the registration date
Labour offices made available a possibility of initial providing
the labour office with the required information through the
electronic registration system, accessible at:
www.praca.gov.pl. After
submitting your application through the electronic system the
labour office sets a date and time of appointment for you which
would be within 7 working days. During the appointment you
personally submit all the required documents and register with the
district labour office. In case you do not appear in the labour
office on the set date, the information provided by you is deleted
from the IT system of public employment services.
This procedure allows to pre-book the date of the registration, its
aim is mainly to spare the time that unemployed persons usually
spend in the labour office waiting for registration.
Remember!
The status of an unemployed person may be acquired on the date of appearing in the district labour office and signing under the provided data. It is also required that you make a statement that the data you provided are valid and that you became acquainted with the conditions to be met in order to keep the status of an unemployed person. The forgoing statement has to be made under the penalties of perjury in the presence of an employee of the labour office.
Online registration in the district labour office
Upon coming into force of amendments to the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 12 November 2012 on the registration of the unemployed and job seekers, which took place on 27th of May 2013, a new possibility of registration in the district labour offices through the electronic registration system, accessible at: www.praca.gov.pl, appeared.
However, the option of online registration with the labour office as an unemployed person is available if you have either:
- secure electronic signature verified by a valid qualified certificate, in according to the principles laid down in the regulations on electronic signatures, or
- verified trusted profile on government services electronic
platform (ePUAP).
In order to register you are obliged to fill out an online application form accessible at: www.praca.gov.pl. In this case the documents required in order to register need to be scanned, and the application signed using one of the above-mentioned types of secure signatures.
Online registration with the district labour office aims at saving the time that the unemployed usually spend in labour offices waiting for registration. It also saves time and money they spend on commuting to the labour office.
In future the website www.praca.gov.pl will also give easier access to other labour office services, for example it is to enable you to submit various applications via Internet.
Remember!
The status of an unemployed person may be acquired on the date of submitting an application through the online registration system. However, you must sign your application as well as the attached scanned documents together with the statement of the validity of the submitted data as well as statement confirming that you became acquainted with the conditions to be met in order to keep the status of the unemployed person. The documents must be signed with one of the currently accepted secure signatures.
