Working while studying in Poland: the rules for international students

• EU and non-EU students: two different starting points
• The rules in force since December 2025
• Which universities count
• After graduation
• Practical checklist before you start a job
• Key points

⇑EU and non-EU students: two different starting points

If you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country, you can work in Poland without a work permit, on the same terms as Polish students. For students from outside the EU and EEA, the rules are more detailed. The general principle is set out on the official portal study.gov.pl: if your stay is based on a Polish national visa or a temporary residence permit for studies and you study full-time, you may work without a separate work permit. Studying must, however, remain the main purpose of your stay in Poland.

⇑The rules in force since December 2025

The exemption for students is now laid down in a regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 20 November 2025, issued under the Act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners. The regulation entered into force on 1 December 2025. It allows work without a work permit or a declaration for a foreigner who:

• is a student of full-time studies in Poland, and
• studies at an institution that has been approved by the minister responsible for internal affairs to admit foreigners for studies, or
• studies at an institution that is exempt from that approval and has not been banned from admitting foreigners.

The exemption is linked to full-time studies. Part-time students should not assume they can work without formalities, as different rules may apply to them.

⇑Which universities count

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, the following are exempt from the approval requirement: public academic universities, military universities, universities of state services, universities run by churches and religious associations whose relations with the state are regulated by an international agreement or a statute, research institutes and institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

From 1 July 2025, the approval requirement was extended, among others, to non-public academic universities. They could admit and teach foreigners under the previous rules until 30 June 2026, and were expected to apply for approval during that period. The labour regulation followed the same timetable: between 1 December 2025 and 30 June 2026, the work exemption also covered full-time students of non-public academic universities and public vocational universities that had not been approved.

That transitional period is over. If you study at a private university or a public vocational university, check that it appears on the ministry’s list of approved institutions. The list is published on the ministry’s website.

⇑After graduation

According to study.gov.pl, graduates of full-time studies at a Polish university can work in Poland without a work permit. This does not by itself give you the right to stay, though. Graduates from outside the EU who want to look for a job or start a business may apply for a graduate residence permit, which can be granted once, for nine months, directly after graduation.

⇑Practical checklist before you start a job

• Make sure your visa or residence permit is valid and issued for studies.
• Confirm that you are a full-time student and keep proof of your status, such as a valid student ID or a certificate from the university.
• Check whether your university is exempt from approval or appears on the ministry’s list of approved institutions.
• Remember that if you stop studying full-time, the basis for working without a permit may no longer apply.
• When in doubt, ask your university’s international office or the voivodeship office that handles your residence case.

For an overview of the Polish labour market, typical jobs and pay rules, see our page on working in Poland, and the section on working while studying in our guide to studying in Poland.

⇑Key points

EU and EEA students can work in Poland freely. Non-EU students can work without a work permit if they study full-time and their university is approved by the Minister of the Interior to admit foreigners or is exempt from that requirement. The transitional rules for non-approved private and vocational universities ended on 30 June 2026, so check your university’s status before you accept a job.