President Andrzej Duda has signed the novelisation of the act on foreigners

Polish authorities once again novelised regulations related to legalisation of stay and work of foreign citizens in Poland. On January 4, 2022 President Andrzej Duda approved amendments to the law on foreigners passed by parliament on December 17, 2021. 

One of the reasons for further changes in terms of legalisation of stay and access to the labour market was the need to improve the functioning of the voivodeship offices, which had experienced temporal limitations of their work during the first months of pandemic in 2020, extending as a consequence the duration of administrative procedures. The problem continues to deepen as local authorities face the increasing numbers of migrants’ applications. The novelisation aims to improve the legalisation  procedures, in particular, the procedure of granting the temporary residence and work permits. 

The Ministry of Family and Social Policy also highlighted that the novelisation proposes important changes, which might improve the situation of beneficiaries of humanitarian visas and people who applied for international protection in Poland. Namely, the novelisation project expands the group of foreigners who might have access to the services of poviat labour offices and might achieve the ability to  register as unemployed . According to the project, these categories of migrants will be able to acquire the status of  unemployed, achieve the right to work in the territory of the Republic of Poland, and will receive access to the obligatory health insurance in accordance with the provisions of the Act on health care services financed from public funds. 
Nevertheless, mentioned above entries concerning holders of humanitarian visas and applicants for international protection are missing in the summary note published on the official website president.pl [as of 11.01.2022]. 



Sources
Ustawy podpisane w styczniu 2022 r.
Ustawa o legalizacji pobytu cudzoziemców w Polsce podpisana.
Praca cudzoziemców z usprawnieniami. Prezydent podpisał ustawę.