Permit for company owners

ONE PLUS checks whether a foreign national needs a separate work permit to serve on a management board or perform another defined corporate function in a Polish company. Share ownership alone does not always trigger a permit: the actual role, residence status, nationality and time spent performing the function matter.

We use the current praca.gov.pl application category, named by the work model since 2026; the former “type B” label is retained only as a familiar search term. We review company documents, appointment, remuneration, authority, exemptions and consistency with the person’s visa or residence card.

The client receives an assessment of the correct basis, a document list for the company and foreign national, and a prepared filing set. This separates a corporate function from ordinary employment and aligns the permit with the company’s actual operations.

When a founder needs a separate permit

Registering an Sp. z o.o. does not by itself authorise a foreign national to perform management-board duties without considering labour-market access rules. If no other lawful basis applies, a work permit connected with performing a specific corporate function may be required. Before the application names changed, this category was commonly called type B.

Terminology update: since 1 January 2026, praca.gov.pl has named applications by the employment model rather than the former A–E labels. The old labels are useful only when explaining earlier decisions or older guidance. The current application names are listed by Zielona Linia.

ONE PLUS has supported founders and directors across Poland since 2018. Our office is in Wrocław, with experience in corporate and immigration procedures. We look beyond the form: company reality, length of management, alternative bases and the plan for a visa or residence permit.

The information below is general. The voivode takes the final decision. Before filing, check current guidance on biznes.gov.pl and the requirements of the competent voivodeship office.

What the corporate-function permit covers

This is a voivodeship work authorisation linked to performing functions on the management board of a legal entity entered in the Polish register. It is not classic employment in a junior role. It covers managing the company: president, board member, the person who takes strategic decisions and actually runs the business.

In practice the document is often needed:

• to manage the company lawfully beyond the period allowed without a permit;
• as a basis for a national D visa in board-related scenarios;
• as part of a strategy before or alongside a business-based residence card;
• when the foreigner has no other status that already exempts them from a permit.

Do not confuse this permit with a standard work permit for an employee or with the HR track of permits for staff. Here the focus is the owner or board role.

When a permit is usually required

Managing for more than 6 months within 12 months

If a foreigner joins the board and performs managerial functions for more than six months within twelve months, in practice this work permit is generally required unless an exempting status applies. Many wrongly assume “I am a shareholder, so documents are optional”. The law looks at actual performance of functions, not only the shareholding.

No other work basis

A residence card with labour-market access, permanent stay, certain humanitarian bases or EU citizenship may remove the duty to obtain a permit. Where those bases are missing, the corporate-function permit is often the correct route.

Moving from a Blue Card or employment into running your own company

A specialist may first work as an employee and later scale through an Sp. z o.o.. A role change needs a fresh basis check. An old permit or an old residence basis does not always automatically cover the new managerial function.

Who is usually exempt

Categories depend on current rules, but in practice exemptions often cover:

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens;
• holders of permanent residence or EU long-term resident status issued in Poland;
• people with certain humanitarian statuses, including selected forms of protection;
• graduates of Polish universities within statutory preferences;
• people whose current stay document already grants full labour-market access without a separate permit.

The list is not universal. Before deciding not to file, the status must be checked individually. A wrong call costs more than any fee.

How the company, the permit and legalisation connect

First there must be a clear corporate setup. If the company does not exist yet, complete Sp. z o.o. registration first, and consider a JDG only where the stay status actually allows it.

Then matter:

• address and mail, sometimes via a virtual office;
• a business bank account;
• bookkeeping;
• for a business-based residence plan: a business plan;
• a home address through lawful address registration, not by substituting an office address.

For a young company, coherent records are especially important: the KRS entry, bank account, bookkeeping, evidence of activity and a clearly documented role for the foreign national.

Documents usually prepared

The exact list depends on the voivodeship and case structure, but the base usually includes:

• the application and the foreigner’s details;
• company documents: KRS, NIP, REGON, founding documents;
• proof of the board role;
• remuneration or conditions of performing functions where required;
• financial and operational evidence of activity;
• certificates and annexes required by the office;
• proof of fee payment.

For a young company the pack is strengthened with contracts, bank statements, invoices, tax and ZUS documents and, where needed, a business plan. Official entrepreneur guidance should be checked on biznes.gov.pl.

How the procedure runs

1. Role analysis: shareholder, board member, management period, alternative bases.
2. Company readiness check: register, address, account, bookkeeping.
3. Pack assembly and filing with the competent voivodeship office.
4. Monitoring of requests and deadlines.
5. Receiving the decision and embedding the permit into the visa, stay or residence plan.

In practice timelines often range from several weeks to several months. Much depends on the region, completeness and office workload. ONE PLUS does not guarantee a decision date: the authority sets it.

Risks of managing without a permit

If a foreigner actually manages a company without the required basis, risks hit both the person and the business:

• administrative fines;
• problems during checks by the Border Guard, labour inspectorate and other bodies;
• refusal to extend stay or a visa;
• complications for a later residence card;
• in severe scenarios: an entry ban and loss of company control.

Filing a residence-permit application does not itself replace the legal basis required for management-board duties. Residence status and work authorisation should be checked before those duties begin or continue.

How ONE PLUS helps

We guide founders and directors end to end:

• checking whether a corporate-function permit is required;
• linking the permit with Sp. z o.o. registration, a business account and bookkeeping;
• preparing the pack and controlling filing;
• syncing the case with a business plan and the legalisation roadmap;
• keeping the company address separate from address registration;
• explaining when a standard work permit track is enough and when a corporate-function permit is required for the board role.

ONE PLUS has operated officially since 2018, KRS 0000739695, office: Piłsudskiego 43, Wrocław. We prepare the file to reduce refusal risk from an empty company or conflicting documents, but the voivode always decides.

If you manage a Polish company or are joining the board, check the basis before the preferential window ends. Contact ONE PLUS: we will review the role, documents and filing plan without unnecessary risk.