Poland intra-company transfer (ICT) permit: requirements and procedure

The sending employer must be based outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland and linked by capital or organisation to the Polish host entity. Immediately before the transfer you must have worked for the group without interruption for at least 12 months as a manager or specialist, or 6 months as a trainee. Poland must be the first or main country of the transfer.

Managers need suitable qualifications and managerial experience, specialists need specialised knowledge, and trainees need a higher education degree. After the transfer you must be able to return to the group outside the EU.

The contract or the sending employer's transfer document must state the length of the transfer, the host entity's address, your position there, and your pay and other conditions. For trainees it must also describe the training programme, its duration and supervision.

Unlike most permits, the ICT application is not filed in MOS: the host entity completes the specific paper form, signs it through an authorised person and submits it with the attachments and stamp duty (PLN 440) to the voivode's registry. The voivode should decide within 60 days. If you need a visa, you then enter Poland on a visa issued to implement the ICT permit.

You may work only at the host entity, in the position and with at least the pay stated in the decision. Spouses and children can apply for family reunification. Time on an ICT permit is not counted towards EU long-term residence.

A voivode's refusal can be appealed to the Head of the Office for Foreigners within 14 days of delivery, in writing through the voivode (not via MOS). The appeal should be decided within 90 days. Without an appeal or another basis of stay, you must leave Poland within 30 days of the decision becoming final.