If you are not a Polish citizen and wish to do business in Poland, you have the right to set up a business in Poland. It is also possible for such persons to establish a branch or representative office of their company in Poland or to provide its services on a temporary basis. Read the article to the end and find out how running a business in Poland by a foreigner looks like.
Read more about The Representation of a Foreign Company in Poland
Registering a company under the rules applicable to Polish entrepreneurs
If you meet one of the following conditions, you may set up your business as a Polish citizen. This is done if:
- you are a citizen of an EU or UOG country,
- you have a residence permit: permanent, long-term resident of the EU, temporary (connected, among others, with studying at a higher education institution),
- you have refugee status,
- you have temporary or subsidiary protection,
- you have a valid Card of the Pole.
Running a business by a foreigner – Registration of sole proprietorship
If you want to register your sole trading online in CEIDG, but you do not have a NIP or PESEL number in your electronic signature, go to the municipal or commune office. There you will confirm your account in CEIDG. Show the authorized officer your passport or other document confirming your identity.
Running a business by a foreigner – Social insurance while running a business
Currently the rule is that you can only be insured in one country at a time and you have to pay all your social insurance contributions there. This also applies if you run your business in several countries. In this case, you should pay your contributions in the country where you:
- you live and do most of your work,
- the center of your business interests is located if you do not live in that country.
To determine in which state most of your activities are performed, the time of work, the amount of services rendered, the turnover or income generated is taken into account. The document that tells you where you should make your contributions is form A1. Its form is identical in the whole European Union. On its basis you pay contributions and receive exemption from the obligation to pay contributions in another country.
