Other services

Family reunification

Family reunification is a procedure that allows foreigners to bring their families to the country where they live. On the basis of this procedure, foreigners may apply to the authorities of this country for permission for family members to come and legally live with them. You should know that the family reunification procedure could be applied regardless of whether there was a family union when the foreigner left the country of origin. Thus, a foreigner can bring, for example, his wife whom he has married before emigration to another country, but also his wife whom he has married while living abroad.

The right to family reunification is governed by Council Directive 2003/86/EC on the right to family reunification. In the Republic of Poland, all issues related to the family reunification procedure are regulated by Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners, hereinafter referred to as “the Law on Foreigners”.

Who can apply for family reunification?

Only groups of foreigners specified in the Law who have the residence permits can apply for family reunification. The Law on Foreigners lists the following names of residence permits which grant the following rights:

• permanent residence permit;
• permit for a long-term resident of the European Union;
• refugee status;
• subsidiary protection;
• temporary residence permit issued for scientific research;
• temporary residence permit with the annotation “scientist” issued for scientific research by another Member State,

provided that the employment agreement for the implementation of research project is concluded with the relevant scientific unit of this state and also provides for scientific research in Poland;

• temporary residence permit issued for work that requires high qualification (so-called “blue card”);
• residence permit for humanitarian reasons;
• temporary residence permit issued on the grounds other than the above, provided that the foreigner has resided in Poland for at least two years on the basis of temporary residence permits issued in a successive order, including immediately before applying for a temporary residence permit for a family member – not less than 1 year on the basis of granted permission.

Attention! If you are not sure about the form of your residence, you can check it in your residence card, in the content of the issued decision on granting a residence permit/international protection or consult Motli Business Consulting and, of course, we will help you or your relatives to collect the necessary documents and carry out all the procedures for issuing a positive decision.

Family, that is, who exactly?

The concept of family is understood differently in different countries and legal systems.

Sometimes only spouses, parents and children are considered a family, but sometimes there can also be grandparents and other relatives.

For this reason, the Law on Foreigners specifies which members of a foreigner’s family may use the family reunification procedure. The definition of family in Polish law is rather narrow and includes only the so-called “core” family which may not cover everyone whom a foreigner considers to be their immediate family. Persons considered as family members under Polish law and covered by the family reunification procedure are:

• wife/husband married to a foreigner according to the Polish law. Please note that Polish law does not accept religious marriages, same-sex marriages and polygamous marriages.
• a minor child of a foreigner and his/her spouse, including an adopted child. It means that a foreigner can apply for reunification only with children who are minors within the meaning of Polish law and who have not reached 18 years of age.
• a minor child of a foreigner, including an adopted child who is raised and maintained by a foreigner and over whom a foreigner provides actual parental care. This situation applies to a child raised by only one parent or one of the parents and his/her spouse and maintained by one of them. Actual parental care means a situation where the child lives most of the time with a particular parent and is subject to his/her care and maintenance.
• a minor child of the foreigner’s wife/husband who remains dependent on this wife/husband, in the event of the actual custody of the child. This is a situation where a foreigner wants to reunite with his stepson or stepdaughter.

The above list clearly indicates that “family” under Polish law is limited mainly to the spouse and minor children. It does not include other family members, such as siblings, parents, grandparents, adult children (over 18 years old), uncles, cousins, etc.

Minor children without guardianship (who do not have a guardian in Poland) who have received one of the forms of international protection, i.e., refugee status or subsidiary protection, are in a privileged position in this respect. In this case, parents, grandparents are also considered to be a direct line family members, as well as another adult responsible for the child under Polish law, i.e., who provides legal custody of the child, for example, siblings.

Motli Business Consulting treats its clients and their families with great compassion and respect. Legalizing the stay of whole families is a challenge for us, but also a great responsibility that we take on when representing you in such specific cases. Our employees are always guided by the comprehensive interest of our clients and their families, trying to do their job to the best of their ability.

This is service for foreigners whose purpose is to study in Poland, as far as this circumstance justifies the stay of a foreigner in the Republic of Poland for a period exceeding 3 months.

This residence permit may be issued for foreigners who receive education in a form other than full-time learning in higher education institutions, full-time doctoral programme in Polish or preparatory courses in such higher education institutions.

Temporary residence permits for study may be issued for a period of study, more than 3 months and not more than 1 year, with the possibility of applying for subsequent permits.

A foreigner submits an application in person to the governor of province (wojewoda) at the place of foreigner residence, no later than the last day of legal stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Upon receipt of the residence card the purpose of which is study, the specialists of Motli Business Consulting are ready to support you at any stage, from preparing and submitting an application to receiving a decision and stamp in the passport.

Business

Foreigners, regardless of their citizenship and documents entitling them to stay in Poland, have the right to business in the form of:

• limited partnership;
• limited joint-stock partnership;
• limited liability companies;
•  joint stock company.

Any foreigner can also join the above companies or buy their shares, unless otherwise provided for by international agreements.

Important! A foreigner wishing to pursue one of the four forms of activity listed above must not have the right to reside in Poland. Their presence in Poland is usually not required (for example, if the law allows, they can register a company online or on behalf of them).

Important! However, if foreigners plan to stay in Poland for the business purpose, they can legalize their stay on this basis and obtain a visa or temporary residence permit.

OTHER FORMS OF BUSINESS

Foreigners who have certain grounds for staying in Poland may set up and conduct business under the same rules as Polish citizens. It means that they can conduct any form of business activity permitted by Polish law. The group of these foreigners includes migrants living in Poland on the basis of:

• permanent residence permit;
• long-term EU resident permit;
• temporary residence permit issued to a family member of a foreigner for family reunification;
• temporary residence permit issued for study;
• temporary residence permit issued on the basis of other circumstances (i.e., a long-term EU residence permit issued by other EU Member State);
• temporary residence permit issued on the basis of other circumstances (i.e., to a foreigner’s family member described in the paragraph above);
• temporary residence permit, provided that they are married to a Polish citizen living in Poland;
• temporary residence permit issued for economic activity (issued in connection with the continuation of already carried out economic activity on the basis of entry in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG)).

Important! The spouse of a Polish citizen has the right to engage in business activities arising from the fact of marriage, if the ground for residence is a temporary residence permit. It does not matter on what basis it was issued. The legislation regulates the access of spouses of Polish citizens to the labor market in a different way. In this case, the temporary residence permit issued on the basis of marriage is important.

Specialists of Motli Business Consulting will help you to prepare the necessary documents for applying for temporary residence related to a business or company. We will also help you set up a company, and our partners will manage your finances in accordance with the laws applicable to your company.

The application for registration of residence is submitted in person to the governor of province (wojewoda) at the place of the EU citizen residence. The application must be submitted no later than the next day after the expiry of 3 months from the date of entry into the territory of the Republic of Poland. Minors are excluded from the requirement to submit an application in person.

The obligation to register a residence does not apply to the EU citizens staying in Poland for the purpose of seeking work, who may stay in Poland without fulfilling the requirements for a period not exceeding 6 months (or longer if they prove that they are actively looking for a job and have a real chance of employment).

As defined by law, an EU citizen is a foreigner who is a citizen of another EU/EEA Member State or Switzerland. A foreigner under Polish law is anyone who does not have Polish citizenship.

Right to stay for up to 3 months:

EU citizens and members of their families who are not EU citizens can live for up to 3 months without any conditions, except for an availability of valid travel document. Citizens of the European Union may have another valid document proving their nationality and identity.

Stay for more than 3 months:

If the stay in Poland lasts more than 3 months, the EU citizens and their family members who have EU citizenship are obliged to register their stay. A family member who is not an EU citizen must obtain a residence card for a family member of the EU citizen.

Motli Business Consulting has already helped to register more than 70 persons in Poland who are citizens of other Member States of the European Union.