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If you're new to Poland and a non-EU citizen, you'll almost undoubtedly find yourself asking questions on how to get a work permit/ set up a business in Poland.

I arrived in Poland back in October of 2008 and I now have my own company. Having a Polish company enables me to work for any school, individual or business without the need for a work permit. I can also legally invoice individuals and companies (this allows them a tax write off).

Naturally I receive emails from confused people (people just as confused as I was back in October 2008). These folks ask me for advice on legal questions pertaining to Polish immigration and business law.

Here is what I tell them . . .

(The following is from an email I wrote to an American English teacher working in Krakow)

Hi -----,

Thanks for the email.

I'd love to help you, but I'm no expert on Polish law. I managed to set up a sole proprietorship here in Warsaw with help from two different schools, Polish friends and some professional advisers. I'd highly recommend that you hire a professional adviser. It may cost you some money, but, if your adviser is competent, the advice will be worth every penny.

Instead of free vagaries like; "well my friend knows a guy who didn't have to file that form and still got his karta pobytu renewed." You'll be getting solid advice that you can act on, at a price. If the advice is bad then the adviser is accountable.

Personally, I don't remember all of the stuff I had to do to get my business set up, and I don't want to remember. I had to fill out a hundred pieces of paper and wait in lobbies of a bunch of different Polish government offices for a long time. Almost every step of the way I had exact instructions from people who knew what they were doing, (a couple times I had to wing it).

Knowing Polish law is not a source of income for me. I want to focus on earning enough through my business activities to be able to afford to pay expert advisers who will explain Polish law to me.

Just the same as people hire me to coach them with English, I hire experts to help me navigate through fields which are unfamiliar or confusing to me. Polish bureaucracy is confusing and boring. That's why I pay people to explain it for me.

Every time a fellow American asks me how to do it, I say the same thing: hire an immigration lawyer and a tax attorney and you're all set (you may even be able to barter free English lessons in exchange for advice).

Dave's is good place to get ideas, but a bad place to go for advice on Polish law. It's all free, but it's exceptionally low quality and there is exactly zero accountability from most of the people giving advice. In fact, what was true for one American 9 months ago, may end up being untrue for you today. This is because laws change all of the time.

I highly recommend working with professionals who know what they're doing.

I recommend DLA Piper. I've had good experiences with them.

http://www.dlapiper.com/

Cheers,

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[lundjstuart]

Tracer,

I'm so happy that you used my contact to the fullest at DLA!!

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As am I. As am I.