What type of business activity may be conducted in Poland by Citizen of Ukraine

You may run your business in Poland even if you are not a Polish citizen. Read below to find out about the available forms of business and what is needed to register a company.

What are the forms of business activity available in Poland
Restrictions on the choice of legal form
What type of the business citizen of Ukraine can set up
What type of residence permit allows for registration of one-person business activity
What is needed to register a one-person business activity in CEIDG
What is needed to register a company in the National Court Register (KRS)
Branch of a foreign entrepreneur in Poland
Representative office of a foreign entrepreneur in Poland
Where to look for the answers

What are the forms of business activity available in Poland

In Poland, business activity may be conducted in the form of:

• one-person business activity (sole trader)
• civil law partnership
• partnership
• company

A one-person business (sole trader) is the simplest form of running a business:

• you may register it online free of charge
• you do not need any capital to start this form of business
• a sole trader is subject to personal income tax (PIT) and may choose the form of taxation
• you do not have to register for VAT if your revenues are below a specified threshold
• in most cases – for revenues below EUR 2 million – only simplified accounting or a revenues registry is required
• a sole trader is personally liable for all business obligations
• only the sole trader may represent the business.

Companies and partnerships are more complex forms of conducting business activity. The process of setting up a partnership or a company includes more formal procedures. Partners or shareholders need to draw up a partnership agreement or a company deed in a specified form. Registration of a company or a partnership is subject to a fee, and the rights to represent the business entity as well as the scope of liability for business obligations depend on the type of the entity. Most often a share capital is required.

Read about the differences between various forms of business activity in Poland.

More information on how to register:

• one-person business activity (sole trader)
• a general partnership
• a professional partnership
• a partnership limited by shares
• a limited partnership
• a limited liability company
• a simplified joint-stock company.

Restrictions on the choice of legal form

Certain types of business activity require a specified legal form, or a specific legal form may be restricted only for persons with certain competences.

According to law, some types of business activity may not be just registered in CEIDG – in order to run this type of business, an entrepreneur needs to register a company or a partnership in the National Court Register (KRS). This concerns cultivation of certain plants and the breeding of certain animal species, insurance and reinsurance activity, business activity related to fire protection, trade unions, and sports clubs.

A professional partnership, on the other hand, may be set up only by independent professionals: lawyers, pharmacists, architects, construction engineers, certified auditors, insurance brokers, tax advisors, stockbrokers, investment advisors, accountants, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, notaries, nurses, midwives, legal counsels, patent agents, property valuers, and sworn translators.

In certain special situations the law specifies the type of a company or a partnership required for certain types of business – for instance, in the financial sector, for banks or insurance companies.

If you are not sure whether your business activity is subject to additional requirements, you can check this in the PKD code search tool (Polish Classification of Business Activity).

What type of the business citizen of Ukraine can set up

Citizens of Ukraine may:

• set up in Poland a one-person business or a commercial company – if they have a relevant residence permit
• set up in Poland a limited partnership, a partnership limited by shares, a limited liability company, a simplified joint-stock company and a joint-stock company
• join a limited partnership, a partnership limited by shares, a limited liability company, a simplified joint-stock company or a joint-stock company, and buy and take up shares in such companies or partnerships
• set up a branch of a foreign entrepreneur in Poland.

Please note! If you entered Polish territory before 24th of February 2022 and you don’t have a relevant residence permit you can’t establish one-person business, civil partnership, general partnership and professional partnership.

What type of residence permit allows for registration of one-person business activity

You may set up your business in Poland in any form of your choice (that is register a one-person business activity or become a partner or shareholder in any partnership or company) if you entered Polish territory before 24th of February and:

• you have a permanent residence permit
• you have an EU long-term residence permit
• you have a temporary residence permit, granted in relation to your reunion with your family staying in Poland legally, or in relation to your university studies
• you have a refugee status
• you have a subsidiary protection status
• you have a humanitarian residence permit or a permit for tolerated stay
• you have a temporary residence permit and you are married to a Polish citizen residing in the territory of Poland
• you have a temporary residence permit for the purpose of business activity, granted in relation to continuation of your business activity based on an entry in CEIDG
• you have been granted temporary protection in Poland
• you have a valid Polish Card (“Karta Polaka”)
• you are a family member, that is:
  • a spouse of an EU citizen
  • a direct descendant (child) of an EU citizen or his/her spouse, under the age of 21, being a dependent of the EU citizen or his/her spouse
  • a direct ascendant (parent) of an EU citizen or his/her spouse, being a dependent of the EU citizen or his/her spouse
  • a person who has submitted an application for a temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit – until the time when the decision issued in response to such application becomes final

What is needed to register a one-person business activity in CEIDG

A one-person business may be registered online or in a traditional manner – at any municipality (gmina) office. Registration of a business run by a foreigner in CEIDG may take up to 30 days. However, usually the entire process is completed in around 7 days.

If you want to register your one-person business online, you need to have a PESEL number.

In order to obtain a PESEL number, set up your Trusted Profile. You will need it to create your account at Biznes.gov.pl. You need this account in order to complete the application online.

More information how to create an account at Biznes.gov.pl

An application for an entry in the register to be submitted online may be signed with your Trusted Profile or an electronic qualified signature.

See the list of qualified signatures that can be used at Biznes.gov.pl.

If you do not have a PESEL number, you may register your one-person business in a traditional manner – at the municipality (gmina) office.

In this case, you need to present your passport or another document confirming your identity and citizenship to an office employee.

Please note! If you are granted your PESEL number after having registered your business at a municipality (gmina) office, and you wish to submit any further applications to CEIDG online, you need to add your PESEL number to your entry in CEIDG – this must be completed at the municipality (gmina) office. Only then you will be able to create your account at Biznes.gov.pl.

Also, regardless of whether you register your business online or in a traditional manner, you need to provide a document which confirms that your residence permit allows for registration of one-person business activity.

Check which documents need to be attached in order to register one-person business activity in Poland.

Please note! Since 1 August 2021, family members of EU citizens have been issued with residence cards for a family member of an EU citizen and permanent residence cards for a family member of an EU citizen. Those cards are valid until the end of the period for which they were issued, however, no longer than until 3 August 2026. If you hold such a card, attach its scan when registering your business in CEIDG.

Find out:

• how to register one-person business activity
• what you need to know before registering your business at Biznes.gov.pl.

Register your business online at Biznes.gov.pl.

What is needed to register a company in the National Court Register (KRS)

To set up a general partnership, a professional partnership, a limited partnership, a partnership limited by shares, a limited liability company, a simplified joint-stock company, and a joint-stock company, you need to register it in the National Court Register (KRS).

The registration process is completed online:

• in the S24 system, or
• through the PRS portal

In order to register a partnership or a company, you need to create an account in the selected system, and confirm it with your Trusted Profile or a qualified signature.

Through the Court Registers Portal you can also sign the documents with your personal signature (electronic ID).

In order to create your Trusted Profile, you will need your PESEL number.

Even if you register your partnership or company without the PESEL number, it is worth to apply for a PESEL number. There will be situations when using the Trusted Profile will be required for your business, for instance:

• in order to submit the financial statements of the company in the Financial Documents Repository, in the case of a company with one-person management board (financial statements may be submitted only by the person authorised to represent the company whose PESEL number is entered in the National Court Register)
• in order to register a beneficial owner in the CRBR register – this should be completed within 7 days of the date of the company’s entry in the National Court Register.

Please note! The company may be also registered on your behalf by your attorney-in-fact.

If you wish to register a general partnership or a professional partnership and you are not a citizen of a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area, or a citizen of the United States of America or Switzerland, when registering the company you need to provide a document which confirms that your residence permit allows for registration of such type of a company. For instance, in the case of a permanent residence permit, this will be a permanent residence card.

More information on how to register:

• a general partnership
• a professional partnership
• a partnership limited by shares
• a limited partnership
• a limited liability company
• a simplified joint-stock company
• a joint-stock company.

 Branch of a foreign entrepreneur in Poland

As a citizen of Ukraine you may open a branch in Poland.

Opening a branch costs less than setting up a new company. Also, a branch is not subject to obligations related to company operations, such as having own capital, convening meetings of partners or shareholders, or appointing a management board.

A branch may start to operate after it is entered in the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register (KRS). Also, a person authorised to represent the foreign entrepreneur has to be appointed at the branch.

A branch is an independent organisational unit of a foreign entrepreneur, however, it has no legal personality. This means that the foreign entrepreneur is responsible for all rights and obligations arising as a result of the operations of the branch.

Please note! Under operations of the branch, a foreign entrepreneur may conduct business activity only within the same scope in which he runs his business abroad.

A foreign entrepreneur should:

• refer to the branch by using the original name of the foreign entrepreneur, together with the name of its legal form translated into Polish, and with an addition of the following words: “oddział w Polsce” (branch in Poland)
• keep accounting records for the branch separately and in Polish, in accordance with the legal provisions on accountancy
• inform the minister competent for economic matters of any changes in the facts and the legal status (for instance, if a liquidation procedure has been initiated in relation to the foreign entrepreneur, or if the entrepreneur is no longer entitled to conduct business activity)

Please note! The minister may ban operation of the branch if the branch is in violation of the Polish law.

Find out how to register a branch of a foreign business in the National Court Registers (KRS).

Representative office of a foreign entrepreneur in Poland

Representative offices are set up only for the purpose of promoting and advertising a foreign entrepreneur. A representative office may not conduct any other activity.

According to the decisions of the Polish Supreme Administrative Court, advertising may consist in press announcements, broadcasting advertising material on the radio or on TV, as well as publishing posters and sending folders and other commercial information to clients.

A representative office may be set up for 2 years only, with the option to extend this period for another 2 years. In order to set up a representative office, it has to be entered in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs. The following has to be attached to the application for an entry in this register:

• a copy of the entry from the foreign register, together with its translation into Polish, and possibly also other documents specifying the registered office and the rules of representation
• a power of attorney authorising a person to represent the representative office, together with a statement that this person accepts this power of attorney

Please note! A foreign entrepreneur must hold a legal title to the real property indicated as the registered address of the representative office in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs. However, such title does not have to be attached to the application for an entry.

The minister may refuse to enter a representative office in the register if the foreign entrepreneur has not met all requirements. Also, the minister may remove the representative office from the register if the office does not observe Polish law.

The decision to remove the representative office from the register (issued by the minister) replaces the decision banning the operation of the representative office.

Find out how to apply for:

• entry in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs
• change of the entry in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs.

Where to look for the answers

If you have any questions concerning registration of a one-person business in CEIDG, contact the helpline at 801 055 088 or 22 765 67 32.

If you need more information on online registration of a limited liability company or a partnership, send your questions to: s24@gdansk.sa.gov.pl or call (71) 748 96 00. After dialling the phone number, you need to press “4” (online access to registry courts).

If you have any questions concerning social insurance, you can contact the ZUS Helpline Centre at 22 560 16 00 (the cost of calls according to your agreement with the telecommunications operator) or

• through the form
• by e-mail: cot@zus.pl
• over Skype at zus_centrum_obslugi_tel

If you have any questions concerning taxes to be paid in Poland, contact the National Tax and Customs Information Office (KIS) at:

• 22 330 03 30 (for mobile phones)
• 801 055 055 (for landline phones)
• +48 22 330 03 30 (from abroad)

You can also use the Help Centre at Biznes.gov.pl.