Working in Poland: no permit, a degree that counts automatically, and ZUS in three steps

As a Dutch citizen you don't need a work permit in Poland, and as an employee or entrepreneur you are treated like a Pole. Your Dutch bachelor's or master's counts there by operation of law: a degree from an EU country is equivalent in Poland to the Polish degree of the same level, without a procedure. The finding is with the self-employed. Whoever starts a sole proprietorship in Poland for the first time pays no social contributions for the first half year, then two years of a reduced contribution of 456.18 złoty a month, and only then the full amount. Only the health contribution runs from the first day.

Do you need a work permit as a Dutch citizen?

No. As an EU citizen you generally don't need a work permit to work as an employee anywhere in the EU, and for the self-employed it is never needed in the EU. The Polish business portal says so too: citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland may freely start a business there and are treated like Poles. So the Polish rules apply to you, not a separate regime for foreigners.

What you do need is a PESEL. The Polish tax administration assumes that a foreign employee living in Poland has the PESEL as a tax number; your employer puts it on its returns. How to get it is in PESEL and address registration in Poland. Your employment contract is also the proof with which you register your right of residence (see the residence routes to Poland).

Does your Dutch degree count?

A degree from a recognised institution in an EU, OECD or EFTA country is valid in Poland by operation of law, under article 326 of the Polish act on higher education:

• a programme of at least three years, or a first cycle of at least three years, counts as a Polish first-cycle degree;
• a second cycle, such as a master's, counts as a Polish second-cycle degree;
• a long-cycle programme of at least four years also counts as a second-cycle degree.

If an employer still asks for paper, you get a recognition statement via the KWALIFIKATOR system or apply for one at NAWA, the Polish agency for academic exchange. Diplomas from institutions or programmes that were not accredited on the date of issue are not recognised. For regulated professions, such as in healthcare, a separate procedure applies.

What do you pay ZUS as a self-employed person?

Whoever registers a sole proprietorship in the Polish business register CEIDG and is not already insured on another ground, for example through a job, must register with ZUS for social insurance and health insurance. For beginners this is built up in three steps.

Period	Social contributions per month (2026)	Health contribution
First 6 full months (Ulga na start)	0	compulsory, at least 432.54 zł on the scale or flat tax
Then 24 months (reduced base of 1,441.80 zł)	456.18 zł	same
After that (standard base of 5,652 zł)	1,926.76 zł	same

The reduced base is 30% of the minimum wage of 4,806 złoty; the standard is 60% of the forecast average wage. The amounts include a voluntary sickness contribution and an accident contribution that differs per sector; the table uses that of a small business. The health contribution depends on your tax form: 9% of your income on the progressive scale, 4.9% on the flat tax, and on the lump-sum tax a fixed amount per income band.

Who may use the Ulga na start? Whoever starts a business for the first time, or again after at least sixty months since the previous activity was suspended or ended. And not if you do work for an employer for whom you did the same work as an employee this or last calendar year. A started month doesn't count: if you start on the seventh of the month, the six months count from the first of the next month.

Seven days, not six months. Even whoever uses the Ulga na start registers with ZUS for health insurance within seven days of starting, with an insurance code beginning with 05 40. The exemption only covers social insurance; you pay the health contribution every month, including in the first half year.

The half year without contributions has a price: during that time you build up no Polish pension and have no right to benefits for sickness or an accident.

What about the tax on your income?

If you work as an employee or self-employed and did not live in Poland in the three calendar years before your move, part of your income can be tax free for four years. That scheme, the ulga na powrót, is also open to Dutch citizens, not only to Poles. How it works and where the limit lies is in ulga na powrót in Poland.

What has to happen in which order for your situation, from PESEL to ZUS, is in the step-by-step plan for Poland.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.11: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Poland or go straight to step 2.11 in the open plan.