How to Hire Welders from Abroad in Poland (2026 Guide)

7 min

Welder Shortages in Poland: Industry Context and Regional Demand

Finding qualified welders in Poland has become one of the most persistent operational bottlenecks for industrial firms. The national labor market survey, Barometr Zawodów, consistently categorizes welders (spawacze) as a severe deficit occupation across nearly all 380 Polish counties (powiaty). The shortage is particularly acute in major manufacturing and maritime hubs: the Tricity area (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot) and Szczecin for shipbuilding and offshore structures, Upper Silesia (Katowice, Gliwice) for heavy structural steel and automotive fabrication, and the industrial corridors surrounding Wrocław and Poznań.

Domestic supply cannot keep pace with retirement rates and the ongoing migration of Polish welders to higher-paying markets in Western Europe. As a result, industrial facilities in Poland rely heavily on non-EU welders skilled in MAG (method 135/136), TIG (method 141), and manual metal arc (method 111) welding. While historically Polish employers relied heavily on workers from neighbouring Eastern European nations, shifting geopolitical conditions and tighter labor rules have forced companies to recruit further afield, including candidate pools in Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Hiring from outside the European Union is not a quick fix. Processing permits takes months, and foreign certificates require local validation. However, for workshops and job sites running below capacity due to missing manpower, establishing a reliable direct recruitment pipeline from abroad is often the only workable long-term strategy.

Legal Routes: Work Permits (Typ A) and Voivodeship Procedures

To employ a non-EU welder legally in Poland, the employer must initiate the authorization process. You cannot ask the worker to secure their own work permit. The official procedures are overseen by the regional government office, the Urząd Wojewódzki (Voivodeship Office), corresponding to your company seat or primary place of business.

For most non-EU welders recruited from outside Europe, the standard legal document is the Zezwolenie na pracę Typ A (Type A Work Permit). The process involves specific steps:

Labour Market Test (Test rynku pracy): Before issuing a permit, the government typically checks whether local job seekers are available. You must register the vacancy with your local Powiatowy Urząd Pracy (County Labour Office). If no suitable unemployed Polish or EU workers are registered, the county starost issues an official statement (informacja starosty) confirming this. In many regions, welders are included on regional shortage lists published by the Voivode, which waives the requirement for a labor market test entirely. Always verify the current exemption list with your regional office.
Filing the Application: The employer submits the application for the Type A permit to the Voivodeship Office, providing company registry details (KRS or CEIDG), proof of tax compliance, project contracts justifying the labor need, and the proposed employment contract specifying wages that meet statutory minimums.
Work Permit Issuance: Once approved, the Voivode issues the permit for a specific duration, typically between one and three years, bound to your specific company and wage conditions.
Consular Visa Processing: The employer sends the original work permit to the candidate abroad. The worker then applies for a National D-type employment visa at the Polish embassy or consulate in their home country.

Note that immigration legislation and procedural requirements undergo frequent updates. Employers should confirm current procedural details and regional processing guidelines directly with their local Urząd Wojewódzki or the official government portal (biznes.gov.pl).

Timeline from Job Offer to On-Site Arrival

Employers planning to bring welders to Poland must factor in realistic administrative lead times. You cannot bring a foreign welder to a Polish site within two or three weeks. A realistic timeframe from issuing a job offer to the worker starting on site ranges between 4 and 8 months.

Labour Market Test (if required): 2 to 3 weeks to receive the informacja starosty from the local County Labour Office.
Voivodeship Permit Processing: 2 to 5 months. Processing speeds vary dramatically depending on the Voivodeship. Offices in heavily populated industrial regions like Mazowieckie or Dolnośląskie often experience backlogs, whereas smaller Voivodeships may process decisions faster.
Consular Visa Appointment and Approval: 1 to 2 months. In high-demand countries like India, the Philippines, or Uzbekistan, securing a visa appointment slot at the Polish embassy can take several weeks, followed by standard visa processing.
Travel and Onboarding: 1 to 2 weeks for travel arrangements, local medical examinations (badania wstępne), safety training (BHP), and registration with social security.

Because of this timeline, employers should recruit for pipeline capacity rather than immediate emergency coverage.

Pay, Housing, and Technical Qualification Standards

Employing foreign welders in Poland comes with clear financial, legal, and operational obligations. You must align your offers with Polish labor law and actual market standards to retain incoming staff.

Wage Obligations: The remuneration offered to a foreign worker cannot be lower than the Polish statutory minimum wage or lower than what local employees in equivalent positions earn. In practice, qualified welders command wages well above minimum statutory rates. Current market rates for certified MAG or TIG welders in Poland generally range from 30 PLN to 50 PLN net per hour (yielding roughly 6,000 PLN to 10,000 PLN gross per month for standard working hours). Highly specialized pipe welders or those working under high-pressure parameters (e.g., method 141/111 combined) can command higher rates.

Technical Qualifications and Local Testing: Poland strictly adheres to European standards for welding qualifications, specifically EN ISO 9606-1. Overseas certificates issued by foreign national institutes are rarely accepted outright by Polish site inspectors, main contractors, or technical safety authorities like the Urząd Dozoru Technicznego (UDT). Plan to test every incoming welder upon arrival in your own workshop. You will need to oversee a practical welding sample test (próbka spawalnicza) under the supervision of a certified welding engineer (IWE) or an accredited certifying body like UDT or TÜV to issue a valid European welder certificate.

Housing and Legal Contracts: Welders can be legally employed under a standard employment contract (umowa o pracę) or a mandate contract (umowa zlecenie). Within 7 days of the worker starting work, you must register them with the Polish Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). Legally, the contract must be presented to the worker in a language they understand. In the Polish industrial market, it is standard practice for employers hiring foreign workers from non-EU countries to provide or directly arrange housing (such as company apartments or worker hostels), either fully funded by the employer or provided at a nominal, pre-agreed payroll deduction.

What Hiring Welders from Abroad Costs You, Roughly

Below is an overview of the primary direct costs associated with bringing a non-EU welder to Poland. These figures exclude ongoing wages and social security contributions.

State Work Permit Fee (Urząd Wojewódzki): 100 PLN per applicant for a Type A permit.
Sworn Translations (Tłumaczenia przysięgłe): 150 PLN to 400 PLN for translating passports, diplomas, and foreign certifications into Polish.
Technical Recertification and Sample Testing (UDT/TÜV): 1,200 PLN to 2,500 PLN per welder, depending on the welding method, material group, and certifying agency fees.
Travel Expenses (Inbound Flight): 2,000 PLN to 4,500 PLN (roughly 450 EUR to 1,000 EUR) per worker, depending on the country of origin.
Occupational Health Exam and BHP Training: 200 PLN to 450 PLN per worker.
Initial Accommodation Setup: 600 PLN to 1,500 PLN per month per bed in standard worker housing.

Ethical Recruitment and Employer Liability Rules

A legitimate employer in Poland never charges job seekers recruitment fees, processing charges, or placement fees for giving them a job. Under Polish regulations and international labor standards, all costs related to work permit applications, official legal processing, and mandatory workplace onboarding are the sole responsibility of the employer.

Employers who deal with third-party agencies or intermediaries that charge candidates upfront fees risk significant legal liability. If an audit by the National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy - PIP) or the Polish Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) reveals that workers were forced to pay illicit fees or take on personal debt to secure employment, the employer can face severe penalties, revocation of work permits, and bans on hiring foreign national labor. Ensuring your recruitment process is transparent and free of worker-paid fees is essential for risk management and workforce stability.

Finding Welders Directly on the Workuro Registry

If you prefer to handle recruitment directly rather than paying agency placement markups or hourly staff-leasing fees, you can search for candidates using the Workuro registry.

Workuro is a public database where foreign workers publish detailed profiles indicating their technical skills, welding certifications, work experience, and desired destination countries, including Poland. As an employer, you can search the registry specifically for welders looking for work in Poland and review their documented qualifications.

Once you locate suitable candidates, you contact them directly to conduct your own technical interviews and practical assessments. Workuro is not a recruitment agency, takes no per-hire commission, and plays no role in employment contracts or placement decisions. You handle the hiring and immigration paperwork directly or through your chosen legal representative.

Please note that the Workuro registry is young and continuously growing. Candidate availability across specific welding methods (such as TIG stainless steel or heavy MAG structural) varies over time. You can register for free to browse candidate profiles and establish direct contact with welders ready to move to Poland.