Poland in the UK

From 30 December 2020, regulations are in force that allow – under new additional principles – to work in Poland by:

1. doctors,
2. dentists,
3. nurses,
4. obstetricians,
5. paramedics,

who obtained qualifications to practice their professions in non-EU states.

Proceedings on granting consent to perform work in Poland in the above-mentioned professions will be simplified and the procedure will be significantly shortened.

Doctor or dentist who obtained professional qualifications outside the EU and meets the following conditions:

1. has a doctor's or dentist's diploma confirming completion of at least 5-year studies,
2. has full legal capacity (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a hand-signed statement made by doctor/dentist),
3. demonstrates an appropriate state of health (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be an relevant certificate from a doctor authorized to conduct medical examinations of employees),
4. demonstrates an impeccable ethical attitude (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a hand-signed statement made by doctor/dentist),

will be able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of a doctor or dentist in Poland and to apply to a regional medical authority for the conditional right to practice as a doctor or dentist in connection with the announcement of state of the epidemic. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Doctor or dentist who has obtained the conditional right to practice in Poland will not be able to practice in Poland outside of a healthcare facility intended to provide health services to patients suffering from COVID-19 – unless they obtain additional consent from the Minister of Health. Doctor will be obliged to work under the supervision of a tutor who is a doctor with a 2^nd degree specialization or has the title of specialist.

The conditional right to practice as a doctor or dentist shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issuance and shall expire in the cases specified in the Act. It will not be possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same conditions after 5 years from the date of its issuance. After this period, doctor or dentist will be able to practice in Poland having met the requirements specified in other regulations, i.e. only after the validation of the diploma or passing the Medical Verification Examination organized by the Medical Examinations Center in Łódź, completion or recognition of the postgraduate internship, passing the Final Medical Examination.

Doctor or dentist who obtained professional qualifications outside the EU and meets the following conditions:

1. has a doctor's or dentist's diploma confirming completion of at least 5-year studies,
2. has a diploma confirming obtaining the title of specialist,
3. has full legal capacity (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a hand-signed statement made by a doctor/dentist),
4. demonstrates an appropriate state of health (a document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be an appropriate certificate from a doctor authorized to conduct medical examinations of employees),
5. demonstrates an impeccable ethical attitude (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a hand-signed statement made by doctor/dentist),

will be able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of doctor or dentist in Poland and to apply to regional medical authority for the conditional right to practice as a doctor or dentist in connection with the announcement of state of the epidemic. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Doctor or dentist who has obtained the conditional right to practice in Poland for the first 3 months will practice the profession under supervision, they will not be able to practice in Poland outside a medical entity intended to provide health services to patients suffering from COVID-19 – unless they obtain an additional consent of the Minister of Health.

A conditional license to practice as a doctor or dentist shall be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issuance and shall expire in the cases specified in the Act. It will not be possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same conditions after 5 years from the date of its issuance. After this period, doctor or dentist will be able to practice in Poland having met the requirements specified in other regulations, i.e. only after the validation of the diploma or passing the Medical Verification Examination organized by the Medical Examinations Center in Łódź, completion or recognition of the postgraduate internship, passing the Final Medical Examination.

In case a doctor or dentist, who obtained professional qualifications outside the EU, additionally meets the following conditions:

1. has submitted a declaration that their command of Polish is sufficient to perform the scope of professional activities entrusted to them (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a self-signed declaration made by doctor/dentist),
2. has obtained a certificate from a healthcare entity in Poland containing a list of organizational units of the healthcare facility and the period of planned employment with an indication of the scope of professional activities consistent with the title of specialist in a specific field of medicine,
3. has at least three years of professional experience as a specialist or dentist in a given field, obtained in the period of 5 years immediately preceding the obtaining of a certificate from a medical entity in Poland,
4. has a diploma confirming the title of a specialist issued in a non-EU state,
5. completed specialization training corresponding to the specialization training program in Poland (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be the specialization training program),

will be able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of a doctor or dentist in Poland and for granting the right to practice as a doctor or dentist for a specific scope of professional activities, period and place of employment in a medical entity from the regional medical authority.

They will be obliged to work for a period of 1 year under the supervision of a tutor who is a doctor with a 2nd degree specialization or has the title of specialist. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland. The license to practice as a doctor or dentist issued in this manner shall remain valid for a period not longer than 5 years from the date of its issuance and shall expire in the cases specified in the Act. It will not be possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same terms after 5 years from the date of its issuance. After this period, doctor or dentist will be able to practice in Poland only after the diploma is recognized or after passing the Medical Verification Examination organized by the Medical Examinations Center in Łódź, completing or recognizing the postgraduate internship, passing the Final Medical Examination.

When applying for permission to practice the profession of a doctor or dentist, doctor's or dentist's diploma and a diploma confirming obtaining the title of specialist or their duplicates should be properly authenticated and then legalized by the consul or affixed with an apostille by the relevant authority of the state in which these documents have been issued. The state that issued the documents is to decide on the applicable procedure. In the event of excessively difficult or impossible process of authenticating or legalizing of documents or obtaining an apostille, the Minister of Health will be able to release the applicant from this obligation.

Nurse or obstetrician who obtained professional qualifications outside the EU and meets the following conditions:

1. has a nurse or obstetrician diploma,
2. has full legal capacity (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a hand-signed statement submitted by the nurse/obstetrician),
3. demonstrates an appropriate state of health (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be an appropriate certificate from a doctor authorized to conduct medical examinations of employees),
4. demonstrates an impeccable ethical attitude (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a hand-signed statement made by the nurse/obstetrician),

will be able to apply for the consent of the Minister of Health to practice the profession of a nurse or obstetrician in Poland and to apply to a district council of nurses and obstetricians for the conditional right to practice the profession of a nurse or obstetrician in connection with an epidemic or epidemic threat. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Nurse or obstetrician who has obtained the conditional right to practice in Poland will not be able to practice outside the healthcare facility intended to provide health services to patients suffering from COVID-19, unless they obtain additional consent from the Minister of Health. Nurse or obstetrician will be obliged to work under the supervision of another nurse or obstetrician.

If nurse or obstetrician who have the conditional right to practice their profession, has at least three years of professional experience as a nurse or obstetrician, that was obtained in the period of 5 years immediately preceding the date of submitting the application for consent to work in this mode, they will perform the profession under the supervision of another nurse or obstetrician for the first 3 months of employment in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

The conditional right to practice the profession of nurse or obstetrician shall be valid for a period not longer than 5 years from the date of its issuance and shall expire in the cases specified in the Act. It will not be possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same terms after 5 years from the date of its issuance. After this time, nurse/obstetrician will be able to practice in Poland only after the recognition of a diploma or completion of first-cycle studies (bachelor's degree) in the field of nursing or obstetrics.

In case a nurse or obstetrician who has obtained a professional qualifications outside the territory of the EU, additionally meets the following conditions:

1. submitted a declaration that they demonstrate command of Polish sufficient to perform the scope of professional activities entrusted to them,
2. obtained a certificate from the entity performing medical activities that contains a list of organizational units of the medical facility and the period of planned employment with an indication of the scope of professional activities consistent with the education,
3. has at least three years of professional experience as a nurse or obstetrician, obtained in the period of five years immediately preceding the obtaining of a certificate from an entity performing medical activities in Poland,

will be able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of a nurse or obstetrician in Poland and to apply to a district council of nurses and obstetricians for granting the right to practice the profession of a nurse or obstetrician for a specific scope of professional activities, period and place of employment in a healthcare entity. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Nurse or obstetrician will be obliged for a period of 1 year to work under the supervision of another nurse or obstetrician appointed by the head of the medical unit, in which she has been employed.

Nurse and obstetrician who has the right to practice in this manner may not practice in any other medical unit on the territory of the Republic of Poland except for the entity performing medical activity that issued her certificate, with the exceptions specified in the Act.

The right to practice the profession of a nurse or obstetrician issued under this procedure shall remain valid for a period not longer than 5 years from the date of its issuance and shall expire in the cases specified in the Act. It will not be possible to extend this right for another period, nor to issue a new license to practice a profession on the same terms after 5 years from the date of its issuance.

After this time, nurse/obstetrician will be able to practice in Poland only after the recognition of a diploma or completion of first-cycle studies (bachelor's degree) in the field of nursing or obstetrics.

When applying for permission to practice the profession of a nurse or obstetrician under this procedure, the diploma of a nurse or obstetrician or its duplicate should be certified and then legalized by the consul or affixed with an apostille by the relevant authority of the state in which the document was issued. The state that issued the documents is to decide on the applicable procedure. In the event of excessively difficult or impossible process of the authenticating or legalizing of documents or obtaining an apostille, the Minister of Health will be able to release the applicant from this obligation.

Paramedic who obtained professional qualifications outside the territory of the EU and meets the following conditions:

1. has full legal capacity (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be a hand-signed statement submitted by paramedic),
2. demonstrates an appropriate state of health (the document confirming the fulfillment of the condition will be an appropriate certificate from a doctor authorized to conduct medical examinations of employees),
3. has a diploma confirming obtaining the title of a professional paramedic or documents confirming at least three years of professional experience in performing the tasks of a paramedic, obtained in the last five years preceding the granting of consent,

will be able to apply for a consent from the Minister of Health to practice the profession of a paramedic in Poland. Obtaining the consent of the Minister of Health will be the basis for visa application to perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

During the period of announcing the state of epidemic threat or state of epidemic, the Minister of Health may give a consent to perform the profession of a paramedic to a person who has at least one year of professional experience.

Consent to practice the profession of a paramedic issued in this manner shall remain valid for a period not longer than 5 years from the date of its issuance and will expire in the cases specified in the Act. It will not be possible to extend the consent for another period, nor to issue a new consent to practice the profession on the same terms after 5 years from the date of its issuance. After this period, a paramedic will be able to practice in Poland in accordance with the provisions of the Act on the State Medical Rescue.

The above-mentioned documents can be sent to the Ministry of Health (Department of Medical Personnel Development, Ministry of Health, ul. Miodowa 15, 00-952 Warsaw) or submitted directly to the Ministry of Health at the Registry Office, or to the consul, where the visa application will be submitted.

It should be ensured that the documents are complete, which will speed up the decision process. The list of required documents can be found on the website of the Ministry of Health.

If a document needs to be authenticated and legalized by a consul or an apostille needs to be issued by a relevant authority, the state that issued the documents is to decide on the applicable procedure.

If the diploma was issued in a state that is a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents (a list of these countries can be found HERE), you must apply for an apostille to it, at the relevant office of the state where the document was issued (the list of these offices can be found HERE). If the diploma was issued in a state that is not a party to this Convention, you will have to apply for its authentication at the relevant office of the state in which the document was issued (most often it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and then for its legalization at a Polish consulate.

If you have appropriate qualifications and meet the above-mentioned conditions and would like to work as a doctor or dentist in Poland or work in the profession of a nurse or obstetrician or a paramedic, but you do not have a visa that would entitle you to enter Poland, familiarize yourself with the following path:

• You have two options to apply for a visa:

1. directly at the appropriate Polish consulate in the country where you live or,
2. at one of the Visa Application Centers (VACs) if they operate in the country where you live. Information about this can be found on the website of the appropriate consulate by selecting the option "Consular information" – "Visas" – "D-Type national visa".

Depending on the chosen option, you can submit the application in person at the consulate or at one of the VACs.

If you are a citizen of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia and you intend to apply for a visa in your country of citizenship, you will be able to send it by mail. To submit an application in this form, citizens of other countries must obtain the consent of the appropriate Polish consul in the country of residence.

The consulate and the VAC do not accept applications sent by fax or e-mail.

• Make an appointment for the visa application at the consulate in the e-Consulate system. To submit an application at the VAC, make an appointment via the call center or website – you can find information about this on the website of the relevant consulate by selecting the option "Consular information" – "Visas" – "D-Type national visa".
• For your visa appointment bring with you the documents listed at the beginning of this information (depending on the profession for which you are applying). The consul will  forward them to the Minister of Health in order to consider your application for the permission to practice in Poland as a doctor (dentist) or nurse, obstetrician or paramedic profession.
• In order to obtain a visa you will have to submit the following documents:

1. a completed and signed visa form printed from the e-Consulate system,
2. a color photograph measuring 3,5 x 4,5 cm; the photo should be:
   • sharp, clear, made on a white background and printed on high-quality paper,
   • not older than 6 months,
   • taken straight, showing the eyes and face clearly on both sides from top of head to top of shoulders, so that the face covers 70-80% of the photo; for photography you need to remove head covering,
3.  ​​​​​​​passport issued within the last 10 years, valid for at least 3 months from the planned return date, with at least 2 blank pages for visas,
4. a copy of the page in the passport with personal data and a photo,
5. a document confirming the possession of travel medical insurance valid in the territory of the EU for the amount of not less than 30.000,- EUR or a copy of the document confirming health insurance in Poland,
6. a copy of your identity document confirming legal residence in the consular district of the Polish consulate in which you apply for a visa,
7. confirmation of having financial resources for living in the form determined by the Polish consulate confirming that you have sufficient financial resources to stay in Poland until you start work (e.g. bank account statement, certificate of a revolving credit card limit, other).

You can get additional information on general visa procedures by contacting Polish consulates. The list of Polish missions abroad can be found HERE. You can contact consular offices by phone or e-mail.

• The fee for the visa application and its processing is given on the website of the appropriate consulate – select the options "Consular information" – "Visas" – "D-Type national visa" – " How much does it cost?"

IMPORTANT! The fee is non-refundable regardless of the final decision on the application.

• If you submit an application to the consul to legalize a document (e.g. a diploma), this activity will be subject to an additional fee. Information on this can be found on the website of the relevant consulate; select the option "Consular information" – "General information" – "Consular fees".
• The decision regarding a visa is generally issued within 4 working days from the date of payment. In special cases, however, the procedure may take slightly longer.
• You will be informed about the expected date of the decision at the time of submitting the application.
• If you do not agree with the consul's decision, you have the right to submit an request for reconsideration of the application. You can submit it directly to the relevant consulate or to one of the Visa Application Centers (VACs) if they operate in the country where you live, you may also send it by post to the address of the consulate within 14 days of receiving a visa decision. The fee is published on the website of the appropriate consulate - select the option "Consular information" – "Visas" – "D-Type national visa" – "How to appeal?".