Polish employers are sounding the alarm over visa denials for Ukrainian women
1 July 07:52
Polish companies that provide elderly care services are reporting a sharp increase in the number of work visa denials for citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, and Moldova. The Polish publication Wyborcza.biz has written about the issue, according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
According to employers, problems are arising even when using the simplified employment procedure for citizens of certain non-European Union countries.
In one batch of submitted documents, Polish consular offices reportedly approved only three out of 40 applications.
Companies are warning that if visa practices do not change, Poland could face a critical shortage of caregivers just as the country is expanding its home care programs for the elderly.
Who Is Increasingly Being Denied Visas
According to Polish employers, women coming to work in the home care sector from:
- Ukraine;
- Belarus;
- Moldova;
- Armenia.
This primarily concerns workers whom Polish companies plan to officially hire to care for the elderly and individuals who are unable to perform daily tasks on their own.
The Polish Association of Home Care Employers states that workers from outside the EU make up a significant portion of the industry’s workforce.
How the simplified procedure was supposed to work
A simplified employment procedure is in place in Poland for citizens of certain non-EU countries.
The employer submits an application to the relevant labor office to hire a foreigner. Once the document is registered, the employee can apply for a work visa.
This mechanism was intended to:
- reduce processing time;
- simplify the hiring process;
- reduce the number of bureaucratic procedures;
- help Polish companies find employees more quickly.
However, employers claim that the mere fact of having a registered application now increasingly does not guarantee that a visa will be granted.
Out of 40 applications, only three were approved
Industry representatives told Polish journalists about a case in which, out of 40 visa applications submitted, only three candidates received a positive decision.
The other applicants were denied, even though they had documents from Polish employers.
It is important to note that these figures come from individual companies and do not represent comprehensive statistics on all work visas issued by Poland to citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, and Moldova.
However, employers believe that the situation reflects a general trend toward stricter review of applications.
What Polish Employers Are Saying
Ada Zaorska, president of the Polish Home Care Association, stated that government policy does not take into account the aging population and the labor shortage.
“The government is acting as if there were no demographic crisis, no aging society, and no labor shortage in the elderly care sector,” she noted.
According to Zaorska, Polish companies are already having difficulty finding employees.
Information about the organization’s activities can be found on the website of the Polish Home Care Association.
Why Poles Are Reluctant to Work as Caregivers
Working in the field of elder care is physically and psychologically demanding.
Caregivers may be responsible for:
- preparing meals;
- housekeeping;
- assisting with personal hygiene;
- administering medication;
- accompanying residents to doctor’s appointments;
- assistance with mobility;
- constant supervision of a person with dementia;
- communication and emotional support.
At the same time, the work is often unstable.
If an elderly person is hospitalized or temporarily does not need home care, the service is suspended. In some funding models, local governments do not pay for the caregiver’s hours of work during this time.
What role do Ukrainian women play?
In recent years, Ukrainian women have helped partially fill the staffing shortage in the Polish care sector.
Ada Zaorska previously noted that without workers from Ukraine and other countries, a significant number of companies would be unable to provide continuous care to the elderly.
According to her, in some firms, foreign workers can make up nearly half of the staff.
Medonet and Medexpress have also reported on the industry’s reliance on Ukrainian workers.
Why Poland Has Been Rejecting Visas More Frequently
Employers and experts attribute the problem to a change in the practices of Polish authorities following the entry into force of new rules governing the employment of foreign nationals in June 2025.
Visa applications are particularly often denied when officials suspect that an employee of a Polish company might be temporarily sent to fulfill a contract in another EU country.
Officials cite the provision requiring work to be performed “on the territory of the Republic of Poland.”
However, experts in European law argue that Polish authorities are misinterpreting this provision.
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Polish experts have appealed to Donald Tusk
The European Institute for Labor Mobility, together with a group of lawyers and scholars, has appealed to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The authors of the letter stated that the administrative practice may contradict European Union law.
They called on the government to provide written clarifications to Polish institutions and to stop issuing unfounded denials.
The text of the appeal was published by the Polish Press Agency.
The problem affects more than just caregivers
Denials of visas and work permits also affect other sectors of the Polish economy.
These include:
- construction;
- motor vehicle transportation;
- industrial installation;
- the hotel industry;
- relocation of production lines;
- cross-border services;
- home care for the elderly.
According to estimates by the European Institute for Labor Mobility, in 2025 the number of unique workers sent by Polish companies to other EU countries decreased by approximately 13%, or nearly 100,000 people.
Polish service exports could lose billions
Employers warn that visa barriers could cause Polish firms to lose contracts in other EU countries.
According to industry experts, the value of Polish service exports affected by this issue amounted to approximately 32 billion zlotys in 2024.
Companies report that orders are shifting to competitors from other countries that do not face similar difficulties in hiring foreign workers.
A detailed analysis of the issue was published by the European Institute for Labor Mobility.
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