The Polish Labour Ministry has confirmed that the national minimum wage will rise to PLN 4,806 per month (PLN 31.40 per hour) on 1 January 2026, automatically lifting the salary threshold for standard Work Permits and combined Work-and-Residence (‘Single’) Permits. City-specific floors for Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) permits also go up: Warsaw to PLN 5,926.63, Kraków to PLN 5,084.37 and Wrocław to PLN 5,210.45.
Although the headline increase is a modest three percent, it follows February’s jump in the EU Blue Card benchmark to PLN 12,272.58, compounding cost pressures for employers. Multinationals must now audit all pending offers, shadow-payroll arrangements and posted-worker allowances to ensure compliance on any application decided after 1 January—even if the contract was signed months earlier.
![Minimum-Salary Floors for 2026 Work and Residence Permits Edge Higher]()
Labour inspectors traditionally test the market immediately after a wage hike, so experts forecast higher refusal rates in Q1 2026 for applications that under-document remuneration. Benefits-in-kind, offshore payments and stock grants do not count toward the minimum; gross salary must be paid in zloty via a Polish payroll.
For global mobility managers the new floors narrow the cost gap between the Single-Permit route and the more flexible—but pricier—EU Blue Card. Companies in low-margin sectors such as manufacturing hubs around Łódź and Katowice face the toughest recalculations and may need to renegotiate assignee packages or consider local-hire models.
Immediate action items include updating budget forecasts, flagging offers below the new thresholds, preparing template contract amendments and briefing recruiters on revised salary expectations. Failure to adjust could delay start dates or trigger fines of up to PLN 30,000 for underpayment.
Although the headline increase is a modest three percent, it follows February’s jump in the EU Blue Card benchmark to PLN 12,272.58, compounding cost pressures for employers. Multinationals must now audit all pending offers, shadow-payroll arrangements and posted-worker allowances to ensure compliance on any application decided after 1 January—even if the contract was signed months earlier.
Labour inspectors traditionally test the market immediately after a wage hike, so experts forecast higher refusal rates in Q1 2026 for applications that under-document remuneration. Benefits-in-kind, offshore payments and stock grants do not count toward the minimum; gross salary must be paid in zloty via a Polish payroll.
For global mobility managers the new floors narrow the cost gap between the Single-Permit route and the more flexible—but pricier—EU Blue Card. Companies in low-margin sectors such as manufacturing hubs around Łódź and Katowice face the toughest recalculations and may need to renegotiate assignee packages or consider local-hire models.
Immediate action items include updating budget forecasts, flagging offers below the new thresholds, preparing template contract amendments and briefing recruiters on revised salary expectations. Failure to adjust could delay start dates or trigger fines of up to PLN 30,000 for underpayment.
