Poland has officially removed Georgia from the list of countries eligible for its popular “employer-declaration” visa route, a change that entered into force on 1 December 2025. For the past 15 years the scheme has allowed citizens of five post-Soviet states—including Georgia—to take up non-seasonal jobs in Poland for up to two years on the basis of a short, low-cost declaration filed by the prospective employer. No labour-market test, work-permit fee or embassy interview was required, making the programme the go-to path for tens of thousands of Georgian farm-hands, drivers and warehouse operatives each year.
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy first signalled the change in August, citing EU discussions on a possible suspension of Georgia’s Schengen visa-free regime and a sharp drop in demand for Georgian workers compared with 2024. Under the amended regulation signed on 21 November, only Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine remain on the list. Georgian nationals who already hold valid Polish national visas or employer declarations may continue working until their documents expire, but all new hires must follow the longer standard process that includes obtaining a D-type work visa and, in many cases, a full work permit.
![Poland Drops Georgia from Simplified Work-Visa Scheme]()
For Polish employers, the immediate impact is administrative: recruitment agencies can no longer rely on the 3-day declaration turnaround and must budget six to eight weeks for visa issuance once positions are offered to Georgian candidates. While the logistics and construction sectors say they can pivot to Ukrainian or Moldovan labour, horticulture producers warn that the timing—just before greenhouse preparations for spring—could leave gaps in the workforce.
Georgian workers already in Poland also face new hurdles. If they wish to change employers after their current declaration expires, they must secure a work permit sponsored by the new company or leave the EU and start a fresh visa application. Immigration advisers recommend planning renewals at least three months in advance to avoid falling out of status.
Multinational corporations with Polish operations should update recruitment pipelines, inform staffing vendors and review posted-worker plans that rely on Georgian technicians rotating through Polish plants. The change underscores Warsaw’s readiness to recalibrate mobility programmes in line with wider EU migration politics, and signals that other nationalities could be added or removed with little notice.
The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy first signalled the change in August, citing EU discussions on a possible suspension of Georgia’s Schengen visa-free regime and a sharp drop in demand for Georgian workers compared with 2024. Under the amended regulation signed on 21 November, only Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine remain on the list. Georgian nationals who already hold valid Polish national visas or employer declarations may continue working until their documents expire, but all new hires must follow the longer standard process that includes obtaining a D-type work visa and, in many cases, a full work permit.
For Polish employers, the immediate impact is administrative: recruitment agencies can no longer rely on the 3-day declaration turnaround and must budget six to eight weeks for visa issuance once positions are offered to Georgian candidates. While the logistics and construction sectors say they can pivot to Ukrainian or Moldovan labour, horticulture producers warn that the timing—just before greenhouse preparations for spring—could leave gaps in the workforce.
Georgian workers already in Poland also face new hurdles. If they wish to change employers after their current declaration expires, they must secure a work permit sponsored by the new company or leave the EU and start a fresh visa application. Immigration advisers recommend planning renewals at least three months in advance to avoid falling out of status.
Multinational corporations with Polish operations should update recruitment pipelines, inform staffing vendors and review posted-worker plans that rely on Georgian technicians rotating through Polish plants. The change underscores Warsaw’s readiness to recalibrate mobility programmes in line with wider EU migration politics, and signals that other nationalities could be added or removed with little notice.
