Polish growers who once filled harvest gangs from across the eastern border are now asking a new question: can we bring crews from India, and on what paper? Yes, you can. The route is the seasonal work permit, and how well it works depends almost entirely on when you start.
Which Work Counts as Seasonal
The seasonal work permit (zezwolenie na pracę sezonową) is not a general short-term permit. It applies only to activities listed in a ministerial regulation, which centre on agriculture and horticulture (crop growing, fruit, vegetables, mushrooms) and also cover some accommodation and food-service activities. If the job is outside those listed activities, the seasonal route does not apply, however short the contract.
A seasonal permit allows work for up to nine months in a calendar year. For anything longer, or for a role that runs all year (mushroom houses and greenhouses usually do), file a type-A permit from the start rather than trying to stretch a seasonal one.
Who Issues It
The seasonal permit comes from the starosta, through the district labour office (powiatowy urząd pracy) for the area where the work is done. That is different from the type-A permit, which the voivodeship office issues. Since 1 June 2025 both are filed through praca.gov.pl, so the employer needs a working portal account and an electronic signature or trusted profile before the season begins.
The state fee is small, roughly PLN 100. Visas, travel, housing and wages make up nearly all the real cost of a seasonal crew.
Why the Oświadczenie Is Not an Option
Many Polish farmers know the declaration of entrustment of work (oświadczenie o powierzeniu pracy), a simplified registration at the labour office. It is open only to citizens of a short list of countries in Poland's eastern neighbourhood. India is not on that list. A grower who plans an Indian harvest crew around the declaration route will find out at filing that it does not exist for them, usually too late to switch.
How the Sequence Runs, in Outline
1. The employer files the seasonal application with the starosta, setting out the job, pay, working time and the worker's details. 2. The application is entered in the register, and the employer receives a certificate confirming the entry. The worker uses this certificate to apply for a visa. 3. The worker applies for a visa issued for seasonal work at the Polish mission in India. Depending on how long the stay is, that may be a Schengen visa or a national visa. 4. On arrival, the employer completes the formalities with the starosta confirming the worker has come and where they are living. The permit is then issued for the season.
The exact sub-steps and deadlines are set out in the Act and its regulations, and labour offices apply them with some local variation. Check the current requirements with your office before your first intake, and keep the confirmation documents for every worker.
Lead Time Is the Whole Game
A harvest date does not move, and neither does the visa queue at the Polish missions in India. Most failed seasonal intakes we see were filed late, not refused.
- Three to four months before the crop: decide headcount, confirm housing, file the applications
- Two to three months before: selection, fitness screening and document collection in India
- Six to eight weeks before: visa applications lodged with complete files
- Two weeks before: travel booked in batches sized to what the farm can house and induct
Growers who start in March for a late-summer apple harvest have crews. Growers who start in June usually do not.
Pay and Housing
Seasonal farm work is normally paid hourly, at or above the statutory minimum hourly rate, which Poland revises every January. Piece-rates for harvesting are common on top of that. The basis of pay should be written into the contract in a language the worker understands. Telling workers verbally that "you will earn more by the crate" leads to disputes in week two.
Most growers provide on-farm housing. It must be decent, and any charge for it must be agreed in writing and shown on the payslip. See our guide to worker accommodation and wage deductions.
Seasonal or Type A?
Use the seasonal permit for work tied to a crop window. For work that continues through the year, such as greenhouses, mushroom houses, livestock and packhouses with long runs, use type A, and file it once rather than juggling seasonal renewals. Our type-A walkthrough covers that route.
What We Do
We recruit and screen harvest and farm crews in India, brief candidates honestly on field conditions, pay and housing, and prepare the worker details and documents your filing needs. Recruitment runs under our Ministry of External Affairs licence, with emigration clearance for ECR passport holders. Seasonal crews and year-round staff are covered on our agricultural workers page.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Indian workers get a seasonal work permit in Poland?
Yes. The seasonal work permit is open to Indian nationals for work in the listed agricultural, horticultural and certain hospitality activities, for up to nine months in a calendar year. It is issued by the starosta through the district labour office.
Can Polish farmers use the oświadczenie for Indian workers?
No. The declaration of entrustment of work is limited to citizens of a small group of eastern neighbourhood countries, and India is not among them. Indian harvest crews need the seasonal permit.
