Hiring a Japanese Chef in Poland: Work Permit Types and Rules

Poland rebuilt its rules for employing foreigners in 2025. A new act took effect on 1 June 2025 and, among other things, replaced the old labour market test with a system in which local authorities can list occupations where permits will not be issued. For a Warsaw restaurant hiring a chef from Japan, the result is a process that is mostly online, fairly quick on paper, and strict about pay, contracts and employer compliance.

1. Which work permit type a restaurant needs

Poland issues several types of work permit. For a restaurant, only one normally matters.

The employer always applies, and a permit is always issued for a specific foreign national.

2. The June 2025 reform: no more labour market test

The Act on the Conditions for the Admissibility of Employing Foreigners in the Territory of the Republic of Poland came into force on 1 June 2025. Poland's labour ministry describes the key change for employers: starosts (county heads) can now set a list of occupations and types of work for which permits will not be issued in their county, for example after collective redundancies or the closure of a major employer. The ministry says this mechanism replaces the "labour market test" employers previously had to go through.

In practice, check whether the county where your restaurant operates has listed cooks or restaurant work as a restricted occupation. If none applies, you do not have to prove first that no Polish or EU candidate was available.

3. Pay and contract conditions

For a type A permit, the government business portal sets these conditions:

• The work is done under a contract with the Polish employer.
• Pay in the contract is not lower than that of workers doing comparable work or in a comparable position.
• Monthly pay is not lower than the minimum wage. From 1 January 2026 the national minimum wage is PLN 4,806 a month (PLN 31.40 an hour).
• Working time is at least a quarter of full time and no more than full time.

Because of the comparable pay rule, you cannot pay a Japanese chef less than a Polish chef in the same role. If the chef will be your most senior cook, the benchmark is effectively whatever you would pay a local head chef.

4. How to apply, fees and timing

1. Apply online through praca.gov.pl ("Zatrudnianie cudzoziemców", form ZC-WWZ), signed with a qualified signature or trusted profile. The application goes to the voivode.
2. Attach the employer documents: identity or company register extract, a statement of no criminal record signed within 30 days, a statement that you have the funds to meet the obligations, and a statement that the pay is not lower than for comparable workers. Foreign language documents need a sworn Polish translation.
3. Pay the fee: PLN 400 if the work will last more than three months (PLN 200 for up to three months), paid to the voivode office's account.
4. Wait for the decision. The portal says no longer than a month, extendable to two months in complicated cases. The start date you give cannot be more than 12 months after the application.

A work permit is not a visa. Once it is issued, the chef still needs the right visa or residence permit to enter and stay in Poland. Plan that step into your timeline and check it with the Polish consulate that serves the chef.

5. Reasons the voivode can refuse

The list of refusal grounds is long and mostly about the employer. Among them: unpaid social security or health contributions, tax arrears, not running a business that justifies hiring the foreigner, not having the funds to meet your obligations, earlier offences involving illegal employment, and signs that the job is fictitious. A permit can also be refused if the foreigner came to Poland on an earlier permit in the last two years but did not do that work without good reason.

Clean books matter more than a persuasive cover letter. Check your ZUS and tax position before you apply.

6. Your duties once the chef starts

• Send a copy of the contract to the office through praca.gov.pl before the chef starts work.
• Sign the contract in writing, and give the chef a translation into a language they understand before signing.
• Give the chef a copy of the permit.
• Notify the voivode within 7 days of changes such as the chef not starting within two months, a break of more than two months, or ending the job more than two months early. From 1 June 2026 these notifications can only be made electronically.
• Apply for a new permit if you change the position, the minimum pay, the working time (except a proportional increase) or the contract type.

A type A permit lasts up to three years, or up to one year if your business has operated for less than a year or the job is half time or less.

7. Hiring for a Warsaw restaurant

Japan's foreign ministry counted 2,031 Japanese nationals in Poland as of 1 October 2025, down 9 percent on the previous year, with 1,545 of them long-term residents rather than permanent ones. There is no separate Warsaw figure. Most of that community is in Poland for a fixed term rather than for good, so do not count on a local pool of Japanese cooks.

Japan and Poland have had a working holiday programme since 2015, with an annual cap of 500 according to Japan's foreign ministry. That can supply short-term kitchen staff; for the details, see our European working holiday guide. For a long-term chef from Japan, type A is the route. Our relocation guide and contract checklist will help you build an offer that meets the comparable pay rule and still attracts a good candidate. When you are ready, you can post the job on WashokuJob.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Polish rules on employing foreigners changed in 2025 and implementing practice is still developing; confirm details with the voivode's office before applying.