- Ivan Dlouhy
Since moving to Warsaw, I have been able to make some great friends and attend InterNations events with other expats who understand what it's like to be so far from home.
Employment in Wroclaw
Local Economy
Wroclaw is home to many major industries, including medical and automotive industries, and the production of household goods and electrical engineering. Toyota, Siemens, and Bosch are just a few of the major foreign investors. The high tech industry has also seen a steady rise in Wroclaw since the turn of the twenty first century, with the Wroclaw Technology Park featuring CIT engineering, Ericsson, IBM, and PGS software. And Google, Amazon, as well as HP can also be found in the city. Furthermore, due to the proximity to Germany and the Czech Republic, Wroclaw is a large import and export partner of these countries, as are the surrounding areas in Poland.
Job Hunting in Wroclaw
The municipality of Wroclaw offers incentives to businesses wishing to develop in the city, which is generating a great number of new companies and increasing employment opportunities. With many expats turning to freelance work, the best place to start in Wroclaw is Cocobar. Here you can work individually, but in a more suitable working environment where you rent out your own office space. Particularly popular with younger expats, this is a great way to begin a new freelance career in Wroclaw.
There is a wide variety of work in the tourism and retail sectors also, with the various shopping malls and tourist attractions. And the aforementioned engineering, high tech, and software companies are regularly looking to fill posts as well. There are many helpful online job listing websites that can help you find and apply for jobs in all industries, including, for instance, glassdoor.com, jobPOLAND, and Pracuj.pl (website in Polish only). Or you might want to try your luck with some of the local, big companies directly — most list open job positions on their websites.
Work Permits for Wroclaw
All foreigners and their families wishing to work within Wroclaw and the rest of Poland will require the right documentation. A Residence Permit is legally required of all those wishing to work, and who are intending on staying in the country for more than three months. Those wishing to extend their stay to 10 years must apply for a permanent residence permit, which can only be obtained in Poland during one’s legal stay in the country.
To gain a permit you will require documentation proving you are legally employed by a company in Wroclaw or can otherwise access a stable source of income, as well as have a place to stay. If you change employers at any point during your stay, you or better said your new employer will have to apply for a new permit in order to fulfill the legal requirements.