Starting a company in Poland – how to create a company in Poland?
Many foreigners from various countries decide to start a business and develop a business in Poland. In accordance with the standards in force in Poland, foreigners can register and run any form of business activity permitted by our law, under the same rules as Polish citizens. This does not mean, however, that every foreigner can be an entrepreneur in our country. In order to be able to run your business legally, you must first meet certain criteria.
The conditions that must be met by a foreigner in order to be able to open a company in Poland are governed by the Act of March 6, 2018 on the rules for the participation of foreign entrepreneurs and other foreign entities in the course of trade on the territory of the Republic of Poland. As it comes out of the content of the Act, the possibility and form of conducting business depends primarily on where the particular foreigner comes from. Individual foreigners can set up and manage economic activity on the same rules as citizens of our country. Such persons must have a regulated stay in our country. Only in this case, the law entitles them to establish operations in Poland.
Available forms of conducting business in Poland
- sole proprietorship of a natural person – performed on the basis of an entry in CEIDG, its conduct is similar to that of Polish citizens, it can be established in a standard manner by visiting the office (every department of economic activity in Poland) or via the Internet.
- economic activity in the form of a company and a cooperative – entered in the National Court Register (KRS), it can be done via the Internet (applies to limited liability companies and limited partnerships).
The most popular among EU citizens are limited liability companies. Other, less attractive varieties of companies are a civil, registered partnership, partner partnership, limited partnership partnership, joint-stock partnership and joint-stock partnership. If the activity is to be carried out jointly by a couple of people, it can also be carried out in the form of a cooperative, including a social cooperative.
In a situation where a person operating in Poland lives in another EU member state, he or she is subject to the legislation of the country in which the economic activity is carried out. In this case, the place of residence of that person is irrelevant.
The opposite is true in the case of activities in Poland and, moreover, employment under a contract of employment in any of the Member States of the European Union. In this case, the person is subject to the law of the state in which he performs work on the basis of an approved contract of employment. Natural persons conducting business activity in Poland, having a different residence than the business address are subject in the territory of the Republic of Poland to the treasury obligation only on income (income) obtained in Poland (this is the so-called limited fiscal obligation).