A year after the adoption of Poland’s Migration Strategy for 2025–2030, companies in the business services sector are not talking about a breakthrough. While the direction of change is generally seen as right, the day to day practice of employing foreign nationals is still associated with long processing times, high unpredictability, and significant operational risk. The results of the latest ABSL study, conducted in cooperation with EY in the fourth quarter of 2025, show that for many organizations the migration system has now become one of the key constraints on growth.

Procedures that fail to keep pace with business

From the perspective of companies employing foreign nationals, the process of legalizing residence and work in Poland remains complex and time consuming. Compared with the previous year, more than half of respondents indicate a further lengthening of procedures, and the vast majority assess them as equally or more unpredictable than before. In practice, this translates into difficulties in workforce planning, delays in launching projects, and the need to develop costly alternative scenarios.

These issues are neither incidental nor local. Companies report them across different regions of the country, pointing, among other things, to a lack of consistency in the interpretation of regulations between provincial offices and consulates, changing documentation requirements, and digital systems that are not fully functional.

Migration as an investment barrier

The impact of migration procedures on investment decisions is becoming increasingly visible. The study shows a growing share of companies declaring that long relocation lead times for foreign nationals or uncertainty around permit issuance deadlines have delayed projects in Poland or limited their scale. For some organizations, this has also meant shifting part of their activities to other locations where access to international talent is faster and more predictable.

At the same time, companies point to rising costs that are a direct consequence of system inefficiencies - from prolonged recruitment processes, through additional relocation packages, to disruptions in the continuity of project teams’ work.

Expert commentary: a systemic problem

Commenting on the study’s findings, EY experts emphasize that the challenges reported by companies are structural in nature and have not been significantly alleviated despite the adoption of the migration strategy.

“The survey conducted among SSC sector companies indicates that Poland’s migration system does not fully respond to business needs and constitutes a significant operational barrier. A decisive majority of respondents point to lengthening procedures, a lack of predictability, and growing complexity in the processes of legalizing work and residence for foreign nationals", says Rafał Rogala, Director, Immigration, EY Poland

The expert stresses that as a result, companies incur higher costs, delay projects, or decide to scale them down or relocate them.

Partnership instead of deregulation

It is worth emphasizing that companies’ demands do not aim at weakening state control. On the contrary, the study shows a strong willingness on the part of business to maintain high compliance standards, ensure transparency in HR processes, and undergo certification - provided that this would be linked to real operational benefits.

“An important element in rebuilding business trust in the migration system could be […] the implementation of a trusted employer mechanism. […] The new model should be based on clear, transparent criteria and offer simplified procedures for employers meeting high compliance standards.”, adds Rafał Rogala, Director, Immigration, EY Poland.

Such an approach could form the basis of a more selective and efficient system in which reliable employers gain priority access to procedures, while the state gains better control over economic migration.

A challenge for Poland’s competitiveness

The results of the ABSL study clearly show that migration has ceased to be merely an administrative issue. For the business services sector, it has become a component of economic infrastructure that directly affects Poland’s ability to attract knowledge based investments. Without improvements in the predictability and efficiency of procedures, the risk of losing projects to competing locations will continue to grow.