Translation of Work Documents for Poland

A Translation from Outside the Tłumacz Przysięgły List Does Not Count

Official translation in Poland may be carried out only by sworn translators who hold the title of tłumacz przysięgły and appear on the Ministry of Justice list. Their seals carry a register number, and every translation they produce is entered in their own record book. In work files this rule bites harder than in education files: the voivodeship immigration office can verify a translation through the seal and the register number, and a translation by someone not on the list is void from the outset. Notarised translations obtained in Türkiye do not meet the requirement. The choice of translator is therefore a matter to settle in Polish files before any documents are gathered.

How the Work Is Split Between the Voivodeship Office and the Employer

Work permit business in Poland is handled by immigration offices at voivodeship level, and the greater part of the application is opened by the employer. The employer documents the standing of the company and the post, while the candidate submits the papers that show their qualifications and identity. Practice can differ from one voivodeship to another, so which voivodeship the application goes to may affect the list of documents. It is worth looking at the list published by the office concerned before ordering any translation. Our document types page sets out the general scope of these papers.

Nostryfikacja: the Long Way Round to Having a Diploma Recognised

In some cases recognition of a diploma in Poland calls for a separate procedure known as nostryfikacja, which a university conducts. Because it involves comparing the diploma with the equivalent Polish programme in point of content, it asks for detailed information on the curriculum, the contact hours and the practical work. In regulated professions this step is more often than not unavoidable. The information obtainable through NAWA does not stand in place of a recognition decision. The mistake candidates make most often is to confuse the two routes with one another.

Documents Mapped to the Two Tracks

Document	Work permit track	Nostryfikacja track
Employment contract	Required	Not relevant
Diploma	Depends on the post	Required
Curriculum / contact hours	Usually not asked for	Required
Employment record	Evidence of experience	Supporting
Criminal record certificate	Frequently asked for	Not relevant

The Ground for Refusal Met Most Often

The commonest adverse outcome in Polish work files is the file being turned back on procedural grounds because the translation fails to meet the sworn translator requirement. Second comes the nostryfikacja track never having been started at all in a regulated profession; there the profession cannot be practised even if the permit is granted. Third, where no link can be made between the job title in the employer’s documents and the field named on the candidate’s diploma, a request for further information follows.

Where the Appointment Calendar Collides with the Life of a Document

Business at the voivodeship immigration offices in Poland runs by appointment, and in busy periods the dates on offer can fall a long way off. That creates a concrete risk for the life of a document: the criminal record certificate and the civil registry extract the candidate obtained months earlier may have gone stale by the day of the appointment. Renewing them does not merely mean a fresh application; it means a fresh apostille and a fresh sworn translation. The right order in Polish files is therefore to find out the appointment date first and then obtain the short-lived documents to fit it.

Long-lived documents, by contrast, will stand the wait. The diploma, the academic transcript and the curriculum can be translated at the very start; if the nostryfikacja track is running they are needed early in any case. Where a sworn translator has entered a translation in the record book, obtaining a further copy of that same document later is relatively straightforward, so it is worth settling with the translator at the first order how many copies you want, and asking how a further copy is to be requested if the need arises. Carrying the original sealed copies of the translations to the appointment prevents the turning back of files where a photocopy has been relied on.

If the nostryfikacja track is running the calendar stretches further still and the problem of document life is compounded. Because the procedure the university conducts calls for a course-by-course comparison, it can take months, and in that time the short-lived documents in the residence file may have to be renewed more than once. It is therefore more efficient to start the nostryfikacja application at the earliest possible date and to set the residence track up as the outcome draws near. It also helps, when corresponding with the university, to have in writing which documents are wanted and in what degree of detail; since every university follows its own practice, a file prepared against a general list may turn out to be incomplete. Telling the sworn translator, when you hand the papers over, whether the document is for nostryfikacja or for the immigration file allows the choice of terminology to be tuned to the receiving institution, and reduces the need for a second round of translation.

A Polish file has two thresholds: obtaining the translation from a translator on the Ministry of Justice list, and starting the recognition track in good time where the profession is a regulated one. In files that clear both, the problems that remain are generally matters of the calendar and can be solved by planning. This page is meant as general guidance; as voivodeship practice and recognition conditions can differ, confirm the current requirements from the official announcements of the voivodeship immigration office concerned and of NAWA. You can request a quotation for your file, see the fees on our pricing page, and compare other countries in our country directory.