Why do foreigners seek to formalize a private company?
Opening your own business or formalizing your activity is the desire and goal of many people with an entrepreneurial spirit. And it is best, of course, to do it in a European country with a transparent taxation system and clear legislation. In our experience, we can confidently say that Poland is ideal for opening a business.
Here foreigners are offered many forms of activity when registering their own business, but the most popular are limited liability company (społka z o.o.) and individual entrepreneurship (działalność jednoosobowa, IE).
The majority of business owners seek to establish a sole proprietorship because of the low tax rates, simpler registration procedure and the absence of the need to form an authorized capital. But even before February 2022, opening a sole proprietorship in Poland was not available to all categories of foreigners.
Which foreigners can register a private company?
Individual entrepreneurs in Poland could become sole proprietors only if they had a residence permit, a residence card, a Pole card, a Business Harbor visa, a temporary residence permit on the basis of studying at a university (full-time), a residence permit on the basis of being married to a Polish citizen, etc. The only way to become a sole proprietor in Poland was to obtain a residence permit.
Since February 2022 Ukrainians officially staying on the territory of Poland and having issued a PESEL number with the status of UKR have been able to open a sole proprietorship in Poland.
As is well known, it is Ukrainian citizens who make up the lion's share of the total number of foreigners in Poland. And many of them took the opportunity to become individual entrepreneurs in Poland.
Advantages of a private company
A sole proprietor has a couple of features that distinguish this form of activity from a company (społka z o.o.) and are rather disadvantages. Firstly, the entrepreneur is responsible for the debts of his company with all his financial means and property. Secondly, it is not possible to open a sole proprietorship in Poland for all types of business.
For example, if you are engaged in livestock breeding, banking, insurance, grow certain types of plants (listed in the law as a separate list), open your own sports club - you will not be able to become a sole proprietor in Poland.
Registration of a sole proprietorship is ideal for activities in the field of beauty, rendering services to the population, selling fast food and other types of small business.
By the way, for foreigners who work at home and have not yet formalized their activities, opening a sole proprietorship in Poland will help to avoid fines and deportations related to illegal work.
How can a foreigner open a private company in Poland?
How to open a sole proprietorship in Poland? We tell you: this procedure can be carried out both physically, by submitting the relevant application to Urzad Miejski, and online, using your profil zaufany on the ePUAP platform.
When opening a sole proprietorship in Poland by visiting Ujenda in person, the foreigner will need to fill out the CIEDG-1 form.
CIEDG is a separate Polish state institution that deals with the registration and record keeping of entrepreneurs. Usually, there are offices of this institution in Uzędzki, where you submit the completed form.
To apply, you will need a PESEL number, the legal address where your business activity will take place and an open bank account for a sole proprietorship. When filling out the form, be sure to indicate the type of your business and the form of taxation.
If the application is submitted online, the foreigner will need to fill out the application using the same CIEDG-1 form, using his/her trusted profile on the ePUAP platform and electronic signature. To do so, go to ceidg.gov.pl and register on the website using the trusted profile and signature. Then, selecting the “Nowy wniosek” option, fill in the application form and attach all required documents (depending on the foreigner's status, they will be different).
After you submit your application, you will receive an email notification that your application has been accepted for review. CIEDG enrollment is fast, literally within 1-2 days.
Also, a future self-employed person in Poland will need to register with the ZUS within a week and if the form of taxation of an individual entrepreneur involves the payment of VAT (VAT), it will additionally need to register with the tax office (Urzad Skarbowy) at the place of registration of the individual entrepreneur.
If you have decided to become a sole proprietor in Poland and do not want to spend your time on the legal side of this issue, you can delegate the whole procedure to our company Global documents solution. We will not only accompany you at each stage of business registration, but also help you with other issues related to the smooth functioning of your company.
For example, we will register cash registers (and tell you where it is most profitable to buy them), open a bank account, obtain the necessary licenses to carry out activities, help with the choice of equipment and with the search for premises for business.
And if you do not have a fixed workplace or retail space, in this case we provide the service “Virtual Office”, providing a legal address for the registration of an individual entrepreneur in Poland. The service includes processing incoming correspondence, scanning it and sending it to you electronically.
Virtual Office Utilization:
- Saves you time (on finding a space) and money (on rent);
- legally reliable (inclusion in the Polish register of sole proprietorships allows you to enjoy all economic privileges under Polish law);
- is very convenient for the entrepreneur.
We also help with the transfer of an existing business from the foreigner's home country to Poland.
You will need a valid passport and a PESEL number to complete the procedure of opening a sole proprietorship in Poland. The cost of setting up a sole proprietorship is individual and depends on the niche and the number of required documents and licenses.
How can Global documents solution be useful to you ?
Global documents solution - always with you and always at your service! For more information, please call us on +48 71 880 83 63 or leave your contacts in the contact form and we will call you back.
