How to start a business in Poland

Poland boasts a fairly developed area of medium and small businesses – these enterprises account for almost 70% of the country’s total GDP. Such indicators were achieved through the introduction of simplified document processing systems, a stable exchange rate of the national currency and the suppression of corruption schemes. At the moment, the Polish economy is considered one of the fastest growing in Europe, which in turn also increases investment attractiveness.

It should be noted that business in Poland is opened not only by citizens of this country, but also according to the state structure for foreigners, there are almost 20,000 people in the country running their own business in Poland. Of these, about 25% (5,000 people) are citizens of Ukraine. Also, the register of insurers provided information that over the past decade, the number of foreign citizens who took out insurance has increased more than 10-fold. This shows the main position of Poland towards foreigners: stay, open a business, find a job, give new jobs and all your undertakings will be supported by the state.

Who can start their own business in Poland?

The main advantage of this country is that it is allowed to open a business in Poland without obtaining citizenship, remaining simply a resident of this state. It is possible to start a business on the same conditions that are established for citizens of this country. To start doing business in Poland, you only need to stay in the country on a legal basis and have a tax number. Poland offers optimal conditions for starting a business for foreigners, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Russians.

On what basis can one legally stay in Poland

Legal stay on the territory of Poland is conditioned by the presence of one of the following documents:

1. official status of temporary protection (it can be obtained by citizens of Ukraine who arrived in the country after 24.02.2022);
2. valid residence permit;
3. A Pole’s card, on the basis of which a person left Ukraine after February 24, 2022, he must also arrive in Poland and declare that he wants to stay there;
4. Procedural document with a stamp that confirms that a person has started the procedure for completing all the necessary paperwork in order to legally stay in the country.

PESEL registration and why a trusted profile is required

In order to get a PESEL, you need to submit an application in a certain format to the municipality office located nearby.

Attention! If a citizen of Ukraine wants to start his own business, but at the time of receiving PESEL, it is also required to complete a trusted profile. In the future, it will help to significantly simplify the solution of legal issues. In this situation, an e-mail, an active phone number must also be added to the application for a PESEL number, agree that the specified personal data will be entered in the register of individuals and agree that the applicant confirms the profile. Creating a trusted profile is completely free. With its help, it will be possible to easily pass verification, sign relevant documents digitally during the execution of various papers and cooperation with state institutions in Poland. A trusted profile makes it possible to register your own business in Poland online using the special CEIDG resource.

What forms of business ownership are there in Poland?

To start your own business, you should definitely decide what form of ownership your company will have. In this situation, there are several options to choose from.

Private enterprise

This option is most similar to an individual entrepreneur in Ukraine. This is the simplest form. The main advantages are that the registration of this form of ownership is completely free, and in this situation there are no requirements regarding a certain amount of registered capital. The entrepreneur, at his own discretion, chooses the form of tax payment that suits him, in addition, some enterprises are exempt from paying VAT. A private enterprise can have a simplified accounting scheme if its profit does not exceed 2,000,000 euros.

Limited Liability Company

The presented form of ownership of enterprises is created by a group of shareholders. In this situation, certain requirements apply regarding the authorized capital – it must be at least PLN 5,000. It should be noted that all shareholders are responsible for the obligations of the enterprise, but the former are limited to the amount of contributions of each owner of the LLC.

Joint stock company

This form of ownership is relevant for those situations where the creation of a really large company is expected. As in the previous version, the creation of a joint-stock company is carried out with the participation of several persons at the same time. But in this case, the minimum authorized capital is 2 times more and amounts to PLN 10,000. It should be noted that a joint-stock company cannot be registered online. In this situation, you should definitely provide a notarized certificate.

Civil Society

The presented form of business ownership in Poland can be created by several companies or entrepreneurs. Civil society is a specific business agreement that is concluded between all participants, and not a specific legal entity. This form of ownership boasts several positive properties:

• simple registration;
• you can choose a simplified scheme for reporting and paying taxes.

To create a civil society, you do not need to adhere to certain requirements regarding the minimum amount of start-up capital. In the future, this form can be changed by re-registering another company.

How to register a sole trader?

Registration of sole proprietorship is carried out on the CEIDG website. This resource presents a virtual register of all private Polish entrepreneurs. After registering on the site, the user will open a personal account where he can perform various actions: create his own enterprise, make changes to data, suspend activities, restore or completely close his business.

The FLP registration procedure takes no more than 30 days, although in practice it takes no more than 7 days. To register an enterprise, you must have a PESEL tax number, as well as a trusted profile (the procedure for registering it was described above). For registration, you can use not only the CEIDG website, but also this is done in the municipality office.

How does registration work through KRS?

If they are not FLP, they are registered with the KRS. This can be done online using the PRS website or the S24 system. In this situation, the entrepreneur must create a personal account in the system and confirm it using his trusted profile or a certified signature. Please note that you can register a company only on the basis of a valid residence permit in Poland.

Detailed instructions for registering a business in Poland

Solving all legal issues to create your own company in Poland is not so difficult. In this situation, you must follow the steps below.

1 – select the form of ownership of the enterprise

First, depending on what exactly you are going to do, the scale of the company, the number of owners, you should choose the appropriate form of ownership of the enterprise: private enterprise, JSC, LLC or civil society. It is the form of ownership that indicates how the registration will take place.

2 – preparation of the articles of association and authorized capital

The presence of authorized capital is not always required. If the form of ownership of a private entrepreneur is registered, then the authorized capital is not required. If another form of ownership of the enterprise is chosen, then everything depends on it. For example, an LLC requires a minimum of PLN 5,000, and a JSC requires at least PLN 10,000. Please note that the authorized capital is not limited to the maximum amount. At the same time, the registration price depends on the amount of the authorized capital, respectively, the higher the amount, the more you have to pay for it.

3 – application for registration in the accounting of economic activity

After adding an entry in KRS that meets the legal requirements, the company is officially considered a legal entity.

4 – REGON number decoration

If a business does not have a REGON number, it is considered illegal. Registration of a number for FLP takes place online. While registration of REGON for other forms of business is carried out by submitting an application to your municipality or to the statistics office, which is located nearby.

5 – opening a bank account

This can be done at any Polish bank. You need to go to a branch and open a bank account in the name of a registered company.

6 – registration with the State Treasury

Registration should definitely be done before the first funds are received on the company’s open account.

7 – get NIP tax number

In this situation, you need to go to the tax office to get the appropriate NIP for your company.

8 – VAT payer registration

If a company sells goods for a total amount of not more than PLN 150,000 in a year, then registration is not required. In addition, private entrepreneurs who do not pay VAT can skip this procedure. Everyone else needs to register by submitting an application to the tax office.

9 – company insurance

The insurance of the company is carried out at the Social Insurance Institution by submitting an appropriate application.

10 – company seal

At the end of the entire registration procedure, you should definitely order a company seal, on which the full name of the enterprise, official registration number, and contact details are written.

Other options to open your business in Poland

Poland is a great country to start a business. At the same time, there are quite a few niches where you can achieve success. Now the medical direction is developing quite actively, especially in private medical centers. In this situation, you can open a business in different ways.

Buy a ready-made business

In order not to start a business from scratch, you can invest in an already existing business. For example, medinvest.info offers to invest in the opening of medical centers that will serve tourists and emigrants from the CIS countries. All you need is money, and the risk is minimal.

Buy a franchise

You can enter the medical business under an existing well-known brand with an already formed system, established business processes, and so on. In this situation, you can purchase a medinvest.info franchise by starting activities in the medical field of one well-known network.

Invest in business

To become the owner of a successful and profitable business, you do not need to be well versed in all the intricacies. medinvest.info offers ready-made investment solutions doomed to success, which just lack the funding to translate into reality.