Belarusians now need to get a translation of “oświadczenie” to leave the country

From now on, citizens of Belarus need to have one more necessary document in order to travel to Poland – a translation of the declaration on the intention to entrust work to a foreigner (oświadcznie o zamiarze powierzenia wykonywania pracy cudzoziemcowi). The translation must be made from Polish into Russian or Belarusian. Otherwise, border guards turn back Belarusian citizens who want to work in Poland.

The information came to the attention of a recruiter working at the employment agency in Wroclaw. He was informed of this information by a job candidate from Belarus, whose acquaintances, who did not have appropriate translations, were turned back by Belarusian border guards.

The candidate from Belarus began to investigate this issue in more detail on social networks and forums, as he was worried about whether he would be able to leave Belarus to work in Poland in early October, and it turned out that there were actually many more cases like his acquaintances.

It is not yet known whether this is always the case when leaving Belarus. However, to be on the safe side, Belarusians traveling to Poland to work try to translate Polish work invitations into a language that border guards understand.

This is not the first time that the Belarusian authorities have created artificial obstacles for their citizens who wish to travel abroad. Previously, Belarusians had the right to leave the country only 2 times a year, or to “quietly” go to Europe via Russia, which increased the cost of commuting many times over and made it impossible for people who already wanted to go to work often due to financial difficulties. This was probably the government’s intention. Now you can travel abroad from Belarus once every 3 months.

As a reminder, a declaration (oświadczenie) is a document that is popularly called an “invitation” or “work invitation.” It is issued at the request of a Polish employer by a local labor office (PUP – Powiatowy Urząd Pracy). It is issued for a period of no more than 180 days and entitles citizens of Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia to work in Poland under simplified rules (compared to other foreigners). It can be used to issue a six-month visa, an annual visa with a corridor, and citizens of countries with visa-free travel with the EU can work without a visa, but with a valid consecration issued for any period from 1 day to 180 days.