British National (Oversea) in Poland wants to work and settle down

I'm British from Hong Kong with British National (Overseas) passport holder. I want to work and settle down in Poland as other British passport holders. Applying student visa / working visa / temporary residency visa which path is the best ? Can I apply temporary residency visa and do part time job legally in Poland ? (I speak Mandarin and English, 8 years clerical working experience)

First of all, you do not have a regular British passport, so you do not enjoy the rights that come with that. You do not have the right to live and work in Poland like UK citizens do.

You have the right to visit the Schengen zone, including Poland, for 180 per year. You are not allowed to work OR SEEK WORK during that time. The other 185 days, you are not allowed to be in the Schengen zone, including Poland, unless you have a visa or residence permit.

If you want to work and stay in Poland, then you will have to get a work visa. To do that, you have to find a job BEFORE you come to Poland. Then the company that wants to hire you will have to apply for a work permit to hire you. If it is granted, then you can apply for a work visa.

The biggest problem is finding someone who will hire you. Don't waste your time looking on internet job sites or asking recruiters or headhunters. You will not find a job that way.

The best jobs are never advertised online. They are advertised solely person to person, face to face in the real world. Your goal is to expand you network to include people in your field that work or have worked in Poland, and use them to bypass human resources and get directly in touch with the manager who will be making the decision whether to hire you or not, whether for a Polish company or a foreign company doing business in Poland.

Frankly, if all you have to sell is eight years of clerical experience, you are going to have a hard time finding an employer willing to hire you, and any job you might get will be very poorly paid. There is no shortage of clerical workers in Poland, even ones who can speak Mandarin, that the local and EU labor force cannot supply. You're going to need a lot more than that to make it in Poland.

Thanks DominicB, I reckon seeking a job just similar as Hong Kong. upload and sent my CV were entirely useless for a long time which find a job in Poland. I want to ask question after your replied.

1. Your goal is to expand you network to include people in your field that work or ha→ve worked in Poland→Do you mean I need to know more Poles via travel, living in Poland for a few month or internet, right ?

2. You're going to need a lot more than that to make it in Poland→I.T. skills, accountant qualification is better than foreign language ability ?

3. I found some Polish lawyers and immigrant agency from internet. They said that I can get working permit via their company. Of course I need to pay thousands Euros and hundred Euros per month for tax. Is it scam ?

4. Which city is more working opportunities in Poland ? (liked Chinese / UK companies or teaching Chinese / Mandarin jobs )

1) Not necessarily Poles. But you should be able to meet fellow Chinese and other people in Singapore who have worked in Poland, or who know people who work or have worked in Poland.

2) IT skills are more saleable than just Mandarin, especially if they are higher level skills or if you have lots of experience with an exotic tool set.

3) They are all scam artists. Use your head, boy. Any agency that promises anything like that is, at best, going to take your money and run. At worst, they will get you into the EU, kill you, and sell your organs on the black market. Avoid all "agents" or "consultants". They won't help you.

4) Warsaw, Poznań, Łódź, Gdańsk, Kraków and Wrocław, in that approximate order.