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If you were a non-European citizen, and you wanted to start a one person company in Poland?


yoprofeonline  1 | 4  
23 Sep 2011 /  #1
Witam,

I am a non-european citizen living in Poland, I have a student status (learning polish), I am engaged to a Polish woman, and I have found a good oportunity to teach spanish here in Poznan, but I'd like to do it with all formalities. What would it take to set up a company to teach spanish? Listen, I know some of you will probably tell me, you dont need a company, well it is my choice to do it this way!

Serious and useful advice would be very welcome!

P.D: if you are coming to write offensive things and discriminating messages as I see in other forums, please safe your energies, I don't have time for you and will ignore you :)

Pozdrawiam!
delphiandomine  86 | 17823  
23 Sep 2011 /  #2
Well, first of all - what country are you from?
OP yoprofeonline  1 | 4  
23 Sep 2011 /  #3
Hey there, thanks for that quick reply. I am from Beautiful Colombia :)
delphiandomine  86 | 17823  
23 Sep 2011 /  #4
I'm almost certain that the basic form of self employment, the "dzialalność gospodarcza" won't be available to you - generally speaking, only EU citizens and Americans can do this.

But why not simply get your Polish fiancee to open the business? It makes no difference who issues an invoice, after all.

As for how to do it - it's a piece of cake, all the information you need is at poznan.pl/mim/public/msp/

I have a student status (learning polish),

Where do you study, out of curiosity?
OP yoprofeonline  1 | 4  
26 Sep 2011 /  #5
Hi, thansk for th info, very useful, though a little discouraging! I am studying at UAM. The idea was basically to start a business so I could be able to stay with a different visa status than a student one, I wouldnt like to go to all that hassle again to get my visa as a student. Btw if you offer me to get married it is not in our plans yet, step by step :) And well I thought that setting up my own company would be a good idea and the proper way.

I don't know how easier it would be for my fiancee to start the company and then hire me as a employee, so I could be able to issue invoices. How long would it take for her to hire me, if this is a solution? Also when you say

It makes no difference who issues an invoice, after all.

I will be the one performing the service, not her, isnt this illegal? me doing the job and her invoicing, without any contract between her and me stating I am employed by her company?

Any clue about this?

Thanks in advance.
delphiandomine  86 | 17823  
26 Sep 2011 /  #6
I am studying at UAM.

Aha, I did wonder how you got a student visa, but that makes sense.

The idea was basically to start a business so I could be able to stay with a different visa status than a student one, I wouldnt like to go to all that hassle again to get my visa as a student.

Wow.

Yes, your idea is good, but alas - not that simple.

I don't know how easier it would be for my fiancee to start the company and then hire me as a employee, so I could be able to issue invoices. How long would it take for her to hire me, if this is a solution?

Well, if it's for a visa - you'll have to get her to start a company and then apply for a work permit. It's not a difficult process, and it should be easy enough to get a work permit for a Spanish teacher here.

I will be the one performing the service, not her, isnt this illegal? me doing the job and her invoicing, without any contract between her and me stating I am employed by her company?

Well - if you're looking to actually work, yes, it's illegal. You'll need a work permit in this case.

Best bet - if you want to have a chat about this, I can talk to you in person about it.

I've sent you details of the weekly multinational/multilingual meeting in Poznan - if you want, you can come and I'll explain it all to you properly in person. :)
OP yoprofeonline  1 | 4  
26 Sep 2011 /  #7
That will be great, where does it take place? I bet this is a great chance to meet up new people :) Send me more details in a PM please or direct me to the details wherever you post them :)

Great thanks in advance!
OP yoprofeonline  1 | 4  
26 Sep 2011 /  #9
It's every Thursday from 7pm until 12am, though most people come after 8.

Ok great! this week I am moving to a new place close to the center, so it is a week of packing, etc. But for sure I will join you guys next week after 8pm as well. See you soon then.

Pozdrawiam!
maqsoodfarrukh  - | 3  
30 Nov 2016 /  #10
Can i establish a company... I am non EU national from Pakistan.... and what is the business setup cost for clothing/apparel retail business
forinfan  - | 13  
30 Nov 2016 /  #11
@maqsoodfarrukh If you want to establish an import/export business in Poland, contact a local Polish lawyer specializing in Polish and EU trade law. Simply setting up a corporation won't be too expensive but you will have capital requirements (varies from a few thousand euro to tens of thousands or more) and you will need to pay someone like an accountant to set it up for you or come over and work with a translator to get it set up (visits to offices and paperwork). The most expensive part of your business will be for tariffs and legal compliance. As well, you'll need to establish actual business relationships with buyers or set up your own store in the country as the importer, which can be costly if you're trading in a major city like Warsaw or Krakow. This post should probably be its own discussion in another thread anyway, but in short, contact a lawyer here and then move forward if you can, and be prepared to show proof of sufficient capital.
maqsoodfarrukh  - | 3  
30 Nov 2016 /  #12
@forinfan

Thanks for reply, I already have in contact 2 to 3 different lawyers, actually I want to get information regarding cost other than formation of company/corporation.... i.e.. approx amount to start small business (Clothing/apparel business)... 10 k euro will be enough to start it as a retail store??

And what is the scope of this business in Poland...

One more thing, I am by profession auditor/business analyst & accountant. I can manage my accounting matters... Is this necessary to hire an accountant.

The other thing... what is the scope for establishing company which will provide services related to accounting matters.
forinfan  - | 13  
30 Nov 2016 /  #13
@maqsoodfarrukh Certainly 10k euro would be enough to get started and for basic operation, though to open a properly functioning business with employees and payment lag would take about twice that depending on the incorporation type, the business location and the type/amount of material you want to bring in. I have some friends who are EU citizens (Polish/UK) who have started a import clothing business and it's taken them 3-4 years and tens of thousands of euros to get established, so I wouldn't expect less than 10k euro, especially as a non-citizen who will have more to deal with than they do. Also, you will find it difficult to get bank loans until you are more established, so you will probably need extra cash on hand.

Scope: not sure if you mean the formal category but there's a list of them here:
prod.ceidg.gov.pl/CEIDG.CMS.ENGINE/?D;439165b7-9e89-4efb-8538-43878ad8ea94
In Poland, the simplest business formation is the one-person kind ("entrepreneur"/micro-business/self-employed). It's very basic, very cheap to start (a couple hundred euro at most) but it lets you operate legally. I'm not certain it's open to you though and the rules for this level of business are changing a lot right now under the current 1-year-old government. But, you can start with this to set up your business and then upgrade it soon after or as planned. You carry full liability though, so you wouldn't want to use it once you begin trading and working with formal partners. As a non-EU citizen interested in import/export, however, you may be required to start with a more formal limited liability company. It has various capital requirements, but can be reasonable (1-5k euro) and the usual LLC protections. More here:

foreigners in poland/start-business-poland

Even though you are an accountant by training, it seems you do not have Poland/EU specificity, so that's why you need one here. You can negotiate the service level but you need them because Polish law is tricky and is now changing rapidly. It's not reasonable to expect that you will know enough to do it by yourself and not get in trouble, while starting a business at the same time.

If you want to start a services firm in Poland, see the links above. It might be a bit more difficult for you though than a goods-based business unless you can show how you differ from locals (e.g., working with clients focused on Asia).

Good luck.
maqsoodfarrukh  - | 3  
30 Nov 2016 /  #14
@forinfan....
Thanks for your guidance... i will work on it more... and the second thing... wht will be the living cost for me my wife and my son 3 years old... normal life...
forinfan  - | 13  
30 Nov 2016 /  #15
@maqsoodfarrukh It really depends on where you live. Warsaw is one of if not the most expensive cities in Poland, mainly because incomes are better, but it's also the main hub for textile import/export (if you haven't already seen the scene near Janki, south of the city on the 7 and near the airport, you should check it out). Another major airport area is Katowice and it can be really mixed in terms of living costs because there are lots of people and lots of little towns and cities merged together, so more variety in housing and transport costs.

In general, expect to pay at least 1k-2k euro a month in living expenses for a family of 3 for a basic but comfortable life.

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