Export Promotion Portal

Main categories of enterprises are:

1. Individual enterprise managed by a private person
2. Civil partnerships
3. Partnerships
4. Corporations

Not all of these form are fully available to foreign persons.

Companies and persons from EU and EFTA* member states have the same rights as Polish entrepreneurs, so they can choose from among all of these forms of organization. Foreign entities from other countries can form the following:

Foreign persons can form the following:

• Limited partnership
• Limited joint-stock partnership
• Limited liability company
• Joint-stock company

They also have the right to establish branch and/or representative offices.

Individual entreprise and civil partnership are the simplest forms of business activity - they do not require initial capital, registration fees are very small. At the same time, the responsibility of the owners/partners is not limited and personal. Each of the partners pays taxes according to the Personal Income Tax rates.

Partnerships (registered partnership, professional partnership, limited partnership and limited joint-stock partnership) are also simple in form and not requiring large capital investment. They are different from one another in the scope of responsibility of partners, and one of them - professional partnership - can be set up only by representatives of the so-called free professions**.

Corporations are recommended to entrepreneurs wishing to conduct a large-scale economic activity (more information on the costs of setting up of each of the companies - see Registration procedures and fees).

*Same rights apply to citizens of non-EU countries who have obtained a permit to settle on the territory of the Republic of Poland, a permit for tolerated stay, refugee status granted by the Republic of Poland, or have received a temporary asylum on the territory of Poland.

** free professions entitled to set up professional partnerships are: advocate, legal advisor, notary, pharmacist, physician, dentist, veterinary, nurse, accountant, architect, construction engineers, Chartered accountant, insurance broker, tax advisor, midwife, patent attorney, property valuers, sworn translator.

Source: PAIiIZ; the material prepared by the Chałas & Partners Legal Company, available in English at: http://www.paiz.gov.pl/polish_law