Employment Contract Question

[Stiletto]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Would it be possible to renew your visa at a Polish Embassy in an EU country?

[Nicholas Carey]

Would it be possible to renew your visa at a Polish Embassy in an EU country?

The usual deal is that one has to leave the country to renew the visa. And I can see requiring that you leave the Schengen Zone. The idea being that you need to be gone when your visa expires. Otherwise, you are (1) in-country, and (2) a wetback, and therefore difficult to get rid of. Not the case if you've left the country.

I would check with Polish Immigration — seems like you should probably be able to take a quick trip to London/Albania/Montenegro/Bosnia-Herzogovina/. . . And git'er done.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Employment Contract Question

So, looking into extending my visa without leaving Poland: I have now been told (third-hand--communication is terrible) that an extension can only be granted up to the maximum 365 days that a Type D visa is good for. And my visa was given a 365-day mx limit from the beginning, so I need a new one, which means leaving the country. Makes sense, I guess. As much as these things ever do.

Again, I appreciate all the comments and suggestions here. Looks like I'll be going to Chicago on 6 June for my appointment--during the school year--because there is no guarantee that another appointment time would ever open up--they are VERY hard to get.

The question remains: What does "full cooperation and financial support" mean to my employer? That's going to be a tense conversation, I suspect. The school owner does not like employees to ask questions of any kind.

Tom

[Ted Hoppe]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Just a thought - could you not visit another consulate in the US like New York or Washington when passing though - it might be faster, airline ticket cheaper too especially a gateway city in the US other than Chicago.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Good thought, but consular appointments are VERY limited. When I signed up online, there was literally one slot available in Chicago, and I was lucky enough to get it. I've been checking multiple times per day for my wife, and no more have appeared yet. So, probably better to stick with the appointment I managed to reserve--that's my thinking, anyway.

Tom

[Rumars]

Re: Employment Contract Question

I would take a good interpreter and appear in person at the office for foreigners to get it from the horses mouth if you have to leave or not. You need to enquire if your application is correctly filled out with all supporting documents, and what your status is until a decision is made.
This is from the website of the polish office, bolding is mine:

"You submit your application for a temporary residence permit not later than on the last day of legal residence on the territory of the Republic of Poland.
If it is not possible to appear in person, send an application by post.
For the period of legal stay, the date of posting the parcel at the post office is counted.

If you submit your application on time and there are no formal defects or formal deficiencies are supplemented by you in the period indicated by us, your stay will be legal from the day of submitting the application to the day on which the decision in this matter becomes final."
Source:
https://przybysz.duw.pl/en/foreigners-stay/temporary-residence-permits/temporary-residence-permit-and-work/

[WI-Tom]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Thanks, but the residency process you linked to is separate from a Type D visa.

I have the residency stamp that says I have applied, and can legally remain in Poland until the final decision is made. But, that gives me no rights to travel legally in the Schengen Area. For that, I will need a Type D visa until I get my residency decision, AND then get my actual card. Supposedly that will not happen before Christmas (the school said they were handling residency, but unbeknownst to us expat teachers, they did not begin the process until February. They could have started on 2 August, when I arrived. They dropped the ball big time.

My current visa expires at the end of January. After that, I get 90 days of free travel in the Schengen Area. But that 90 days ends the day before our first school break--without a visa I will then be stuck in Poland--not even sure I can visit non-Schengen countries while waiting for the residency card.

Very hard to get definitive answers!

Tom

[sp_clark]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Supposedly that will not happen before Christmas (the school said they were handling residency, but unbeknownst to us expat teachers, they did not begin the process until February. They could have started on 2 August, when I arrived. They dropped the ball big time.

To me then, more like you were being misled if not actually lied to Tom.

If your employer undertook the responsibility to deal with getting the formalities of your stay in the country properly administered for the duration of your contracted employment but then failed to do so, would that not be deemed 'breach of contract' by any normal definition?

Or perhaps 'bait and switch' is more applicable? I'm no JD....

[WI-Tom]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Thanks for the perspective--I'm still keeping an open mind that it may well be down to just plain old non-malicious incompetence. They have a young untrained staffer whose English is not perfect trying to handle all these complex procedures in her first few months on the job.

It will be an interesting discussion between the owner and me when it happens, which will be soon. I am hoping I can maintain a bland calm non-reactive state of mind throughout. Interesting times!

Tom

[WI-Tom]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Just a thought - could you not visit another consulate in the US like New York or Washington when passing though - it might be faster, airline ticket cheaper too especially a gateway city in the US other than Chicago.

Ted, I did look into this--good idea, there are plenty of appointments in Washington. But, the consulate website says you must apply at the consulate in your own district--that's Wisconsin (Chicago) for us.

Tom

[sp_clark]

Re: Employment Contract Question

They have a young untrained staffer whose English is not perfect trying to handle all these complex procedures in her first few months on the job.

Does that last phrase (my emphasis) imply there was no one dealing with this from last August, when you arrived in Poland, until February this year? All the while the clock was running out on your legal status as a non-citizen working in Poland?

From where I sit (back in Wisconsin) that's just wrong: subjecting an untrained staffer to the rigors of what I agree are complex procedures shouldn't endanger the performance of expatriate employees, their financial well-being, or their legal status as non-citizens working for a Polish company.

Until said staffer has proven that they can negotiate the tasks of their assignments successfully there should be others, with more experience, standing by to step in as needed.

Otherwise you're between the proverbial rock and a hard place with no clear path to a safe, practical, and economical path to a resolution.

[WI-Tom]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Oh, I agree completely. I don't know if anyone was actually assigned to visa support until after Christmas--communication is very poor from what I've seen. But like I said, I'm choosing to believe this mess is the result of simple incompetence (at the level of the young staffer, which is understandable; AND at the level of the institution that failed to support her, which is much less so), and not dishonesty.

I don't want to spark a huge battle by any means. But I don't intend to be bullied, either.

Tom

[Rumars]

Re: Employment Contract Question

So this only concerns exiting and entering Poland during this processing time. You need to have an immigration official clarify this for you, but here's how it usually works when you have a residency card:
The time you spend in Poland does not count towards your 90 days every 180 Schengen tourist privilege. When you leave Poland for another Schengen country the time starts, when you enter Poland the time stops. The stamp proving your application is processing should be enough to readmit you to Poland.

There is also another reason why you should visit the local immigration office. Usually, once you apply for residency in country you are not the embassies problem anymore. It's probable that the embassy tells you they can't issue you another visa since your application is beeing processed at the office in Worclaw.

[RFNK]

Re: Employment Contract Question

So, looking into extending my visa without leaving Poland: I have now been told (third-hand--communication is terrible) that an extension can only be granted up to the maximum 365 days that a Type D visa is good for. And my visa was given a 365-day mx limit from the beginning, so I need a new one, which means leaving the country. Makes sense, I guess. As much as these things ever do.

Again, I appreciate all the comments and suggestions here. Looks like I'll be going to Chicago on 6 June for my appointment--during the school year--because there is no guarantee that another appointment time would ever open up--they are VERY hard to get.

The question remains: What does "full cooperation and financial support" mean to my employer? That's going to be a tense conversation, I suspect. The school owner does not like employees to ask questions of any kind.

Tom

HR is right, you have to bend with breeze when on foreign territory. But, your employer is Polish? Polish Immigration is managed from Poland - is there really no reason why your employer can't talk directly to Polish Immigration to arrive at some more sensible arrangement? I know it's easy to offer comment from this distance but I spent about seven years working in overseas posts and I found that getting local people involved in settling local issues, especially bureaucratic ones, was always helpful.

Demanding things never works. Problems I've encountered with immigration and entry-exit issues have mostly been with Australian offices, here and overseas. Probably because I had expectations that they would be more helpful or understanding, which they generally weren't.

If I was your employer in Poland, I think I'd prefer taking your case to Polish Immigration than having an argument with you over paying for a trip to Chicago in term time. But maybe that's because I expect employers to facilitate employees focussing on the job I'm paying them to do.

[Stiletto]

Re: Employment Contract Question

Wi-Tom, I'm a little surprised that you sold up your home in the USA and moved to Poland without your residency status being guaranteed and clearly understood.
I think that Lug's advice to use a competent visa agent is probably the best path to follow. Anything that comes up in the process will have been seen before and dealt with. Finding your own way through this maze could cause a lot of stress you can do without.