Entrepreneurs from outside the EU can conduct business activity in Poland on the same terms as Polish citizens or from EU countries, but they must meet several conditions:

• permanent residence permit / long-term EU residence permit / temporary residence permit;
• refugee status;
• subsidiary protection;
• permission to stay for humanitarian reasons or permission to stay tolerated;
• temporary residence permit and are married to a Polish citizen residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland,
• temporary residence permit for the purpose of conducting business activity, granted due to the continuation of the already conducted business activity on the basis of an entry in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity;
• temporary protection in the Republic of Poland;
• have a valid Pole’s Card;
• are family members joining or staying with nationals of countries that meet the above conditions;
• stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of Article 108 paragraph 1 and 2  or Article 206 paragraph 1 and 2 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners or on the basis of a stamp placed in the travel document, which confirms the submission of an application for a residence permit for a long-term resident of the European Union, if immediately before submitting the application they were entitled to undertake and exercise business activity.

Foreigners who do not meet the above conditions, i.e. citizens from outside the European Union and EFTA, who do not have appropriate permits and companies from outside the EU and EFTA, have the right to carry out business activity only in the form of:

• limited partnership,
• limited joint-stock partnership,
• limited liability companies,
• a simple joint-stock company
• joint-stock company,

They shall also have the right to join such companies and to acquire their shares, unless otherwise provided for in international agreements.