· NextMigrate Team
How to Check a European Work Permit Offer: Poland, Romania, Croatia and Lithuania
You did not land on a page about European work permits by accident. Someone has offered you a job in Europe, and you want proof before money changes hands. This page is for careful job seekers, not for anyone hoping to skip the checks.
Imagine you are a driver in Kathmandu. A message arrives in a Facebook group: warehouse work in Poland, good pay, housing included, "work permit ready in 30 days". The agent is friendly. He sends a PDF with a stamp on it. Then he asks for a "permit fee" before Friday, because "the quota is closing".
Your cousin in Doha says Europe is the dream. Your father says it sounds too fast. You sit with the PDF and wonder how anyone can tell a real Polish permit from a picture of one.
Short answer: in Poland, Romania, Croatia and Lithuania, the employer (or a licensed agency) applies for your work permit inside that country. You then apply for a national visa at the embassy. You can check three things yourself, for free: that the company is on the national business register, that the agency is on the official agency register, and that the visa steps match the embassy's own page. If anyone asks you to pay for the job, or tells you to travel on a tourist or Schengen visit visa and "convert it later", stop.
Run your offer through the checker first. Pick "Another EU country" if your job is in one of these four.
How a real European work permit works
All four countries follow the same order. Think of it as two keys for two doors.
- Key one: the work permit. The employer, or a licensed placement agency, applies to an authority inside the country. You do not file it, and you cannot buy it.
- Key two: the national visa. Once the permit is issued, you apply for a long-stay national visa (type D) at the embassy, consulate or visa centre. This is the visa that lets you travel to work.
A short-stay Schengen visa, often called a visit or tourist visa, is not a work visa. It does not become one when you land.
So any offer that asks you to pay a person for the permit, or to fly first and sort the paperwork later, has the order wrong. Real permits do not work that way.
The three checks for any European offer
Do these in order. Stop at the first one that fails.
- Find the company on the national business register. Search the exact name. Check that the address and activity make sense for the job. The EU links every national register through the e-Justice business registers search.
- Find the agency on the official agency register of the job country. A recruiter who is not on it should not be placing you there.
- Check the visa steps on the embassy's own page. Book appointments only through the official system. The Polish embassy in Nigeria, for one, says agents cannot get you an appointment.
Then phone the company on the number from its own website, not the number the recruiter gave you. Ask if the job and the recruiter are real.
Poland
The permit. For most jobs, the employer applies for a work permit from the voivode (the regional governor's office). Seasonal permits go to the local district office. Poland's current law on employing foreigners came into force on 1 June 2025 (Public Employment Services, checked 7 November 2026). If you want to know which permit a skilled job gets, read Poland work permit vs EU Blue Card.
Who pays. The employer pays the permit fee, under rules in force from 1 December 2025 (Gdańsk voivodeship office, checked 7 November 2026). A Polish employment agency may not charge you for finding the job. The only costs it may pass on are a short list: travel, visa, medical exams and translations (Olsztyn labour office, checked 7 November 2026).
Check the company. Search the National Court Register (KRS), which is free (KRS search). Sole traders are on the CEIDG register instead.
Check the agency. Search the register of employment agencies, KRAZ (KRAZ). Since 1 June 2025, an agency also needs a separate entry before it may place foreign workers (Olsztyn labour office, as above).
The visa. Register for a national visa appointment on the official e-Konsulat system. The embassy in Abuja gives interview dates by a weekly electronic draw and says agents "are unable to secure visa appointments" (Polish Embassy in Nigeria, checked 7 November 2026). The consulates in India say they do not work with employment agencies or visa agents, and that using one gives you no priority (Polish Embassy in India, checked 7 November 2026).
The warning sign. Anyone selling you a Polish visa appointment, or a "guaranteed" slot, is selling something the embassy says does not exist.
Romania
The permit. Romania changed its system with an emergency ordinance in force from 27 April 2026 (OUG 32/2026, General Inspectorate for Immigration). Applications now go through one portal, WorkinRomania.gov.ro. Depending on the visa type, the employer or an authorised placement agency files it. The worker does not.
Who pays. The new law bans a placement agency from charging the foreign worker any commission, fee or charge, or asking for a guarantee or deposit (OUG 32/2026, article 23(6)). Romania's official worker page says that, unless the firm offer says otherwise, you usually pay your own visa, travel and housing (WorkinRomania, for employees, checked 7 November 2026).
Check the employer and the agency. The same portal publishes public registers of authorised employers and authorised placement agencies (WorkinRomania registers). If the company or agency is not there, ask why before you go further.
The visa. Romania's long-stay work visas are issued at the consulate. You can follow your application on the official eViza portal.
Check for pauses. On 7 November 2026, the WorkinRomania portal showed a notice that one type of work visa application was paused after a court ruling. Rules this new can move quickly. Read the notice on the portal's front page before anyone tells you your file is "in process".
The warning signs. Romania's own worker page lists them: being asked for a placement commission, no contract before you leave, entering without a visa, or someone keeping your passport.
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Croatia
The permit. Croatia uses a single "stay and work permit" (dozvola za boravak i rad). The employer applies online, usually after a labour market test by the Croatian Employment Service. The police administration issues the permit (Ministry of the Interior, checked 7 November 2026). Croatia uses this test instead of a yearly quota.
Who pays. The Ministry of the Interior lists the permit and card fees as payable by the worker (Ministry of the Interior, third-country nationals, checked 7 November 2026). These are small government fees paid to the state. They are not a "permit fee" paid to a recruiter.
Check the company. Search the court register, sudreg, which has a free search.
Check the agency. The Ministry of Labour publishes the lists of registered employment agencies (Ministry of Labour).
The visa. Once the permit is approved, you apply for a long-stay D visa in person at the embassy or its visa centre, if your nationality needs one, and register with the police within 30 days of arrival (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, checked 7 November 2026). You can follow a visa application on the official Crovisa status page.
What changed. Amendments to Croatia's foreigners law took effect on 4 June 2026 (Official Gazette 55/2026). Ask the employer which rules your application falls under.
Lithuania
The permit. The employer registers the vacancy and applies to the Employment Service. The worker then applies for a national D visa or a temporary residence permit through the official MIGRIS system (EU Immigration Portal).
The quota. Lithuania sets a yearly quota for many non-EU workers. The Migration Department's quota page showed the quota fully used in September 2026 (Migration Department quotas, checked 7 November 2026). If an agent says "places are open now" for a job that needs a quota place, check that page first. New rules on where to file work and study residence applications also took effect on 1 November 2026, according to the Migration Department.
Check the company. Search the Register of Legal Entities on its free search page at the Centre of Registers (Registrų centras).
Check the permit. Lithuania lets you scan the QR code on a residence permit card and see whether it is valid (e-leidimas check). This is one of the few places in Europe where a worker can check an issued permit directly.
The warning. Lithuania's embassy in India has warned about fraudulent job offers that ask for advance payments (Embassy of Lithuania in India).
Compare the four countries
| Poland | Romania | Croatia | Lithuania | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who files the permit | Employer, to the voivode | Employer or authorised placement agency, on WorkinRomania | Employer, online, then the police administration issues it | Employer, to the Employment Service |
| Check the company | KRS (CEIDG for sole traders) | WorkinRomania employer register | sudreg court register | Registrų centras |
| Check the agency | KRAZ register | WorkinRomania agency register | Ministry of Labour agency lists | Ask for the Employment Service record |
| Your visa | National D visa via e-Konsulat | Long-stay work visa, tracked on eViza | D visa at the embassy or visa centre | D visa or residence permit via MIGRIS |
| Can you check the issued permit yourself? | Not through a public tool | Visa status on eViza | Visa status on Crovisa | Yes, the QR check |
All facts in this table were checked on the linked official pages on 7 November 2026. Rules in all four countries changed in 2025 or 2026, so check again before you act.
Red flags that apply in all four countries
- A fee for the job or the permit, paid to a person. Permit applications are made by the employer to the state.
- A visit or Schengen visa for a job. Work needs a national work visa or a residence permit.
- A PDF permit you cannot check. Ask for the permit number and the authority that issued it, then contact that authority or the embassy.
- A paid visa appointment. The embassies above say they do not sell appointments through agents.
- No contract before you travel, or a promise that you will "get the contract there".
- Pressure. "The quota closes Friday" is a sales line. Check the official quota page yourself.
Already paid someone? Stop paying and save every receipt and message. Our guide an agent took my money: what to do walks through the next steps.
If the offer passes every check
Good. Now the real work starts: the contract, your home country's exit rules, documents and money. Read your overseas job offer passed every check: what next before you resign.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check a European job offer letter online?
Search the company on the national business register through the EU's e-Justice portal. Then find the agency on the job country's official agency register, and check the visa steps on the embassy's own page. If a step fails, stop before you pay.
Can I pay for a work permit in Poland?
You should not pay a person for it. The employer applies for the permit and pays the permit fee. A Polish employment agency may only pass on a short list of costs, such as travel, visa, medical exams and translations.
Is a Schengen visa a work visa?
No. A short-stay Schengen visa is for visits. To work in Poland, Romania, Croatia or Lithuania you need a work permit and a long-stay national visa or residence permit. Anyone who tells you to "convert it later" is putting you at risk of losing your status.
Can an agent get me a faster visa appointment?
No. The Polish embassy in Nigeria says agents cannot secure visa appointments, and the Polish consulates in India say using an agent gives you no priority. Book only through the official system.
Is Romania still giving work visas?
Yes, through the WorkinRomania portal, under rules in force from 27 April 2026. On 7 November 2026 the portal showed one application type as paused after a court ruling, so check the notice on its front page before you rely on any timeline.
What if the job is in another EU country?
The same three checks work everywhere: the company register, the agency register and the embassy's own visa page. The e-Justice portal links to every EU country's business register.
