ZUS is auditing service contracts with foreigners under 26. What employers risk

How the exemption works

A contractor under umowa zlecenia who is a pupil of a post-primary school or a student and has not turned 26 is not subject to compulsory old-age and disability insurance. Legal basis: art. 6 ust. 4 ustawy o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych (t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 199).

The effect is broad: with no compulsory old-age and disability insurance there is also no accident insurance, no option to join sickness insurance, and no health insurance arising from that title. The gross amount is in practice close to the take-home amount.

The exemption covers only umowa zlecenia and service contracts to which the rules on umowa zlecenia apply. An employment contract never benefits from it. The childcare contract (umowa uaktywniająca) is also excluded (art. 6 ust. 4a).

The contractor's nationality and the country of the university are irrelevant — a foreigner and a student of a foreign university benefit on the same terms.

Why 26 and why pupil or student

The relief is addressed to people in education, for whom paid work supplements study rather than funding their living. The legislator set 26 as the boundary of a typical period of education and tied the exemption to genuine status in the school or higher education system.

Both conditions must be met jointly and throughout the contract: age below 26 and status as a pupil of a post-primary school or a student. Losing either one brings the person into the insurance system from the date of that event.

Doctoral candidates and participants of postgraduate courses are not students within the meaning of the provision. Student status runs from matriculation until the diploma examination or removal from the register, and removal takes effect on the date of removal, not at the end of the academic year.

A participant of a post-secondary school (szkoła policealna) falls within the category of a pupil of a post-primary school — and that is the loophole the market exploits.

This exemption must not be confused with the income tax relief for young people (art. 21 ust. 1 pkt 148 u.p.d.o.f., annual cap 85 528 zł). The tax relief requires only age below 26 and a qualifying source of income; it does not require pupil or student status.

What the abuse looks like

The pattern described by inspectors: the entity assigning the work, or an intermediary, arranges the foreigner's enrolment on the register of a post-secondary school, pays for document translations, the enrolment fee and the certificate. No classes take place and the status serves only to avoid contributions.

The incentive runs both ways: the contractor gets a higher net rate, the principal a lower employment cost and an edge in recruitment.

Where irregularities are found among some of the workforce, the authority tends to presume they apply to every foreigner in the company and to assess the arrears collectively.

There is then one line of defence: the insurance obligation is established individually, for each contract and each person separately, and an assessment decision must be individualised and based on evidence concerning the specific contractor, not on statistics.

What it costs the employer

Arrears of contributions for up to 5 years back — contribution claims become time-barred 5 years after they fall due (art. 24 u.s.u.s.). The payer is liable for the whole amount, including the part financed by the insured person, and pays late-payment interest at the rate applicable to tax arrears.

An additional charge of up to 100% of the unpaid contributions (art. 24 u.s.u.s.). It is financed solely by the payer from its own funds and cannot be passed on to the contractor.

A fine of up to 46 000 zł (art. 98 ust. 1 u.s.u.s.) — among others for failing to pay contributions on time, for reporting false data affecting the assessment of contributions and — as a separate offence — for frustrating or obstructing an audit.

Criminal liability under art. 219 k.k.: failing to report required data or reporting false data affecting entitlement to benefits or their amount carries a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years. The consent of the person concerned does not exclude liability.

A side effect: załącznik nr 1 and the stable income condition

A temporary residence and work permit requires, among other things, a stable and regular source of income sufficient to cover living costs (art. 114 ust. 1 ustawy o cudzoziemcach). The voivode (wojewoda) assesses the terms of employment on the basis of załącznik nr 1 (annex no. 1 to the application) completed by the entity assigning the work.

Since 27 April 2026 the application is filed exclusively online in the Case Handling Module (Moduł Obsługi Spraw, MOS). The foreigner enters the employer's e-mail address in the application, the employer receives a link to the form at that address, completes załącznik nr 1 and signs it through login.gov.pl with a trusted, qualified or personal signature. The signed attachment is added to the application automatically.

Until the employer does this, the application cannot be signed or submitted — it is not a document supplied to the file later, but a technical condition of filing.

The practical consequence for both sides: the terms declared in załącznik nr 1 go into the residence case file and are visible to the voivode alongside the social insurance registration data.