Poland: technology regulation at a glance

Framework: EU MiCA (Regulation 2023/1114) applies directly as EU law; national Crypto-Assets Market Act (Sejm print 2363) operationalizing KNF as competent authority has been vetoed three times by President Nawrocki (Dec 2025, Feb 2026, Jun 2026) and is NOT in force. Existing operators rely on the AML/CTF Act Virtual Currency Activities Register kept by the Tax Administration Chamber in Katowice. Crypto income is taxed under Art. 30b of the Polish PIT Act (19% flat).

Crypto is legal in Poland, but the country is in a regulatory limbo: the EU's MiCA regulation applies directly, yet Poland remains the only EU member state without a national law empowering its competent authority (KNF) to license MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Providers. President Nawrocki vetoed the Crypto-Assets Market Act for the third time on 11 June 2026, citing excessive KNF powers; meanwhile the EU-wide MiCA transitional grandfathering for existing VASPs expires on 1 July 2026, creating an imminent licensing-gap crisis. In the interim, crypto firms operate under the legacy AML VASP register and pay a 19% PIT flat tax on disposals (PIT-38).

Framework: EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), directly applicable in Poland, with a national implementing 'Act on Artificial Intelligence Systems' (Ustawa o systemach sztucznej inteligencji) adopted by the Council of Ministers on 31 March 2026 and pending in Parliament; designated authority to be the Commission for the Development and Safety of AI (KRiBSI).

As an EU member state, Poland is governed by the directly-applicable EU AI Act, which entered into force on 1 August 2024 and applies in phases (prohibitions since 2 Feb 2025, GPAI obligations since 2 Aug 2025, the bulk of obligations from 2 Aug 2026). Poland's national implementing law, which designates the competent authority and sets enforcement/penalty procedures, has been adopted by the Council of Ministers (31 March 2026) but is not yet enacted by Parliament. The binding comprehensive framework therefore already applies, while the national institutional architecture is still being finalised.

Framework: EU GDPR (Regulation 2016/679) as directly applicable law, implemented nationally by the Personal Data Protection Act of 10 May 2018 (Ustawa o ochronie danych osobowych); supervised by the President of the Personal Data Protection Office (Prezes UODO).

As an EU member state, Poland applies the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) directly, supplemented by the national Personal Data Protection Act of 10 May 2018, which entered into force on 25 May 2018 and exercises the GDPR's national-discretion options. The independent supervisory authority is the President of the Personal Data Protection Office (UODO), which replaced the former Inspector General (GIODO) and actively enforces the regime, issuing roughly 2,000 administrative decisions per year, including several record fines in 2025.

Framework: Polish Act of 19 August 2011 on Payment Services (implementing PSD2 and EMD2), supervised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), with NBP overseeing payment-system infrastructure. EU baseline: PSD2, plus MiCA for crypto-assets (national implementing law still pending as of May 2026).

Poland operates a clear, mature licensing regime for digital payments and e-money. The KNF authorises national payment institutions, small payment institutions, electronic money institutions (EMIs) and registers account-information/payment-initiation providers under the Payment Services Act, all EU-passportable. The principal gap is crypto: Poland is the EU's last holdout on MiCA-implementing legislation after a presidential veto in late 2025.

Framework: Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners (Ustawa o cudzoziemcach), administered by the voivodeship offices (voivode) and the Office for Foreigners; applications via the MOS portal (mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl). No dedicated digital-nomad visa exists.

Poland has no dedicated digital-nomad/remote-work visa. Non-EU remote workers and relocators instead use general routes, a long-stay national (Type D) visa or, more durably, a temporary residence permit for conducting business activity / self-employment (sole proprietorship). EU/EEA citizens may live and work freely, registering residence for stays over 3 months.

Framework: EU Digital Services Act (Regulation 2022/2065), directly applicable in Poland since 17 Feb 2024; national implementing law (amendment to the Act on Providing Services by Electronic Means) NOT yet in force, vetoed by the President in January 2026. Designated/temporary authorities: President of UKE (Office of Electronic Communications) as Digital Services Coordinator, with UOKiK (consumer/marketplace) and KRRiT (audiovisual) holding sectoral roles.

Online content moderation and platform liability in Poland are governed by the EU Digital Services Act, which has been directly applicable since 17 February 2024 and imposes the full set of notice-and-action, transparency, trusted-flagger and very-large-platform obligations. However, Poland is the only EU member state that has not enacted national legislation designating an empowered Digital Services Coordinator: the implementing bill passed by the Sejm on 21 November 2025 was vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki in January 2026 over free-speech/censorship concerns, leaving enforcement in limbo. A separate government bill on age-verification and protecting minors from harmful online content remains a draft.

Framework: Act on the National Cybersecurity System (Ustawa o krajowym systemie cyberbezpieczeństwa, KSC), originally of 5 July 2018 implementing NIS1, as amended in 2026 to transpose the EU NIS2 Directive (2022/2555). Supervision led by the Minister of Digital Affairs, with national CSIRTs (CSIRT NASK, CSIRT GOV, CSIRT MON).

Poland has a comprehensive horizontal cybersecurity law, the Act on the National Cybersecurity System (KSC), in force since 2018 to implement the original NIS Directive. A major amendment transposing the EU NIS2 Directive was signed by the President on 19 February 2026, published in the Journal of Laws in March 2026, and entered into force in early April 2026, expanding the regime to thousands of 'essential' and 'important' entities and adding management accountability, high-risk-vendor designation powers, and tiered breach-notification duties. EU baselines (NIS2, GDPR, DORA for finance) apply alongside the national framework.

Framework: Act of 6 March 2018 on the Rules for Participation by Foreign Undertakings and Other Foreign Persons in Trade in the Republic of Poland, together with the Entrepreneurs' Law (Prawo przedsiębiorców) and the Commercial Companies Code; company registration via the National Court Register (KRS)/S24 system administered through biznes.gov.pl.

Poland makes company formation straightforward for foreigners: a limited liability company (sp. z o.o.) can be 100% foreign-owned, requires only PLN 5,000 minimum share capital, and can be registered fully online via the S24 system, often within one business day. EU/EEA/Swiss (and US) nationals may operate on the same terms as Polish citizens; non-EU nationals can freely own and form capital companies (sp. z o.o. or joint-stock company) without a residence permit, needing one only to run a sole proprietorship or to personally manage the company from Polish soil.