Poland Business Harbour – the popular government program has been extended!

This "safe business haven" includes three paths of participation: for individual IT specialists, startups and mature companies - from micro-entrepreneurs to the largest players on the market. The program was created as a response to the situation in Belarus and the need to provide a safe haven and a chance for the development of the hitherto thriving Belarusian IT industry, which is, however, particularly vulnerable to persecution. It is worth emphasizing that the program is the only solution of this type in Poland’s history and in Europe, which, in addition, was created in just one week.

Less than a year ago, Prime Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz announced the launch of the government program Poland Business Harbor. It makes us happy that we can celebrate iis success today. Thanks to the fruitful cooperation between PAIH, GovTech Polska in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, PARP, as well as the Startup Hub Poland foundation, we announce the extension of the Program to other countries. Supporting entrepreneurs is a goal that the Ministry of Development is constantly striving for. It is all the more necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic, both at home and abroad. It is equally important to strengthen relations between countries - says Olga Semeniuk, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology.

As part of the program, a special type of visa has been created, which is the only type of visa that allows you to work without the need to obtain a permit, allows you to set up a business and allows you to take your immediate family with you. Thirteen thousand, five hundred and sixty five such visas have already been issued. This translated into the fact that on the day of announcing the program, our country was selected by every tenth IT specialist wishing to leave. After just a few months, it is almost every second - several times more than to the countries of Western Europe and three times more than the country holding second place.

In addition to visa facilitation, all program participants can count on facilitating contact with accelerators, local governments or Special Economic Zones, which actively participated in the preparation of an offer for relocated people and their families, creating temporary office and residential space. One of the elements of the package is also support in the form of connecting entrepreneurs with investors and grants for R&D activity. Each company and startup is offered support in the business concierge formula - respectively, as part of cooperation with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency or the Poland Prize program.

The success of the program resulted in the demand for its expansion in the "Polski Ład" program. Today that promise has been fulfilled.

The program is organized by: Centrum GovTech in the Prime Minister’sChancellery, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology, The Polish Investment and Trade Agency, The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.

The new version of Poland Business Harbor

From today, the Poland. Business Harbor is expanded to include other countries: Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. For Belarus, the program continues to operate on the same principle.

We are committed to investing in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. This is in line with the assumptions of Polish foreign policy - Poland is to be the hub of the region and have a positive impact on its neighbours so as to support their economic development in the long term, especially in the field of new technologies - says Marcin Przydacz, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Poland. Business Harbor for companies

Thanks to PAIH, every small, medium and large company can move its activities to Poland. They can count on a business "consierge" service, i.e. comprehensive assistance in transferring their business, consisting of advise on legal or investment issues. The value of investment projects conducted or implemented by PAIH has already exceeded EUR 123.75 million.

Poland Business Harbor is also a development path for companies - a dedicated team of experts who ensure an efficient relocation process. Now other countries can use the services of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency. We cordially invite other companies that are looking for stable conditions for their development and reliable partners to participate in the program - says Grzegorz Słomkowski, Member of PAIH’s Management Board.

Poland. Business Harbor for startups

Thanks to the involvement of the Poland Prize program run by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, new startups can apply for funding under PBH up to a maximum amount of PLN 300,000. So far, the program has provided 20 startups selected from 150 applications with relocation to Poland, financial support and access to the Polish acceleration ecosystem.

- The involvement of our institution in the new version of the Business Harbor program is a natural continuation of what we did last year in relation to our Belarusian neighbours. The project assumed ad hoc support for entrepreneurs and innovators from Belarus at that very difficult time for them. A fast visa path, legal and residence consultancy, support in relocating companies to Poland as well as the inclusion of these teams in the Polish ecosystem of public and private entrepreneurship support was the main content of the program. We are pleased with the wish and willingness to further develop the program and open it up to other countries that are geographically, historically and culturally close to us - says Mikołaj Różycki, Deputy Chairman of PARP.

Poland. Business Harbor for individuals

In the new version, a special PBH visa can be obtained by anyone recommended by one of the program's partner companies, the list of which is available at gov.pl/pbh. There are already, today, about 200 of them and the list remains open and available on the program's website.

- The new version of Poland. Business Harbor is another step in the development of the digital economy in Poland, which is driven by people, especially in these sectors. Thanks to the involvement of all the co-organizers, and above all the Polish IT sector, we were able to extend our program to other countries. Thus, integrating Polish companies that have a huge demand for specialists and those who want to be part of Poland’s economic success. On this occasion, all companies that want to join our program are invited to apply via the website gov.pl/pbh - says Justyna Orłowska, the Prime Minister’s Plenipotentiary for GovTech.

The central information point for entities interested in using the Program or joining it is a special website, available at gov.pl/pbh in eight language versions (languages of each of the six countries, plus Polish and English).

For the purposes of the Program, a special helpline was also launched, available at +48 22 334 99 77, which operates from Monday to Friday 24 hours a day and opperates in Polish, Russian and English. Those interested in the program can also pose questions by e-mail to the following address: pbh@paih.gov.pl.