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Can you sit on a board there?
Pick a market. You get the residency test, the nationality test, the work-authorisation position, the appointment steps in order, and the frictions that actually delay appointments — each cited to the instrument that creates it.
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Open to foreign directorsPL
No nationality or residency test applies to a Polish supervisory board member. Language is the practical constraint.
- Residency test
- None.
- Nationality test
- None.
- Work authorisation
- A supervisory board member attending meetings requires no permit. Management board and executive roles for non-EU nationals require a work permit and residence card.
- Board language
- Supervisory board meetings and minutes are commonly in Polish; large internationally owned issuers work in English.
- Tenure limit once appointed
- Twelve years under the Best Practice independence criteria — service beyond that ends independence.
- Time commitment
- Typically 6–10 supervisory board meetings a year plus committees.
- What a seat pays
- PLN 100,000 – 300,000 a year for a supervisory board member of a WIG20 company, before committee fees.
- Tax on your fees
- Supervisory board fees are Polish-source income with withholding for non-residents; social-insurance treatment of supervisory board members is a separate question.
The appointment steps, in order
- 1Appointment by the general meeting, or by the shareholder entitled to appoint under the articles
- 2Registration of the appointment in the Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy
- 3Obtain a PESEL number or the identification required for KRS filing as a foreign individual
- 4For a supervised financial institution, KNF suitability assessment
What actually gets in the way
- Supervisory board meetings and minutes are commonly in Polish; large internationally owned issuers work in English
- The five-per-cent shareholder independence test is stricter than the European norm and disqualifies candidates who would be independent elsewhere
- State-controlled issuers form a large share of the market and their board appointments follow a distinct process
The instruments behind these answers
- Kodeks spółek handlowych (Commercial Companies Code) — Requires a joint-stock company to have a supervisory board separate from the management board, with a minimum of three members and five in public companies. (Republic of Poland)
- Commercial Companies Code — 2022 amendment — Strengthened the supervisory board: a statutory right to demand information, documents and explanations from the management board and employees, and the right to appoint an adviser at the company's expense without the management board's consent. (Republic of Poland)
- Best Practice for GPW Listed Companies 2021 — Comply-or-explain. Requires at least two independent supervisory board members, applies independence criteria including a twelve-year limit and independence from any shareholder holding at least five per cent, and asks for a diversity policy with a target of at least 30% minority-gender participation. (Warsaw Stock Exchange)
- Act on Statutory Auditors and Public Oversight — Requires the audit committee of a public-interest entity to have a majority of independent members, to be chaired by an independent member, and to include a member with accounting or auditing qualifications and a member with sector knowledge. (Republic of Poland)
Reviewed against primary sources in September 2026. This is governance decision-support, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and transitional provisions frequently apply — verify against the primary instrument before you rely on it.
Eligibility is only the first question
Being allowed to sit on a board there is not the same as being read for one.
The mobility index answers the second question: whether your record is legible to a board in that market, whether you hold what it is currently short of, and whether you can do the job in the language its board works in.