Pupil and student mobility

Pupil mobility takes place mainly under the EU Erasmus+ Programme and, on a much smaller scale, as part of:

• projects co-funded by the EU and the national budget;
• projects funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism;
• youth exchange programmes co-funded by the participating countries as part of bilateral agreements;
• bilateral youth exchange projects funded by the Ministry of Education Science (until January 2021, Ministry of National Education responsible for preschool and school education) as its so-called public tasks.

A period of study / training or a practical placement which pupils undertake under the EU and other programmes is recognised on the basis of an agreement between schools / institutions participating in a mobility project. Vocational schools may also follow guidelines on the implementation of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET), developed by Polish experts. Qualifications (certificates and diplomas) awarded at the school education level in other countries are recognised in accordance with national legislation. For details, see the final section of this chapter.

EU Programmes

Mobility takes place under the Actions of the Erasmus+ Programme (2014-2020, 2021-2027) for the school education and vocational education sectors and youth. The Programme is administered in Poland by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (the website currently available in Polish only).

Pupils in nursery, primary and post-primary schools take part in Erasmus+ Learning Mobility projects which include exchange-type group mobility and individual mobility for a period of study or a traineeship. Young people aged 13 to 30 years can also participate in mobility under Youth Exchanges and Youth Participation Activities which support non-formal learning, and in various other types of projects where short-term mobility is linked to the specific objectives of a given project.

Programmes / initiatives co-funded by the EU and the national budget

Knowledge-Education-Development Operational Programme (PO WER: Program Operacyjny Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój) / European Funds for Social Development (Fundusze Europejskie dla Rozwoju Społecznego)

The PO WER Programme (2014-2020) and the European Funds for Social Development Programme (2017-2021) (information available in Polish only) are co-financed by the European Social Fund and the national budget and, like Erasmus+, administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System. Funding is available to support transnational mobility projects which involve general and vocational secondary school pupils (and school education staff, see section 13.1.2) and are based on the Erasmus+ rules. Grants are awarded to Erasmus+ Learning Mobility projects (see above) which received a positive assessment but were not funded due to the limited budget of the Action.

Multilateral programmes

European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism: Education Programme

The Education Programme (2014-2021; final Call for proposals in 2021; projects lasting up to 2 years) is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and administered in Poland by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System. Under the component ‘Institutional cooperation for the improvement of quality and relevance of education’, pupils can participate in projects supporting exchange of experience and good practice and joint initiatives with the donor countries. Joint initiatives include, for example, seminars, education events and intensive training for pupils, other learners and staff in formal and non-formal education sectors.

Bilateral programmes / initiatives

Bilateral programmes support various forms of youth cooperation and exchanges.

Polish-Lithuanian Youth Exchange Fund

The Polish-Lithuanian Youth Exchange Fund (information available in Polish only) is administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System. The Fund was created in 2007 by an agreement between the Polish and Lithuanian Governments, and funding comes from the national budgets of the two countries. The Fund aims to promote friendly cooperation between the two nations. It supports Polish-Lithuanian youth exchange projects and initiatives such as meetings, seminars, conferences, study visits and publications. Through the implementation of joint projects, young Poles and Lithuanians discover their common roots and overcome national stereotypes, build an atmosphere of cooperation and strengthen the bond between the two nations.

Polish-Ukrainian Youth Exchange

Polish-Ukrainian youth exchanges (information available in Polish only) take place within the framework of the Polish-Ukrainian Youth Exchange Council. The programme is administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System. In the last few years, grants were awarded for youth exchanges (meetings for sharing thoughts and ideas) based on non-formal education methods; youth events (festivals, concerts, workshops); and information and promotion projects where participants developed products promoting Polish-Ukrainian cooperation. In 2023, grants are available for projects involving Ukrainian youth groups coming to, or staying in, Poland. Projects will focus on the following priorities: common past and cultural heritage; intercultural dialogue; entrepreneurial skills; cooperation and sharing experience between youth workers in technical and sectoral vocational education areas; initiatives aimed at alleviating the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Polish-German Youth Cooperation

Established in 1991, the Polish-German Youth Cooperation (Deutsch-Polnisches Jugendwerk) organisation Is funded by the Governments of Poland and Germany. It aims primarily to initiate and facilitate new links and strengthen existing links between Polish and German youth. Grants are awarded, for example, for school and non-school youth exchanges; exchanges or meetings on topics related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); projects involving participants from Poland, Germany and a third country; trips to national memorial sites, and internships in the neighbour’s country. Since its establishment, the organisation has provided grants for initiatives involving more than 2.7 million young people.

In view of the war in Ukraine, the organisation offers additional financial support to Ukrainian partners. Polish and German partners can receive grants to cover the costs of stay for colleagues from partner Ukrainian organisations for up to 3 months, and the costs of stay for up to 28 days for children and young people from Ukraine who were in Poland or Germany or who managed to cross into either of the two countries during the war.

National programmes / initiatives

Youth exchanges funded by the Ministry of Education

The Ministry of Education awards, on an annual and competitive basis, grants for international  youth cooperation and exchange projects involving primary and post-primary school pupils (the website  available in Polish only). For example, in 2022, grants were available for youth exchange projects, in a traditional or online format, with the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova), Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) and Israel. Projects aim to strengthen dialogue, foster mutual openness and tolerance, overcome language barriers, promote Poland as a country of rich cultural heritage, raise awareness of shared aspects of history and culture, encourage youth engagement and develop soft competences (for example, teamwork skills, critical thinking, creativity, innovativeness, entrepreneurship).

Polish-Russian Youth Exchanges

Until 2021, under annual Calls for Polish-Russian Youth Exchanges, grants were awarded for educational projects involving Polish and Russian youth which aimed to enhance their knowledge of history, societies and culture of the two countries. Projects could be submitted by schools, higher education institutions and NGOs. The programme was administered by the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding, supervised by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Centre’s activities were funded mainly by the national budget. Due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, no new call for proposals are published, and the legislation is being amended to allow the Centre to fund projects involving partners from Ukraine and Belarus.

Recognition of study or practical training periods and qualifications

Tools facilitating recognition based on European initiatives

The 8-level Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF) describes qualifications awarded in the country as referenced to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). PQF qualifications are defined in terms of learning outcomes including knowledge, skills and social competences. Together with the Integrated Qualifications Register, the PQF is part of the Integrated Qualifications System, which was put in place in July 2016, in accordance with the Act of 22 December 2015 on the Integrated Qualifications System (ustawa o Zintegrowanym Systemie Kwalifikacji z dnia 22 grudnia 2015 r. (z późn. zm.))

Pursuant to the national legislation, the Regional Examination Boards, which are responsible for external examinations below the higher education level, issue a Certificate Supplement at the request of a holder of a vocational diploma. The Supplement is based on the corresponding Europass document.

No credit accumulation system is in place in vocational education and training, but Polish experts have developed guidelines to facilitate the use of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) in learning mobility projects. These include materials in the Polish language, published by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, such as „Wykorzystanie założeń systemu ECVET w projektach mobilności edukacyjnej w sektorze Kształcenie i szkolenia zawodowe programu Erasmus+” (How to use the ECVET principles in learning mobility projects in the Erasmus+ vocational education and training sector) (2016) and „Efekty uczenia się i ich weryfikacja w projektach mobilności edukacyjnej: ECVET – Katalog przykładów” (Learning outcomes and their assessment in learning mobility projects. ECVET: A Catalogue of Examples) (2018).

Recognition of qualifications

Recognition of qualifications (certificates and diplomas) is regulated in accordance with EU legislation and international conventions, including the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (Lisbon Convention) which was ratified in December 2003 and entered into force in Poland in 2004.

Certificates and other documents at the school education level are recognised in accordance with:

• School Education Act of 7 September 1991 (as subsequently amended) (Ustawa o systemie oświaty z dnia 7 września 1991 r. (z późn. zm.));
• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 25 March 2015 on the procedure for the recognition of certificates and other documents, and the validation of a qualification or entitlement to continue education, obtained in a foreign school education system (as subsequently amended) (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z 25 marca 2015 r. w sprawie postępowania w celu uznania świadectwa lub innego dokumentu albo potwierdzenia wykształcenia lub uprawnień do kontynuacji nauki uzyskanych w zagranicznym systemie oświaty (z późn. zm.)).

The following documents are recognised automatically, by virtue of law, without being validated by other institutions:

• maturity certificates or upper secondary school leaving certificates awarded in the member states of the EU and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and member states of the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) – signatories of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, which give access to higher education in the awarding country;
• International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas awarded by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva;
• European Baccalaureate (EB) diplomas awarded by the European Schools in accordance with the Convention laying down the statutes of the European schools, adopted in Luxembourg in 1994;
• certificates covered by international agreements signed by Poland.

Poland has signed bilateral agreements, which regulate, among other things, the recognition of secondary school leaving certificates for the purpose of enrolment on first-cycle (Bachelor’s degree) and long-cycle (Master’s degree) programmes, with the following countries:  Austria, Belarus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine, and China and Libya. Details about the agreements are available on the website of the Ministry of Education and Science (information available in Polish only) and in the Internet Treaty Database managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In other cases, certificates and other documents are recognised through a recognition process (nostryfikacja) conducted by the Head of the Regional Education Authorities (kurator oświaty) in a given province. Details about the procedure. 

Other useful information

Education of foreigners

Pursuant to the Law on School Education of 14 December 2016 (as subsequently amended) (Ustawa – Prawo oświatowe z 14 grudnia 2016 r. (z późn. zm.)), foreign nationals, regardless of their nationality and status, have access to education in public and publicly subsidised nursery schools and public primary and post-primary schools, until the age of 18 or the completion of education in a post-primary school, under the same conditions as Polish nationals. 

Under the same conditions as for Polish nationals, nationals of some countries and specific groups of foreigners also have access to public secondary and post-secondary schools which take learners aged 18 years and above. These groups include, for example, nationals of EU Members States, EFTA-EEA countries and the Swiss Confederation, and individuals holding specific types of residence permits or status, for example, refugees.

Other foreign nationals may be admitted to the above-mentioned types of schools either as holders of a scholarship awarded by the competent body (for example, the Minister responsible for school education, a local government body administering a given type of school, a school head) or on a fee-paying basis. In the latter case, the body administering a given school sets the level of fees and can grant full or partial fee waiver.

Learning support for foreign nationals in school education

The school education system offers several types of learning support to children and young people in full-time and part-time compulsory education. These include:

• Preparatory units established in schools for pupils who have no or insufficient knowledge of the Polish language to follow a mainstream curriculum. Teaching in such units is based on the curriculum for a given type of school and school grade, but learning and teaching methods are adapter to the individual needs of pupils and the teacher may be supported by an assistant speaking the language of the pupil’s country of origin.
• Additional or remedial classes covering subjects included in the school curriculum for pupils who need to bridge gaps in education resulting from differences between school curricula in Poland and the country of origin.
• Additional Polish-language classes for pupils who have no or insufficient knowledge of Polish to follow a mainstream curriculum.
• Classes in the language and culture of the country of origin: classes or a course organised by the diplomatic mission or consulate of the country of origin or a cultural or educational association for a given nationality, and conducted in premises and with the use of teaching and learning resources which the host school provides on a fee-free basis.
• Adaptations in external exams to cater to the individual needs and abilities of the pupil; for example, the use of adapted examination sheets or bilingual dictionaries; extended duration of an exam.

Teacher mobility

Mobility of school education staff takes place primarily within the EU Erasmus+ Programme and, on a much smaller scale, as part of:

• projects co-funded by the EU and the national budget;
• projects funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism.

There are no national mobility programmes or projects.

The national legislation does not lay down any specific arrangements for learning mobility of teachers. However, pursuant to general provisions of the Act of 26 January 1982, The Teachers’ Charter (as subsequently amended) (Ustawa Karta Nauczyciela z dnia 26 stycznia 1982 r. (z późn. zm.)), full-time teachers are entitled to paid training leave to follow a degree or non-degree postgraduate programme or a training programme offered by higher education institutions and in-service teacher training institutions, respectively. Teachers may also be granted paid or unpaid leave for research, artistic or learning or training purposes.

There are no specific national regulations or recommendations on the recognition of performance or outcomes of training carried out during a mobility period. However, teacher performance appraisal takes into consideration a training period undertaken abroad insofar as appraisal covers, among other things, the involvement in professional development activities (Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 25 August 2022 on the teacher performance appraisal / Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 25 sierpnia 2022 r. w sprawie oceny pracy nauczycieli).

State-budget funding managed by the bodies which administer schools can be allocated for in-service teacher training, including, for example, a training period abroad (Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 23 August 2019 on financial support for teacher professional development, specific objectives of in-service vocational training and the procedure and conditions for teachers undertaking in-service vocational training / Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z 23 sierpnia 2019 r. w sprawie dofinansowania doskonalenia zawodowego nauczycieli, szczegółowych celów szkolenia branżowego oraz trybu i warunków kierowania nauczycieli na szkolenia branżowe).

EU Programmes

The Erasmus+ Programme, (2014-2020, 2021-2027) is administered in Poland by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System. Teachers, leaders and other staff from all types of schools and other school education institutions (for example, school inspectors, counsellors) participate in learning mobility mainly in Learning mobility projects which offer three types of mobility opportunities: job shadowing, teaching or training assignments and training courses at institutions abroad. Short-term mobility opportunities, linked to specific objectives of a project, are also available to school education and vocational education and training staff in various other types of Erasmus+ projects. 

Projects co-funded by the EU and the national budget

Knowledge-Education-Development Operational Programme (PO WER: Program Operacyjny Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój) / European Funds for Social Development (Fundusze Europejskie dla Rozwoju Społecznego)

The PO WER Programme (2014-2020) and the European Funds for Social Development Programme (2017-2021) (information available in Polish only) are co-funded by the European Social Fund and the national budget and administered by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System. Funding is available for transnational mobility projects which involve school education staff, including teacher, school counsellors and other specialists (and pupils ; see section 13.1.1) and are based on the Erasmus+ rules. Staff can undertake teaching assignments and structured training activities and job shadowing placements abroad. Grants are awarded to Erasmus+ Learning Mobility projects (see above) which received a positive assessment but were not funded due to the limited budget of the Action.

Multilateral programmes / initiatives

European Economic Area Financial Mechanism: Education Programme

The Education Programme (2014-2021; final Call for proposals in 2021; projects lasting up to 2 years) is funded by Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway and administered in Poland by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System. Within the component ‘Professional development of staff’, school education staff (and staff working in other formal and non-formal education sectors, except preschool education) may participate in study visits to the donor countries and intensive training courses run by trainers / experts from these countries. The component ‘Institutional cooperation for the improvement of quality and relevance of education’ (for general education, and vocational education and training) supports mobility related to the development or updating of curricula and exchange of experience and good practice (for example, seminars, conferences, education events, intensive training).