Wizz Air’s 27 October Katowice recruitment day highlights right-to-work rules for non-EU residents

Budget carrier Wizz Air held an open recruitment day for cabin-crew positions at Katowice’s Novotel Centrum on 27 October, drawing several hundred candidates. While ostensibly a hiring event, the session underscored Poland’s evolving labour-mobility landscape: applicants were told they must hold an EU passport or residency card—or, uniquely, Ukrainian nationality plus a PESEL ID—because the airline cannot sponsor third-country work permits under current aviation-security regulations.

The briefing serves as a practical reminder for HR teams that sector-specific right-to-work carve-outs persist even after Poland digitised its work-permit system. Prospective hires from non-EU countries such as India or the Philippines will still need to secure independent work authorisation before being considered.

Wizz Air recruiters also touted “work-and-travel” swaps that let crew transfer temporarily between 30 European bases, a perk made possible by mutual recognition of crew licences within EASA. Mobility managers can leverage such schemes to offer international exposure without triggering complex visa filings.

For local authorities, the event helped showcase Silesia’s bid to become a regional aviation-services hub as Katowice Airport prepares for a post-pandemic passenger surge, aided by EU Just Transition funds aimed at diversifying the coal-dependent region’s economy.