Poland in Lebanon

You can apply at the consular office.

Visa application form must be submitted in person. Diplomatic mission does not accept application forms sent via fax, regular mail or e-mail.

You can book your appointment to apply for a visa via the e-konsulat system. Important: please use a computer. Mentioned system is not accesable via smartphones.

1.    A visa application form filled via the e-konsulat system, printed and signed;

2.    A 3.5 x 4.5 cm colour photo. The photo must be:

a.    sharp, taken against white background and printed on a quality paper,

b.    newer than 6 months,

c.    taken en face, clearly showing the eyes and face on both sides from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders with the face covering 70-80% of the photo.

If you do not bring the photo or it doesn't meet the requirements, your application will not be accepted.

3.    Passport issued within the last ten years, valid for at least three months from the expected return date, with at least two blank pages for visas. In justified cases (e.g. upcoming travel), a passport can be given back to the applicant after reviewing by the consular staff. It shall be brought back by the applicant for the decision pick up.

If you do not have such a passport please renew it before applying. Otherwise your application cannot be accepted.

4. Documents confirming the purpose of your stay in Poland. Note: this is one of the most important documents, and may differ regarding the case. E.g. work permit for work, acceptance letter for students, official invitation from Polish citizen.

5. Proof that you have enough means of subsistence in the form decided by the mission.

a. You should provide a valid bank statement for the last six months. Presented bank accounts should be reliable, so we accept „fresh dollar” accounts only. 

b. If you are travelling for work you can provide a work certificate (including your NSSF number) with your salary stated and additionally the last six payslips.

6. A proof of accommodation, e.g. an official invitation (from the provincial office – Urząd Wojewódzki) or a hotel booking or reservation or future employer declaration (with address of the accommodation).

7. Flight ticket booking – at least initial.

8. Healthcare insurance valid across the European Union for the amount not lower than  EUR 30,000. Information of the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the insurers and the insurances that they offer, which meet the necessary conditions referred to in Article 25 (1) (2) (a) and Article 25 (1b) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on Foreigners is available on the website of the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

9. Copy of a document confirming residency within the consular district of your application (ifadat sakan) - with translation into English.

For foreigners living in Lebanon, a valid Residency Permit (ikama) - it has to be valid for at least 1,5 month from the date on which you apply. 

If you cannot prove you are staying legally in Lebanon - your application will not be accepted.

10. Excerpt from the family register (ikhraj qeyd ’ailee) - with translation into English. You can add copy to your application with the original sworn translation, but you need to show the original of the document during the application.

11. A copy of the passport page with personal data and copies of Schengen visas issued within last 3 years. 

Additionally, when applying for a visa for a minor you should present:

• At least one of the parents need to be present with the minor during the appointment;
• Written consent of the child’s/minor’s parent(s), that is not present during the application, to apply for a visa, confirmed by a notary. If the minor has only one guardian, it should be proved by a birth certificate, a court decision on exclusive parental custody or a death certificate of the other parent.
• Copies of parents' passports.
• An original and a copy of a birth certificate.

If the child is entered in the parent's or legal guardian’s passport, please submit a separate visa application.  The visa will be pasted into the parent's or the legal guardian's passport.

FOR STUDENTS:

• You should provide an acceptance letter from the University that is in accordance with the Decision of the Polish Minister of Education. If the University is operating legally within Polish borders it's obliged to provide you with such a letter.
• You should provide an administrative decision, issued by the relevant Education Office (https://www.gov.pl/web/edukacja/kuratoria-oswiaty), recognising as a document of confirmation in the Republic of Poland a secondary or upper secondary education, or an entitlement to continue education, including an entitlement to apply for admission to higher education, taking into account the scope of entitlements in the country that has issued the school-leaving certificate.
• Certificate of proficiency in the language of studies issued at the level required by the unit conducting the studies.
• A document confirming being in possession of financial means sufficient to cover the costs of stay in Poland and the costs of return to the country of origin or residence, or the costs of transit to a third state into which applicant is certain to be admitted;

Costs of staying in Poland include the following elements:

• In the case of a first year student, proof for a payment for whole first year tuition should be provided by the applicant.
• Students who already started and continue their studies in Poland, should provide proof for a payment for the first semester.
• Fixed and one-time amount ensuring the possibility to undertake the travel back to the country of origin and it is as follows: 2500,00 PLN (approx. 650,00 USD).
• Amount covering the cost of accommodation during the studies (i.e. confirmation from the students’ dorm, rent agreement for an appartment etc.)
• Amount of 776,00 PLN or 600,00 PLN if the student will not be staying in Poland alone, but with a family  monthly to ensure that the student will not have the right to use the social services.
• That means that the foreigner must present the proof of possessing the financial means to cover all three components, within the validity of the visa. This amount will not be fixed, because the accommodation costs can differ.
• You can provide a pledge/sponsorship letter signed by a notary public, to fulfill the financial means requirement. The sponsor should attach her/his bank account statement to the letter, for the last six months. Anyone from any country can be your sponsor, but please have in mind that the consul will evaluate the credibility of such sponsorship.

Important information:

• You are responsible for every single document brought to the Embassy with your visa application. We seriously treat any attempt to receive a visa with fake documents. In Poland this is a serious crime. There are no exceptions to that rule and no excuses are accepted.
• The above mentioned list od documents is public. If you are missing any of the documents mentioned on the list, you might not be informed about this fact during the appointment. Nevertheless, missing one of them is the reason for refusal.
• Every member of the same family travelling together has to have own and complete set of documents, even if they are similar/the same in majority.
• Usually, the above documents are enough to receive a visa. However, the consul has the right to require any additional documents. If you are asked to bring documents that are missing or to provide additional documents, you should do it as soon as possible, but not later than within 10 days. Documents delivered after that time might not be taken into consideration. If you need more time do not hesitate to ask via our e-mail address (beirut.consul@msz.gov.pl).
• Additional or missing documents should be provided in a closed envelope with a name of the applicant and a number from the ticket received on the day on which you have issued your application (unless the consul allows you to send some via e-mail – than you should provide a mentioned data with number in the subject of an e-mail). Envelope should be delivered to the Embassy's security. Anyone can bring the envelope, you do not have to do it personally. No appointment is needed. If the documents are not properly marked and packed we might not take them into consideration.
• The consul may, but does not have to, invite the applicant for an interview.
• You must apply for a visa in the embassy’s consular department in the consular district of your place of residence 
• The D-type visas allow you also to stay in other Schengen states for 90 days of any 180-day period. It means that you can legally stay in the Schengen Area only if your stay was shorter than 90 days over the past 180 days. 

Please note, that receiving the visa does not guarantee that you will enter Poland - the final decision is always made by the Border Guard.

The fee for accepting and processing an application for a Schengen visa or a national visa is according to the consular fees table. If you refuse to pay, your application will not be accepted. You should bring the exact amount. If you don't, we reserve the right to refuse to accept your payment if we are not able to give you the change.

The visa application fee is non-returnable, whatever the consul's decision. 

Information about refunding student admission fees from university in case of receiving a visa refusal in order to start or continue studies

The charging fees issued for educational services by public universities are regulated in the Act of 20 July 2018, Law on Higher Education and Science, and in the case of non-public universities, they result from the internal regulations of these universities.

Students conclude civil law contracts with universities, which contain special conditions related to the admission process, the course of studies, as well as provisions regarding the amount of the fees and the rules related to the fee refunds. Candidates for studies should carefully study these documents in detail, in particular the provisions on the rules for obtaining the refund of the paid tuition fees.

Refund issues are settled between students and universities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, the Embassies of the Republic of Poland, as well as the Consulates of the Republic of Poland do not mediate in issues between the student and the university and do not have legal measures allowing a foreigner, who has been refused a student visa, to obtain a refund of the tuition fees.

If the university fails to comply with the provisions of the contract concluded with the student, in particular, it has not refunded the fee, claims regarding student fees may only be pursued through civil law.

Nevertheless, this is not the case for the consulate. You need to pursue your rights by yourself.

The decision on the issue of a visa is made within 15 working days from the payment date of application fee. If the documents need to be examined in more detail, the consideration period may be extended up to 30 days. In such cases you will be informed as soon as possible. That is why providing accurate contact data (phone and email address) in your application is very important. 

In urgent and justified cases, the decision can be made in three working days. These cases are extremely rare and mainly are justified by the Polish raison d'etat.

Personally at the consular office, between 13.00 - 14.00 or during different times specified on your ticket/receipt. In order to collect your decision, you must have the receipt given to you on the day of application.

Decisions can be received by another person, but the one has to have the ticket you received and your written consent. The only exceptions to this are relatives who are travelling together and applied together on the same day. In such a case one person can collect all the decisions.

If you do not agree with the consul's decision, you may ask to have your visa application re-considered. You should write an appeal letter and sign it, also you can attach additional documents. We recommend referring to every reason for refusal that was given by the consul in his decision. Your appeal will be handled by a different consul. Hence, another consul may, but does not have to, invite the appealing person for an interview. 

You must apply for the reconsideration in the office that issued the decision within 14 days of its delivery. If you are late we cannot accept your appeal and you will need to start a new application, if you still wish to travel. No appointment is needed for the appeal, so you can come during our working hours. Since we are constantly in the process of accepting new applicants, we would recommend that applicants who wish to appeal come any time on Tuesdays and Fridays or after 12:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. This will save your time. Your decision will be ready after 7 days. Please note that on the last working day of the month we are not able to accept appeals after 14:30.

The application fee for an appeal is the same as in case of applying for a visa. You can check it in the consular fees table. If you refuse to pay, your appeal will not be accepted. You should bring the exact amount. If you don't, we reserve the right to refuse to accept your payment if we are not able to give you the change.

The visa appeal fee is non-returnable, whatever the consul's decision. 

In case you change your travel plans and want to cancel your appointment, please go to e-konsulat system again. On the menu on the left side please use „Cancel appointment” link. Plese put your form number and received code in proper fields. Both can be found on the top of the last page of your application (the one with a table and big bar code in the middle). Than click „cancel the visit”. Note: it is not necessary to cancel your visit in case of a minor mistake in the application itself. In such case please inform us while applying at the Consulate and we will tell you what you need to do, in order to correct the mistake on hand.