Entry and residence conditions for foreign nationals in Poland

Entry conditions for long-term residence

I. A foreign national crossing the border to enter the territory of the Republic of Poland for long-term residence (i.e. for more than 90 days) is required to justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay as well as to have and present on request:

a valid travel document;
a valid long-stay visa or a valid residence permit issued by Polish authorities;
document confirming possession of sickness insurance cover within the meaning of the Act of 27 August 2004 on the healthcare services financed by public funds (Journal of Laws 2021 r. poz. 1285, as amended). or proof of travel medical insurance with a minimum insurance amount of EUR 30 000, valid for as long as the foreign national intends to stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland, covering all expenses that may arise during their stay on that territory in connection with the return travel for medical reasons, urgent medical attention, emergency hospital treatment or death, in which the insurer agrees to cover the cost of health services provided to the insured through direct payments to the provider of such services, on the basis of an invoice issued by the provider – in the case of entry on the basis of a long-stay visa. Information of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on insurers and insurances meeting the conditions may be found here: https://www.gov.pl/web/diplomacy/visas; The medical insurance requirement, referred to above, can be considered fulfilled if the foreign national has an adequate level of insurance in the light of their professional situation;
sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or residence, or for the transit to a third country which has granted them the right to enter, or a document proving that such means can lawfully be obtained.

Under national law, rules for the calculation of the amount of financial resources necessary to enter and reside in the territory of the Republic of Poland are set out in the Regulation of the Minister for Interior of 23 February 2015 regarding the financial resources required from the foreign national entering the territory of the Polish Republic and the documentation confirming their ability to access such means, as well as the length and purpose of the intended stay.

In accordance with the above-mentioned laws, the foreign national entering the territory of the Republic of Poland must possess means of subsistence amounting to at least:

PLN 300, if the intended stay does not exceed 4 days;
PLN 75 for each day of the planned stay, if the intended stay exceeds 4 days

– or an equivalent amount in foreign currency.

Moreover, if the foreign national does not have a return ticket, they – when crossing the border to enter Poland – must possess financial means in the amount equivalent to the value of the ticket on the basis of which they have arrived in the territory of the Republic of Poland, but not less than:

PLN 200, if they have come from a country neighbouring the Republic of Poland,
PLN 500, if they have come from an EU Member State other than that referred to in point 1,
PLN 2 500, if they have come from a state which is not a member of the European Union

– or an equivalent amount in foreign currency.

Please be informed that the foreign national entering the territory of the Republic of Poland who:

is taking part in a package tour, a youth camp, and a sporting event,
has had the costs of the stay in the Republic of Poland paid,
is going to stay at a sanatorium which provides medical treatment,
is participating in a programme which is governed by an international agreement to which the Republic of Poland is a party and under which holiday work that does not constitute the principal objective of the stay can be performed in the territory of the Republic of Poland;
must possess means of subsistence amounting to at least PLN 20 for each day of the planned stay, subject to a minimum total amount of PLN 100, or an equivalent amount in foreign currency.

The following documents are used to confirm the purpose and duration of their intended stay:

a document attesting to their participation in a tourist event, a youth camp or a sports competition;
proof of payment of the costs of residence in the Republic of Poland equal to at least the costs of accommodation and board;
referral to a therapeutic and wellness centre;
a visa to participate in a holiday work program with the program name stated in the ‘Comments’ field.

Documents confirming the foreign national’s ability to obtain the necessary funds include:

a traveller's check;
a certificate of the credit card limit issued by the bank or credit institution that issued the credit card;
a certificate of having means of payment in a bank or a cooperative savings and credit union or credit institution with its registered office in the territory of the Republic of Poland or in another Member State of the European Union.

A foreigner entering the territory of the Republic of Poland in order to undertake or continue studies, participate in scientific research or training, conduct development work and undertake or continue education must have the financial resources to cover maintenance costs in the amount of at least PLN 1,270 for the first 2 months of the planned stay or the equivalent of this amount in foreign currencies.

A foreigner may present an invitation entered into the register of invitations by the voivode as a document confirming having sufficient funds to cover the costs related to the planned stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland, including the costs of accommodation and meals, and to cover the costs of the return trip to the country of origin or residence or the costs of transit to a third country that grants entry.

The foreign national entering the territory of the Republic of Poland to benefit from short-term mobility of a manager, specialist or graduate trainee in the framework of an intra-corporate transfer, student mobility, short-term researcher mobility or a short-term mobility of a family member of the researcher who holds a residence permit or a long-stay visa, with the appropriate annotation, issued by another Member State of the European Union which is not the country of the Schengen area, must additionally submit a copy of a notification sent by the host entity (which was required to do so) to the Head of the Office for Foreigners before the foreign national’s arrival in Poland.

Important: the list of travel documents recognised by the Republic of Poland can be found on the European Commission website in the ‘Information’/‘Info’ section.
More information available at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/index_en.htm

II. A foreign national will be refused entry to the territory of the Republic of Poland, if:

they does not have the documents referred to in Part I, unless the obligation to possess such documents is excluded;
they have not presented documentary evidence of the purpose and conditions of the intended stay;
they have a forged or altered travel document, visa or other document entitling him/her to enter the territory of the Republic of Poland and stay in this territory;
their entry takes place during the period of validity of the entry on the list of foreign nationals whose stay in the territory of Poland is undesirable;
they are the subject of an alert in the Schengen Information System for the purpose of refusing entry;
their entry into or stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland may pose a threat to public health;
it is required for reasons of national defense or security or the protection of public safety and order or international relations of the Republic of Poland or another Member State of the European Union.

Entry conditions for short stays:

For intended stays in Poland of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay, the entry conditions for third-country nationals are the following:

they must be in possession of a valid travel document entitling the holder to cross the border satisfying the following criteria:

its validity extends at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States (in a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived);
it has been issued within the previous 10 years;

they must be in possession of a valid short-term visa, if required pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2018/1806, except where they hold a valid residence permit issued by another Schengen state or a valid long-stay visa issued by another Schengen state;
they must justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and they must have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;
they are not persons for whom an alert has been issued in the SIS for the purposes of refusing entry;
they are not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Member States, in particular where no alert has been issued in Member States’ national data bases for the purposes of refusing entry on the same grounds.

The date of entry is considered as the first day of stay in the territory of the Member States and the date of exit is considered as the last day of stay in the territory of the Member States. Stays authorised on the basis of a residence permit or a long-stay visa issued by Polish authorities are not taken into account when calculating the length of short stays. Third countries whose nationals are required to have a short-stay visa to enter the Schengen territory (including Poland) and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement are listed in the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No 2018/1806 of 14 March 2018 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

In addition, nationals of certain third states are able to travel visa-free to the territory of Schengen countries (including Poland) under the visa waiver agreements concluded by the EU with these third countries. Nationals of certain third states are also able to travel visa-free to the territory of Poland under the agreements concluded by the Republic of Poland with these countries.

Details of the countries covered by the visa waiver programme in the territory of the Republic of Poland are available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Exemptions

Foreign nationals crossing the border on the basis of the following documents are not legally required to present sufficient financial means or proof of ability to access such funds:

international agreements under which the foreign national is exempt from the obligation to possess such funds or that require Polish state authorities or public institutions to cover the costs of their stay;
visas for repatriation purposes;
visas for working purposes;
temporary protection visas;
visas issued in order to implement a temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification;
residence cards;
visas to exercise Polish Card (Karta Polaka) rights.

The above mentioned exemption concerns also foreigners crossing the border in connection with charitable assistance or in connection with participation in a rescue operation.

The medical insurance requirement, referred to above, can be considered fulfilled if the foreign national has an adequate level of insurance in the light of their professional situation.

Number of entries on the basis of Schengen and long-stay visas

The Schengen C visa entitles the holder to enter the Schengen territory as many times as specified in the visa sticker. If ‘1’ is entered in the ‘number of entries’ field, the visa entitles the holder to 1 entry into the Schengen territory during its validity period. Thus, if the holder of the Schengen C visa enters the Schengen territory and then leaves that territory to travel to a third country, the visa will not entitle the holder to re-cross the border to enter the Schengen territory. If ‘MULT’ is entered in the ‘number of entries’ field, the visa entitles the holder to enter the Schengen territory multiple times during its validity period.

The long-stay (D) visa issued by Polish authorities entitles the holder to enter the territory of the Republic of Poland as many times as indicated in the visa sticker. If ‘1’ is entered in the ‘number of entries’ field, the visa entitles the holder to 1 entry into the territory of the Republic of Poland during its validity period. If ‘MULT’ is entered in the ‘number of entries’ field, the visa entitles the holder to enter Poland multiple times during its validity period.

Residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland

A foreign national is entitled to stay in the territory of Poland for the period specified in their Schengen visa, or their long-stay visa or residence permit issued by Polish authorities. For stays in Poland under the visa-free regime, the foreign national is entitled to reside on that territory for a period of 90 days within a 180-day period (or for the period resulting from a visa waiver agreement signed by the EU or Poland with the country of their nationality). For stays on the basis of long-stay visas issued by another Schengen Member State, the foreign national is entitled to stay in Schengen Member States other than those which issued the visa (including in Poland) during the validity of that visa for a period not exceeding 90 days per period of 180 days. Likewise, for stays on the basis of residence permits issued by another Schengen Member State, the foreign national is entitled to stay in Schengen Member States other than those which issued the residence permit (including in Poland) during the validity of that residence permit for a period not exceeding 90 days in a 180-day period.

During the period of residence on the Polish territory, foreign nationals are required to possess and present on request:

a travel document and documents authorising the foreign national to stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland (if required), i.e. visa or residence permit;
sufficient financial means to cover:

their maintenance costs while staying in the territory of the Republic of Poland,
their return journey to the country of origin or residence,
their transit via the territory of the Republic of Poland to a third country which has granted them the right to enter;

proof of ability to access financial means;
a document authorising them to work, run a business or assign work;
a document proving the purpose and conditions of their intended stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Important: To facilitate the calculation of the time scale of a Schengen visa or visa-free stay, the European Commission has published a freely available Schengen calculator on the website of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs.

More information available at: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/content/visa-calculator_en

Extension of residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland

I. Visa-free stay extension in accordance with the visa waiver agreement

A province governor competent for the place of stay of a foreigner who stays on the territory of the Republic of Poland on a basis of a visa-free regime may, in justified cases, extend the period of stay of this foreigner on the territory of the Republic of Poland by another 90 days, if such a possibility is provided for in the visa waiver agreement, which concerns citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Uruguay.

A foreigner submits an application for an extension of the period of stay under the visa-free regime on the territory of the Republic of Poland in person, not later than on the last day of his/her legal stay in this territory under the visa-free regime, and justifies this application. The period of stay under the visa-free regime on the territory of the Republic of Poland is extended by placing a stamp in the foreigner's travel document confirming the extension of the period of this stay by 90 days.

If a deadline for submitting the application for extension has been met and the application has no formal defects or such formal defects are corrected on time the stay of the foreign national in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be considered lawful until the date of affixing a stamp in the foreigner's travel document confirming the extension of the period of such stay or until the date of issuing a decision on refusal to extend the period of such stay, but not longer than for 90 days, counting from the day following the expiry of the period of stay under the visa-free regime.

II. Visa extension

A Schengen visa or a long-stay visa is extended or the extension is refused by way of a decision by the competent province governor for the area where the foreign national resides. A foreign national who intends to extend their stay on the basis of a Schengen visa or a long-stay visa must submit – no later than the date of expiry of the period of their lawful residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland – a completed application form for visa extension.

Visas may be extended in exceptional situations.

Schengen visa issued by the Polish authority or the authority of another country of the Schengen area and valid also in Poland or the period of stay covered by this visa can be extended to a foreigner residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland if it is issued for a period of stay of less then 90 days and :

the foreigner has shown that due to force majeure or for humanitarian reasons it is not possible for him/her to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of a visa or before the end of the authorized period of stay or
the foreigner provides a proof of important personal reasons justifying the extension of the validity period or the period of stay.

Long-stay visa issued by the Polish authority or the period of stay covered by this visa can be extended to a foreigner residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland, if the following conditions are jointly met:

It is in an important professional or personal interest of a foreigner, or because of humanitarian reasons he/she cannot leave the territory before the expiry of the long-stay visa or before the end of the period of stay covered by this visa;
Events which are the cause of applying for extension of the long-stay visa are independent of the will of the foreigner and were not foreseeable at the date of submitting the application for the long-stay visa;
Circumstances of the case do not indicate that the purpose of a foreigner's stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland would be different than the declared one;
There are no circumstances to refuse the issue of a long-stay visa.

Long-stay visa may be extended once. The period of stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of extended long-stay visa shall not exceed the period of stay envisaged for a long-stay visa, i.e. 1 year (including the period of stay on the basis of a visa to be extended). A foreigner staying in a hospital whose health status precludes the possibility of leaving the territory of the Republic of Poland, is granted extension of the long-stay visa to the date on which his/her health status will allow him/her to leave this territory.

If a deadline for submitting the application for extension of a Schengen visa or a long-term visa has been met and the application has no formal defects or such formal defects are corrected on time:

the competent province governor will affix a stamp to the travel document of the foreign national to confirm that the application has been submitted in a timely manner;
residence of the foreign national in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be considered lawful from the date of submission of the application until the decision on the application to extend their Schengen visa or long-term visa becomes final.

The foreign national with the above-mentioned stamp in the passport is authorised to stay legally in the territory of the Republic of Poland, but may not travel within the territories of the other Schengen Member States. For departures from the territory of the Republic of Poland, the above-mentioned stamp in the passport does not entitle the passport holder to cross the border to enter Poland.

III. Temporary residence permit

A temporary residence permit is granted by way of a decision by the competent province governor for the area where the foreign national resides. The foreign national must submit an application for a temporary residence permit in person no later than on the last day of their legal residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
If a deadline for submitting the application for a temporary residence permit has been met and the application has no formal defects or such formal defects are corrected on time:

the competent province governor will affix a stamp to the travel document of the foreign national to confirm that the application for a temporary residence permit has been submitted in a timely manner;
residence of the foreign national in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be considered lawful from the date of submission of the relevant application until the decision on the application to grant a temporary residence permit becomes final.

Foreign nationals with the above-mentioned stamp in their passport are authorised to stay legally in the territory of the Republic of Poland after the expiry of existing legal stay, but may not travel within the territories of the other Schengen Member States. For departures from the territory of the Republic of Poland, the above-mentioned stamp in the passport does not entitle the passport holder to cross the border again to enter Poland.

IV. Permanent residence permit

A permanent residence permit for the foreign national is granted or refused by the competent province governor for the area where the foreign national resides.
If an application for a permanent residence permit for the foreign national is submitted during their legal residence in the territory of the Polish Republic and has no formal defects or such formal defects are corrected on time:

the competent province governor will affix a stamp to the travel document of the foreign national to confirm that the application for a permanent residence permit has been submitted;
residence of the foreign national in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be considered lawful from the date of submission of the relevant application until the decision on the application to grant a permanent residence permit becomes final.

V. EU long-term residence permit

An EU long-term residence permit for the foreign national is granted or refused by the competent province governor for the area where the foreign national resides.
If an application for an EU long-term residence permit for the foreign national is submitted during their legal residence in the territory of the Polish Republic and has no formal defects or such formal defects are corrected on time:

the competent province governor will affix a stamp to the travel document of the foreign national to confirm that the application for an EU long-term residence permit has been submitted;
residence of the foreign national in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be considered lawful from the date of submission of the relevant application until the decision on the application to grant an EU long-term residence permit becomes final.

Obligation to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland

The foreign national is required to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland before the end of the residence period to which they are entitled under the visa-free regime, or the period resulting from their visa or residence permit.

The foreign national is also required to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland within 30 days from the date on which the decision to:

refuse the extension of a Schengen visa or a long-stay visa;
refuse a temporary residence permit;
refuse a permanent residence permit;
refuse an EU long-term residence permit;
terminate the procedure for extension of a visa or for granting the above residence permits;
withdraw a temporary residence permit;
withdraw a permanent residence permit;
withdraw an EU long-term residence permit;
refuse refugee status;
refuse subsidiary protection status;
consider an application for international protection inadmissible;
terminate the procedure for granting international protection;
revoke refugee status;
revoke subsidiary protection status;
withdraw the authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons,

becomes final, and for decisions by higher level authorities – from the date of delivery of a final decision by a higher level authority.