Is there a readily available model for the application that needs to be submitted by a foreigner applying for a permit for the acquisition of real estate, shares or stocks in Poland?

There is no readily available model for such an application. A foreign citizen applying for a permit from the minister should prepare the application and required documents pursuant to the Act of 24 March 1920 on detailed information and types of documents to be submitted by foreigners applying for a permit to acquire real estate and Regulation of the Minister of the Interior of 20 June 2012 on acquisition of real estate by foreign nationals (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 729).

Is a foreigner originating from the European Union required to obtain a permit for purchasing a residence located in the border zone?

Entities from the European Economic Area are not obligated to apply for a permit from the Minister for the purchase of a residence, including a residence located in the frontier zone.

Will acquiring a share in the land that is being acquired together with the residence carry a separate permit obligation?

Acquiring a share in the land bound by the ownership right to the residence does not require obtaining a permit from the Minister, as it is a right assigned to the residence and inherently linked to it (common property). However, a permit is required for the acquisition of shares in separate parts of real estate, that is e.g. access roads, parts of housing estates that are purchased together with the residence but constituting separate parts of real estate and are not part of the common real estate.

Will a company headquartered in Poland, in which foreign entities hold the majority of shares, be considered an EU entrepreneur?

Since 1 May 2004 Poland has been a Member State of the European Union, therefore each company with its headquarters in the territory of the Republic of Poland is considered an EU entrepreneur.

How to determine whether a real estate is considered arable land?

The authority may decide whether a given real estate is considered arable land only by means of administrative proceedings initiated following the application for a permit to acquire the real estate and on the basis of the gathered evidence.

In the administrative proceedings for issuing a permit for the acquisition of real estate to a foreign national, the minister competent for internal affairs determines whether the real estate can be considered arable land on the basis of documents submitted together with the application for a permit, that is a certificate from the competent municipality office on the designation of the real estate in the spatial development plan, an extract from the land and building register, a decision on development conditions, a decision on the location of a public purpose investment issued pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 27 March 2003 on planning and spatial development, the decision to exclude land from agricultural production issued pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 3 February 1995 on the protection of arable and forest land and the classification disclosed in the land and building register pursuant to the Act of 17 May 1989 – Geodetic and cartographic law.

How long does it take to process a case for issuing a permit to acquire real estate in Poland?

Proceeding in a case for issuing a permit to acquire real estate in Poland pursuant to Article35 § 3 of the Act of 14 June 1960 – Code of Administrative Procedure (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 2096, as amended), as a particularly complicated procedure lasts no longer than two months from the date of its initiation, provided that together with the application all documents required by law pursuant to the Act of 24 March 1920 on acquisition of real estate by foreign nationals (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 2278) and pursuant to Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior of 20 June 2012 on detailed information and types of documents to be submitted by foreigners applying for a permit to acquire real estate (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 729) and the authorities reviewing a specific case (obligatorily the Minister of National Defence, the Internal Security Agency, and in the case of agricultural land, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development) will take a position on the matter within a specified deadline. The deadline for the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of the Interior and Administration to take a position is 14 days, and for the Internal Security Agency – 30 days, but it may be extended to two months upon request of the reviewing authority. The two-month deadline referred to above does not include the time limits provided for in legal regulations for carrying out specific actions, periods of suspension of proceedings and delays caused by a party's fault (e.g. the need to clarify discrepancies between the content of the application and the attached documents, providing additional documents, etc.) or for reasons beyond the control of the authority (Article 35 § 5 of the Code of Administrative Procedure). In view of the above, in practice, the administrative procedure carried out in the aforementioned area, due to extensive correspondence involved and the need to obtain the opinion of other bodies and institutions, may take up to 2, 3, 4 months and in some cases even longer than that.

It should be stressed that cases concerning permits for the acquisition of real estate by foreign nationals are classified as complicated cases, which involves the possibility of applying extended time limits for their examination in relation to all cases covered by the provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

Due to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration receiving a substantial number of applications for permits for acquisition of real estate by foreign nationals, as well as the high degree of complexity associated with each of these applications and the resulting need for a thorough and multi-faceted analysis, a procedure was adopted that new applications for permits for acquisition of real estate by foreign nationals shall be processed as soon as possible, in the order of their receipt by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.

Do the decisions issued by the Minister of the Interior and Administration include a clause of administrative finality and legal validity?

The Minister of the Interior and Administration declares that the decision is final and legally binding upon request of the party, by way of issuing an administrative certificate to that effect.

The party may therefore apply to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration for issuing an administrative certificate. 

The Minister of the Interior and Administration does not issue a copy of the decision bearing the clause of administrative finality and legal validity.

Requests to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration to issue an administrative certificate require a stamp duty to be paid in the amount of PLN 17 to the Warsaw City Hall: 

by transfer to the account No: 21 1030 1508 0000 0005 5000 0070  

Taxpayer Service Centre
ul. Obozowa 57
01-161 Warsaw

or in cash:

at the cashier’s desk of the Taxpayer Service Centre
ul. Obozowa 57
01-161 Warsaw

or at the cashier’s desks of District Offices of the capital city of Warsaw.

An application with the original copy of the stamp duty paid for the administrative certificate should be submitted to the Minister of the Interior and Administration.