C-Type Schengen Visa
Where to apply?
You can apply at the consular office within opening office hours.
Consular districts
Consular Section of the Embassy of Poland in Washington
This consular district includes: Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, American Virgin Islands and other overseas territories of the US as well as Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
Consulate General in Chicago
This consular district includes: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
Consulate General in Houston
This consular district includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.
Consulate General in Los Angeles
This consular district includes: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
Consulate General in New York
This consular district includes: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont.
Do I have to apply in person?
Visa application form must be submitted in person. Diplomatic mission does not accept application forms sent via fax, regular mail or e-mail.
How to book an appointment?
You can book your appointment to apply for a visa via the e-konsulat system.
What documents do I need to submit?
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 from both sides from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders with the face covering 70-80% of the photo. The photo must be taken without any headwear.
3. Passport issued within last ten years, valid for at least three months from the expected return date, with at least two blank pages for visas. If you have another valid passport, you should attach it to the visa application form.
4. A copy of the passport page with personal data and a photo.
5. All persons applying for a single- or double-entry Schengen visa shall demonstrate that they have adequate and valid medical travel insurance covering any expenses that they make incur during their stay(s) within the territory of the Member States, including the need for return travel for medical reasons, the need for urgent medical care, emergency inpatient treatment or death. Multiple-entry visa applicants shall demonstrate that they have adequate and valid travel medical insurance for the period of their first intended visit. The insurance must be valid throughout the territory of the Member States and must cover the entire period of the planned stay. The minimum insured amount is EUR 30,000.
6. Copy of an ID document to confirm residence within the consular district of your application.
7. Proof that you have enough means of subsistence in the form decided by the mission:
a. A valid bank account statement issued by your bank,
b. A valid credit card with a certificate of means available,
c. A valid income certificate from your employer for the last three months,
d. Traveller's checques issued to the visa applicant – an original and a copy.]
8. A proof of accommodation (for example, an official invitation or a hotel booking or reservation).
9. A document to confirm the purpose and the conditions of your planned stay in Poland.
Additionally, when applying for a visa for a minor you should present:
- Written consent of the child’s parent(s) to apply for a visa, confirmed by a notary. If there is 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.
- Originals and copies of parents' passports.
- Original and a copy of a birth certificate.
If a child is entered in their parent's or a 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.
Please note:
• You must apply for a visa in a consular office or the embassy’s consular department in the consular district of your place of residence.
• Usually, the above documents are enough to receive a visa; however, the consul may require additional documents.
• Apply for a visa no earlier than six months and no later than 15 days before your planned journey.
• The consul may, but does not have to, invite the applicant for an interview.
• You may be banned from entering any of the Schengen States if you present forged documents or provide false information.
• Receiving a visa does not guarantee that you will enter the Schengen area - the final decision is always made by the authorities of the country where you intend to cross the Schengen area border. At an external border, you will be asked to provide evidence that meets entry conditions.
• The Visa Information System (VIS) is used, among other purposes, for the exchange of data on visa applications and related decisions between Member States. As a result of having achieved full operational efficiency, the travel document of a foreigner applying for a Schengen visa is not stamped with a stamp confirming the admissibility of the application referred to in art. 20 of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 13, 2009 on the establishment of a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code).
List of supporting documents for an application for a short-stay C visa.
How much does it cost?
The visa fee is 100 USD. The visa fee for applicants aged 6-12 years is 50 USD.
Accepted forms of payment: cash, card payment or money order. Information about forms of payment - click here.
The visa application fee is non-returnable, whatever the consul's decision.
What is the waiting time?
The consul will make the decision on the visa within 15 calendar days. That period may be extended up to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases.
How to collect the documents?
In person within office hours or by prepaid courier service.
How to appeal?
If you do not agree with the consul's decision, you may ask to have your visa application re-considered. You must apply for the reconsideration in the office that issued the decision within 14 days of its delivery. Applications are accepted during our regular business hours.
The application fee in this case is 89 USD.
Revocation or annulment of Schengen visa
If you have received a decision to revoke or annul your Schengen visa that you do not agree with, you have the right to ask for a reconsideration. However, if you have applied yourself for your Schengen visa to be revoked and the consul has agreed, you are not entitled to appeal.
You should apply for reconsideration within 14 days of receiving the decision to annul or revoke your Schengen visa at the consular post that issued the decision.
If you apply for reconsideration after your Schengen visa was revoked or annulled, you do not have to pay the consular fee.
Complaint about refusal to issue Schengen visa, decision to revoke or annul Schengen visa and the consul's activities in this respect.
If the consul who examines your reconsideration request, issues a new decision to refuse, annul or revoke your visa, which you do not agree with, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw. The complaint should be forwarded through the consul who made the decision, within 30 days of receiving the decision taken as a result of the re-examination .
You do not pay a consular fee for submitting a complaint to the consul, but you have to pay fees for proceedings before administrative courts. Therefore, you have to note that the court will ask you to pay the court fee. More information on the amount of court fees when appealing with the administrative court, possibility to apply for an exemption from the costs and the language of the procedure, is available at:
http://bip.warszawa.wsa.gov.pl/133/wpis-sadowy-zasady-dokonywania-wpisu.html
Frequently asked questions
Public consultations – digitalization of visa procedures
The European Commission would like to hear from you!
Through public consultations, you can express your views on aspects of EU laws and policies before the Commission finalizes its proposals.
These consultations are designed to learn about the views of citizens and stakeholders on future initiatives, particularly as they pertain to the practicality of an online visa application process and on creating an EU/national online application portal, as well as the replacement of physical visas with digital visas.
Participate in the European Commission’s consultation on the digitalization of the visa process.
Materials
List_of_supporting_documents_to_be_submitted_for_C-Type_Schengen_short_stay_visaList_of_supporting_documents_to_be_submitted_for_C-Type_Schengen_short_stay_visa.pdf 0.64MB
Legal basis
Rozporządzenie Parlamentu Europejskiego i Rady (WE) nr 810/2009 z dnia 13 lipca 2009 r. ustanawiające Wspólnotowy Kodeks Wizowy (kodeks wizowy)
Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach
Ustawa z dnia 25 czerwca 2015 r. Prawo konsularne