New visa requirements

Registration of Residence, Residence Permit and Visa Matters

EU/EEA citizens

An EU student can enter Poland with his/her ID document (a valid travel document e.g. passport) or another document certifying his/her identity and citizenship. If a student intends to visit Poland's neighboring countries (not all of them are EU Member States), a passport is recommended. For stay up to 3 months no legalization of stay is necessary. For stay exceeding 3 months an EU student has to register his/her residence. In case of students the registration is issued for one year (possibility to prolong). The document is issued by the Department of Citizens Affairs of the Voivodeship Office (province administration, Urząd Wojewódzki).

Documents that have to be submitted by the EU-student to the Voivodeship Office in order to obtain the registration:

1. Application form for EU Citizen (in Polish: Wniosek o zarejestrowanie pobytu)
2. Travel document (passport or other ID document),

3. Health insurance document ("European Health Insurance Chip Card" is enough)

4. Declaration about sufficient resources to cover the subsistence costs in Poland [e.g.: statement of account of the last three months, credit card, (Erasmus) scholarship ...]

5. Certificate from your lessor that you have a residence (zameldowanie)

6. Official letter of acceptance from the Polish university (with information about the planned period of study)

7. Fee of 1 PLN

You have to show them the original documents! They will keep the copies.

After your application you will get a letter with the decision of the office. You have to be patient - two months process time is not unusual. After receiving the letter you have to wait three weeks - then you can go to the office to get the card.

Non-EU/EEA citizens

Visa requirements

Students of a non-EU/EEA country can enter Poland on the basis of a valid travel document (passport) and a visa (if required). A student of a non-EU country has to obtain a visa from the consulate of Poland in his/her country of residence. A short-term visa entitles the holder to stay in Poland for up to 3 months, a long-term visa up to 1 year.

Prolongation of a visa in Poland is possible only in cases of force majeure or situation impossible to foresee while applying for the visa in the consulate. The visa can be prolonged only once. Students coming for a period of study longer than 3 months are therefore obliged to apply for a visa in a consulate for the whole planned period of stay in Poland.

Current information on existing regulations is available on the following websites:

Information available in English: Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in London http://www.londynkg.polemb.net/index.php?document=80

Information available in German: Polnische Botschaft in Berlin http://www.berlin.polemb.net/index.php?document=1

Information available in Polish: Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej http://www.msz.gov.pl/

Poland is now member of the Schengen Area (membership since 21st, December 2007) - so you can apply for the Schengen Visa in the Consulate of Poland in your home country. If you have a Schengen Visa you can travel around in the Schengen Area (most countries of the European Union!) - You don't need any other visa.

Please check the validity of your Visa and the Schengen Membership of your target country before you start traveling around.

Please check the website of the Consulate General/Embassy of the Republic of Poland in your home country as well. Maybe there are particularities for citizen of your country to get a visa for Poland.

Residence permit (Temporary Residence Card)Â

For stay up to 3 months no legalization of stay is necessary. If you stay longer you have to go to the Department of Citizens Affairs of the Voivodeship Office (province administration, Urząd Wojewódzki) to get a residence permit. In case of students the residence permit is issued for one year (possibility to prolong).

Documents that have to be submitted by the Non-EU student to the Voivodeship Office in order to obtain the residence permit:
1. Application form (original and three copies!) for NON-EU Citizen (in Polish: Wniosek o udzielenie zezwolenia na zamieszkanie na czas oznaczony)

2. Passport (copy three times the personal data and one time a copy of the whole passport)

3. Registration of accommodation/dormitory (four copies)

4. Official letter of acceptance from the Polish university (with information about the planned period of study)

5. Card of dormitory (copy)

6. Copy of a declaration about sufficient resources to cover the subsistence costs in Poland [e.g.: statement of account of the last three months, credit card, (Erasmus-Mundus)scholarship ...]

7. Health Insurance Document (copy)

8. Five colored pictures (3, 5 cm x 4, 5 cm, left side profile, the ear has to be visible)

9. Fee of 340 PLN - before you submit the application to the office you have to pay the fee

10. Fee of 50 PLN - you have to pay it before you receive the card

You have to show them the original documents.They will keep the copies.

On the floor of the Foreign Office is a "kasa" where you can pay these fees. They will give you receipts to prove the payments - so keep them!

If you don't have original documents you have to show them certified copies (advocate, layer, notary or similar can do this)

If you have documents which are not in Polish you have to go to a sworn translator. In this case you have to give a copy of the original document and the original of the translation to the office - keep a copy of the translation!