It is impossible to get temporary residency in Poland

I came here to live with partner and teach English. I'm British and she is Polish. After finding out about I neede a visa after 90 days, I went about getting one..... Bad Idea.

To get temporary residency for British you need.

To know which office to submit application (Nobody in England or Poland Knows)
1 X passport
1X bank statement (Nobody know whether English or Polish, I have both, nobody knows how much you need)

1 X Proof of medical insurance in England (Nobody know whats this means)

1 X Certificate of temporay (90days) address.

Now, nobody in Poland actually knows whos does what and where to stick it, But here is the tricky bit!

It is impossible to get a temporary address if you rent! 99% of landlords here in Krakow won't give permission to use the address as they are all cheating on their taxes and havn't declared the rent as income.

No tep address cert = no temp residency = no job = end of relationship with girfriend as I have to move back to England....... sod this coutry, sort it out THEN join the EU

Excuse the spelling, I'm angry

Eh....i have temp residency in Poland , all i needed to show was my passport , quick , painless , no problem... Ok i have my own place , but its officially in the name of a Polish friend...not sure why you had so many problems....

welcome to Poland - unforunately there's a bit of bureacracy to contend with. After that though life here is great.

do a google for "zameldowanie" or "british in poland" or check out britishinpoland.com

Maybe this means the E111?

Could your employer not help with all this?

The E111 was replaced by the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC or EKUZ in Polish) a few years ago.

What they are after is proof that he is self-sufficient for his application for a karta pobytu. Which documents are required depends on which status he puts on his application - for example you could say you are a student in which case you need to show that you are studying somewhere. Or you could say that you have a Polish spouse in which case you need to show your marriage certificate. Or you could say you are working here in which case you need... blah blah blah...

Regarding the bank account again this depends. I just provided a photocopy of my UK credit card and they were happy.

You need to talk to the office for foreigners' affairs in the district where you are living. For malopolskie this is in Krakow at ulica Przy Rondzie.

This isn't correct. In theory, it is - but for all practical purposes, you can live and work in Poland as long as you want without having any sort of registered address if you're from the EU. Others can advise more - but because there's no systematic proof of entry/exit from Poland, or indeed from Schengen, it's quite easy to get round this whole requirement.

Your biggest problem will be finding work at this point in the year, to be honest.

Either:
a) Sign a contract under which you rent one room of their flat and give them money to cover the tax that they will need to pay on that income (i.e. 10% of it). OR

b) Find a Pole who will register you as living with them. OR
c) Pay the rent by bank transfer a few times with the transfer titled "payment for rent on [insert address of flat]", then tell the landlord you either need him to register you or to give you a receipt for all the cash you've given him because you need to declare that payment at the tax office for your taxes.


Rubbish! No temporary resident's card = nothing more than not being able to register a vehicle for three months or to get a bank loan or a contract phone. That's it You can even open your own company here without having a temporary resident's card!

interesting ..... i was at the govt office yesterday to get the 11 page application package for temporary residency.

i've got a page full of requirements to add to my application all to be translated into Polish by a sworn translator.

I'd sure love to know how you just "showed your passport" and got it done. What is your nationality and what passport is it?

Are you sure you are not talking about the "zameldowanie/meldunek"?

i find it interesting that you say "not sure why you had so many problems" have you forgotten what country this is??

This mess is because of the way that they haven't properly split the registration/residency requirements for EU and non-EU citizens.

Temporary registration (ie, the three months registration done at the Urząd Miasta) is just a matter of landlord and passport. EU citizens can just keep getting the 3 month temporary registration if they can be bothered - but the Urzad Miasta wouldn't allow a non-EU citizen do to the same thing.

Even the requirements for 5 year registration are much, much less hassle for EU citizens than non-EU citizens. If someone's making you translate endless documents/etc for EU 5 year registration, then they've got the wrong information and you're going up the wrong path.

I am English , but probably whats more important is that i made good friends with the lady in the local office where i need to sign my documents , fixed her car once or twice , perhaps they helps to make things easier....Once when she completed a document for me that i would have taken hours to suss out ...i took her a bunch of flowers to say thank you....Perhaps i have just been lucky , but all the people in this office are very helpfull ...This myth about all Polish office workers being miserable and unhelpfull is not true in every case....

Hi there - this is my first post (i think!).

Ive been in Warsaw for 6 months now and today was my first attempt at registering and applying for my temporary residency, mostly due to the lack of solid information online. (I do not promise this will be any more informative, but I will try to update as I go)

I have not previously registered myself here and have been told this is not going to be a problem.

I went to an office at Długa 5, Warsaw (pick a number from reception and head to 1st floor, turn left and head toward the EU sign - there was no queue at 2pm 14th August 2009). The lady there was extremely helpful. She told me that because I had proof of living here for 6 months (tenancy agreement), I would simply have to go to my district office, which she looked up for me, and take the following:

4 copies - Application for Registering The Residence (single form - filled out in polish)
O Zarejestrowanie Pobytu
4 copies - Passport
4 copies - tenancy agreement
Passport

I am currently looking for work, but she informed me that all you need to show in order to gain a 5 year residency is that you have been offered a job, nothing more. In other words, if you can find a business owner willing to 'offer' you a job, you can take proof of this to your district office when registering (you do not have to accept this job, but it seems it shows that you have prospects of gainful employment).

I will post again once I have been to the district office next week. Also remember that most of these offices close pretty early, sometimes at 3pm.

Hope this helps

A

When I tried to register as an American it was 12 pages, much other documentation and 250pln(not exact amount). When someone from London registered it was one page and 30pln. I don't think he had to do to much more.

30pln sounds about right, but my registration form is 3 pages and perhaps an additional form for the residency form... i guess because they have the majority of information needed by that stage

What area are you registering in? I am not sure if that matters at all.

No use to complain about it when your own government dose the same thing. You have your own bureaucracy when someone wants to visit US and what you have stated above works the same way in reverse. If a British citizen wants to visit US there's no visa applications to fill no visa fees etc but when a Polish national wants to visit US he has to apply for a visa only to find out that it has been denied. So what makes you think that being an American makes you equal to a British citizen in the eyes of the Polish authorities? and the same rules, procedures and fees should apply to you when your own government makes the same distinction when it comes to the British and Polish nationals. No offence to you but Americans want to be treated as VIP's and have special privileges simply because they are American. If you ask me, there should be a policy of tit for tat when it comes to the restriction of travel between Poland and US. As we say “Jak Kuba Bogu, tak i Bóg Kubie.”

I was just pointing out that someone from the EU has it easier and I didn't think it was 4 pages. I never asked for special treatment. Britain is part of the EU and the US isn't. It should be harder for a non-EU person. Poland can have any laws it wants.

My complaint about the Polish system is that each region has different requirements. There is not one system for all of Poland. If you have read my other posts I have said that the US system is wrong and makes no sense.

The person I knew registered in Gorzow and it seemed much easier then what you stated. I don't think he had to show proof of insurance or income. However, its possible that the school did some of that for him.

Perhaps they are just corrupt?

I don't know Warsaw very well, but isn't Długa the office for the Voivode?

You'll need to obtain the 3 month zameldowanie first from the district office before you can get the 5 year stamp. Have you done this? Without this, you won't be allowed to apply for the 5 year stay regardless of what your tenancy agreement says.


There is one system, but because it's administered at Voivoideship level rather than at National level, you might find that some areas demand more than others. But the basic requirements are the same throughout Poland.

Yup, Długa 5 is the voivoidship office. What I was told by the EU office at Długa 5 is that the 3 month zameldowanie and 5 year stamp can applied for simultaneously if you have proof of living in the district for 3 months + 1 day and proof of work or a job offer. So Im keeping my fingers crossed she wasnt feeding me utter garbage!

I will be registering with Wola district

It sounds like utter garbage, but it's worth a try - the worst case is that you'll have to just wait out the 3 months local registration first. You'll also have to get your landlord (well, owners) of the property to agree to the registration - which is often a problem!

But as an EU citizen, you are theoretically obliged to register, but there's no consequence if you don't.

I'm also English (British) and I had all the same troubles living in Poland.

Unfortunately, the most difficult document to get to attain residency here, is the Zameldowanie.

I had the same problems with getting a landlord / landlady to agree to me using my rented flats address as part of my application, because like the other 99% of flat landlord / ladies in Poland, they are all crafty and caniving tax-dodgers (as well as being scam masters at everything else to save a grosze or two).

In the end, I had to rely on a friend who owned her own flat in Warsaw, to let me use her address so I could get the Zameldowanie. Once I had it, it was all smooth sailing.

Go to your Urząd Wojewódzki for your region (because I am in Warsaw, mine is Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki - Ul. Dluga 5, WARSZAWA.)

Fill in the application form they provide (WARNING - most of it is in Polish). Then you only need:

- Passport (plus photocopies)
- E111 or EHIC card
- Polish bank account with sufficient funds OR letter from your employer of your job here in Poland, confirming that you work for them.
- Some passport photos
- and of course, the Zameldowanie.

Make about 4 photocopies of all the above before you go, as they will ask for them.

You will have to wait about 10 - 14 working days for the residency. Go back to the same place to pick it up. All mine was, was a flimsy piece of paper! A credit-card type of document would be nicer!!!

***TIP*** - Whilst waiting for your residency, you can user your Zameldowanie at the Urząd Skarbowy to get your NIP - your national insurance number for paying TAX.

Go to the Urząd Skarbowy that is assigned (usually the closest) to the region of your RESIDENCY address (the address you are applying for residency - if you are living in two or more locations).

Take along your passport plus copies, the Zameldowanie, and again, the confirmed letter of employment. You may need these.

Hope this helps.

For me: (living in Wroclaw county)

Temperary registration at town hall were you live.. maybe you can get your girlfriends dad to register you at his flat/house.
Once compleated you go to county hall to compleate your 5 year stay..
i needed:

1 copy of my passport
1 copy of my NHS card
1 hand written letter from my fiancee saying while im in poland she will supply cash if i need it.
1zł.... yes 1
They gave me a 4 page form in english and polish but you fill it out in polish.

1 month and i have a blue peice of paper with a stamp on it!
then we went back to town hall and they supplyed me with PESL number... (well after a week's wait)

Take your girlfriend wth you while you need to sort this out... it will be much easier and save you lots of time waiting for the only person in town hall who speaks english to come and try explain!

wrong. I'm not an EU citizen, and have had my zameldowanies every 3 months since Oct 08.