Possible to get driving license in Poland (Warsaw)

Hello everyone,

I currently live in the Netherlands, obtaining a driving license is quite expensive in my country (around €1400/5800 zloty). So i've been looking for alternative routes. One of them is to take driving lessons in Poland. Does anyone of you know if this possible? I've read somewhere that you have to live in Poland for at least 180 days or something like that to obtain it. However there are some people here did it, without staying for that long in Poland.

Another question is does anyone know good driving schools in Warsaw which teach in English? I've already found Imola.pl, but I may find it somewhere cheaper :)

Cheers everyone and thanks for reading

Erik

You need to have the 5 year EU residence permit. This isn't granted automatically, instead, you'll have to have a registered residence in Poland for 3 months, then you'll have to apply for it after this period. You'll have to have a valid reason for staying in Poland, combined with documentary evidence - it's not good enough to say "I'm in Poland for over 185 days" - they want to know why. This usually means being self employed or having a contract from an employer.

delphiandomine

Thank you for your quick response. What does this '5 year EU residence permit' exactly mean? I tried to Google it but no luck so far. I have a Dutch passport, and i'm born there as well.

I've just received some other information as well that it was possible in the future. Oh snap.

Essentially, you need to have a permit from the provincial government that allows you to stay in Poland. While you don't need this if you want to stay here as an EU citizen (legally you do, but they don't care less if you don't have it) - it's seen as the 'proof' that you're residing here for more than 185 days.

britishinpoland.com/blog/2008/03/5-year-registration-karta-pobytu/ explains the process a bit more. Basically, without this, you cannot sit the driving test - and while the actual requirements vary a bit from province to province, the burden is still on you to prove that you intend to stay in Poland.

Effectively, it's not worth considering Poland - the time and effort just isn't worth it if you don't actually live here. There's also the issue that you'll need a sworn translator for the exam - and getting a Dutch-Polish translator could be incredibly difficult.

The law was changed to counter the fact that many Germans were choosing to come to Poland and sit their driving test here - so blame them ;)