USA, Canada / Polonia picket BBC office in New York [15]


I feel the need to object : there is no way that a handful of people can be called a protest.

USA, Canada / Polonia picket BBC office in New York [15]

Strange, isn't it?

It only goes to show how utterly brainwashed and manipulated some people are.

Travel / Is Warsaw dangerous nightly ? [14]

Why not simply go couchsurfing?

USA, Canada / Polonia picket BBC office in New York [15]


Isn't this what Polonius was on about a couple of weeks ago, the BBC is showing that German series and the usual right wing Polonia suspects immediately decided to protest/draw attention to themselves?

I find it hilarious that Radio Maryja supporters tend to scream about "freedom of speech" and so on, yet they're normally first to also scream when someone says something they don't agree with.

Law / European Health Insurance Card - help with Poland's ZUS? [12]


ZUS aren't responsible for it, the NFZ are.


Tell them you're going abroad on holiday. As long as someone in your household works, you'll get the EKUZ card for 6 months.

Law / Rada Gminy - idea to stand as a councilor in Poland [7]


You can always form your own electoral committee - but normally, in Poland, you would associate yourself with one of the bigger groupings locally while standing as an independent. For instance - I have a friend who stood for election in the gmina. He was independent, but he was on the list of the PSL. Most local elections will work this way.

Law / Rada Gminy - idea to stand as a councilor in Poland [7]

Are you an EU citizen? As far as I'm aware, this is the only restriction.

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]


Oh please. Poland has recently overtaken Hungary - a country that wasn't economically wrecked by the end of the 80's.


And yet again, that completely fails to take into account the large amount of money that exchanges hands without being declared.


Then perhaps, instead of whining about it, they should do something about it? There are certainly jobs out there, but of course, it requires moving for it.


Why should it be much of a concern? It lowers the unemployment rate and means the country is easier to manage.

Life / Any Polish pride wallpapers? [10]

Wasn't that Nazi propaganda? Or Communist?

I forget, but either way, no surprise that Goofy is endorsing regimes hostile to Poland.

Life / Any Polish pride wallpapers? [10]


Something perhaps with the aftermath of Jedwabne?

People who want to "glorify" Poland tend to approve of such events.

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]

It's because those shops cater to the stupid. And for people like me, who need cheap material...

News / Premier says no recession for Poland [148]


Still pushing that tired old line, are we?


Not by any significant amount, and you're not counting the people who are unemployed so that they get their healthcare paid - while working full time.


I don't live on credit - apart from my mortgage, I don't have any credit. Not an uncommon situation - I know the financial circumstances of my neighbours, and most of them don't even have a mortgage or a very low one. Poland has quite low levels of personal debt, don't you know?


It might have escaped your attention that at least part of this was due to the regulations that the Government brought in. As for office buildings, if they're half empty, why is Warsaw being seen as screaming out for quality office accommodation?


Same in much of Europe.


It's not to do with money, but modern lifestyles. Poland has a very educated society - and educated people don't tend to breed.


Have you seen Germany? It's the same story there. Austria isn't much better. What's your point?

(as for 'most people' - I don't think so. Do you need to be reminded how well Auchan is doing?)


Hardly. Those shops are actually doing worse and worse as time goes on.


No, people need to stop listening to arrogant foreigners who think that everyone else is poor because it makes them feel better about themselves and the fact that they have to trawl across cities to earn 50zl for a private language lesson.

UK, Ireland / UK general student visit..from Poland. Applying for UK visiting visa? [13]


Seems so. Despite the high visibility controls and utter inflexibility in some respect (for instance, Eurostar) - the situation seems to be absolutely chaotic. They're using a computer system that is 20 years old - meanwhile Schengen uses a computer system that is almost brand new.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]

They can prefer all they like, but they can't hire someone from Brazil over a Pole with a C2 level of Portuguese if the Pole is equal in other respects.

For what it's worth, the work permit process is annoying enough for most employers to prefer EU citizens.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]

It does rather seem as if there's more to the story than meets the eye.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


It doesn't matter. The French have quite a restrictive policy towards non-EU migrants, partially because of how many Arabs ended up with French citizenship due to their colonial days. You might be able to get a visa that allows you a working holiday, but the French (regardless of language spoken) make it pretty difficult to obtain work permits.


Yes, and I know plenty of non-EU citizens who emigrated to Poland and who got work permits without problems too.


Or perhaps they found a better one for the same money. Let's be serious here - what you do cannot be anything particularly great, given the salary range posted in previous threads.


There is an efficient system. In fact, it's quite an easy system as it's all dealt with at the local level rather than nationally. The fact that you seem to think that you have a God-given right to stay in Poland is another question.


You just can't stop with the personal attacks, can you?

Let's be honest - the only reason you wanted to stay in Poland was so you could get laid.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


And what were those situations?


It really won't. Things are already considerably different, and they are improving all the time. You're not in Poland, you haven't got a clue about what's going on here.


How remarkably naive. France has some notoriously tricky immigration rules for non-EU citizens regardless of language skills.


I'm curious, what skills would those be? I find it hard to believe that your skills cannot be found in Poland or in the EU, given that the job only paid 4400zl-ish net.

I have my doubts that your knowledge is somehow unique, given the huge presence of multinationals here. Perhaps they simply found a suitable internal candidate?

Work / Brazilian in Poland needing help - ideas to find a job? [22]


What do you think you could do in Poland?

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


Common story here. I remember once hearing about a non-EU citizen who was fired from a language school - they blamed 'bureaucracy' - but the real story was that he was simply too expensive for them - they didn't have the work for him and they had committed to paying a fairly high guaranteed salary.


Or they simply wanted to back out of the job offer. Could be any number of reasons - the OP has no experience in Poland and has no idea what the work permit procedure actually is.

Law / Acquiring Polish citizenship by naturalisation [40]

Unless you've got an outstanding reason, you won't get citizenship through the President if you're applying directly to the President.

If you're applying through the process of residency, then you won't get it in your case - you need to have permanent residency, it's not enough to have the temporary EU residence certificate. If you aren't resident in Poland, you haven't got a chance - they are very very thorough with checking your personal life.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


Despite not having any experience with Polish bureaucracy?

Seems naive.


Yes, and it's going that way. The country has only been truly democratic for 22 years - patience wouldn't go amiss.


What, exactly, is your experience with the bureaucracy in Poland? You seem to be blaming it without any clue about what you're blaming.


That's because it's the European Union and it's one of the fundamental freedoms that make the European Union work.


They put the job on EURES and their local systems. Someone applied for the job, which would have instantly disqualified you from obtaining a work permit if they had the suitable qualifications. Works the same way in every EU country.


Different countries, different times. But from personal knowledge, I suspect that the company is to blame, not the bureaucracy - particularly given that the Polish way of doing things isn't particularly difficult.


With your attitude, you wouldn't last in Poland anyway.


You wouldn't have had a chance of getting a work permit in France, I can tell you that for free.

What do you know about Polish bureaucracy?

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


I'm implying that unless there's a skill that simply can't be found among the nearly 500 million people entitled to work in Poland, there's no need to hire you or anyone else from outside the EU. I doubt your skills are such that someone like you can't be found among those allowed to work without a work permit.


That's one way of getting around it.


No, it isn't. You've never lived and worked here, what would you know about the bureaucratic system? I mean - unlike a former German chancellor - I've never had problems with understanding my gas bill. Some things may be long winded, but in general, the bureaucracy is manageable and crucially - accessible.


So stay there. Pretty simple, really.


Oh dear, with such a statement, I can only assume that you are pretty young and inexperienced. Trying to make it seem as if "slavic" companies are somehow inferior is actually a good laugh - but hey, why don't you start with looking at Solaris and PESA products?

You haven't got a clue about the bureaucracy in Poland. For a start, shall we compare Poland to Germany? Poland has no such nonsense like tax card classes and Byzantine health insurance systems - taxation for ordinary workers in Poland is simple and straight to the point.


No, they aren't. France and the UK make it very difficult for such people regardless of offers.


As I and others have told you - it more than likely was the company at fault, not the bureaucracy. It's a standard Polish excuse to blame the bureaucracy when you don't want to do something. I did it today - I don't want to do something for someone, so I blamed my work contract for being ultra restrictive rather than simply telling her that I didn't want to do it.

Travel / Going to Pomorskie, Kwidzyn from gdansk by train [10]


Won't be valid, discounts are only for students studying at a Polish university.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


It seems to me that they are blaming the authorities to cover themselves up. Or they simply found a Polish worker who could do the same job.

Law / Opening a bank account and buying a car in Poland (account in Euros, car tax, insurance) [22]


If you don't know a lot about cars, then you're asking for trouble. You would be surprised at the lengths they go to here to cover up problems - not least because the second hand market is booming here.

Law / We've got 100K Euros and want to start business in Poland. Opinions? Advice? [6]


But they do. There's already at least one in Poznan that has been advertising heavily.

Study / Scholarships for non-EU students for English-taught programs in Poland [14]

Not anymore you can't - the funding will all change as part of Erasmus for all. I'm not sure there were ever such scholarships for non-EU citizens - unless they came as part of a partnership with a non-EU university.


Basically - no.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


But it does. Why would they take in people from non-EU countries when they can access a huge pool of talented labour on their doorstep? It just doesn't make sense - youth unemployment is high enough in Poland as it is, there's just no need to hire from outside the EU.


Why are so many young people leaving their countries all over Europe? The EU in recent years has really seen a lot of labour mobility - it really means nothing.


Are you foolish enough to believe the official figures? I forget who it was, but one of the auditing firms estimated that something up to 25% of GDP is 'na czarna' and not counted in the official figures. Then there's the fact that many people managed to buy their property for next to nothing.


Except it isn't. I suspect you've never tried to do business in France.


No, they avoid Poland because of cultural reasons. They haven't got a clue how to deal with a Slavic/former Soviet Bloc country - and yes, it does take certain skills. It's the same reason Polish companies tend to sell to Czech/Slovak/Hungarian/Ukrainian companies instead of German companies.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


It does apply, because this is why we have a Union - we can recruit from anywhere in the European Union easily without formalities. The company may have thought that you were needed, but the country knows better. Remember, the obligation is to advertise the job - which means that the company may even have found someone better/cheaper in the meantime. Do not be so naive as to believe that it was the country to blame - perhaps they simply found someone better and decided to blame the authorities instead.


Why should it be easier? It doesn't make any sense to import non-EU citizens when there are EU citizens with the skills involved who might not have work.


They have colonial links. Austria is not such a great place for immigrants, and Denmark has massive problems with them. Germany is full of ex-Yugoslavs and Turks too.


It is the simple reality - you cannot be given a work permit if there exists a suitably qualified EU candidate for the job. It doesn't matter if you speak Polish or not, nor does it matter if your ancestors were European - what matters is that a Union citizen has priority over you.

Law / Unable to get a work permit for Poland (not EU-citizen) [40]


EU citizens get preference in EU countries. The way it works in Poland is that if a suitable EU candidate is found for a job, then you can't be given a work permit - which is perfectly fair given that Polish workers also enjoy similar rights in the EU.

At the end of the day, there's 450 million workers plus some others with the right to live and work in Poland. Poland has a fairly large disapora in the 'near abroad' also entitled to work and reside here - so you simply aren't needed.


Ah, you didn't try France or the UK then. Those countries are all but closed to non-EU citizens with no links to their country.