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


The company are to blame here. The procedure is very clear - they must apply for a work permit for you before you start working for them. It seems to me that perhaps they didn't do the paperwork correctly - or that the Urzad Pracy found a suitable applicant for the job (which must be advertised through them and placed on EURES) which would also have disqualified you from obtaining a work permit. As you don't need a visa to enter Poland, you would have simply have had to obtain the work permit (or correctly, your employers would have had to obtain it) before applying for the residence permit.


If they found a suitable Polish/EU candidate for the job, then they must be given priority. It - no doubt - is the same in your country.


I wonder which countries those were - many Western countries make it very difficult for non-EU applicants.

Law / PESEL & NIP in Częstochowa? [10]


Thankfully, this whole nonsense system will finally be abolished - they've already abandoned the need to deregister before registering at a new address, and the system will finally go at (I believe) the start of 2015.

Law / What banks are people using in Poland? [50]

If you're legally resident in Poland, then they've got it wrong and you should complain.

Life / What makes a man a Pole? what does it mean to be a Pole? [187]


I don't see why not - if you look at the Yugoslav idea of the constituent people also being a nation, then they don't have any break in their history. When you consider all the events between 1795 and 1918, it's obvious that the idea of the Polish nation was still more than alive even if they didn't have control of a territory of their own.

Certainly, the Polish people felt they were under occupation, but the accepted legal view of things is that they weren't.

Wikipedia perhaps has the best definition :


I think it's also worth questioning what the "Polish" people actually were at that time. I know in the early days of the II RP, people often identified with their local area far more than they did with the idea of Poland - and I think it was the same story in areas such as Galicia under the Austrian administration? Of course, there was a huge Polish minority in the three areas - but how many people were classed as Poles when they actually weren't?

It is a curious footnote in history to see how there were Polonisation campaigns during the Austrian administration.

Life / What makes a man a Pole? what does it mean to be a Pole? [187]


Yes, and it is the accepted view of things.

It doesn't mean much, so I'm not sure why people have a problem with it - Austria under the Anschluss is often said to have been annexed, and the connotation in English (a country coming in and simply taking over) is every bit as bad as occupation.

Did Poland annex or occupy part of Czechoslovakia in 1938? It was a straightforward annexation, not occupation.

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


Don't buy a car in Poland is the best advice I can give. Not because of the driving conditions or the drivers, but rather the condition of the cars - Polish drivers tend to run cars into the ground.

Study / Polish schools and Polish educational system level in your eyes [135]


Not really, because that number is talking about how many passed the bar exam - which has little to do with the quality of the university.

Lying yet again Monia, what a surprise.

Food / Using Polish cooking books in an English version? [16]


I call it the Communist cup - they seem to be standardised :D


Even stranger is when people order in decagrams :( I can't wrap my head around this at all, it's just impossible to count like that :(

Law / Decision on Karta Pobytu (Residence Card) in Poland. How long should I wait? [33]


There can be many things taken into consideration. Someone with a poor attendance record at the university (indicating that they are working instead) could very well be denied a residence permit.

Food / Using Polish cooking books in an English version? [16]

I was recommended exlibris-pl.com/ksiazka.htm?id=281 - this one - "Polish Cooking" by Marzena Kasprzycka. It comes highly recommended by a German chef I know.

Love / I Love a Polish Girl (I'm from India) [28]

Says the American who routinely cooks everything in butter or bacon grease, as well as being from the country that gave us biscuits and gravy and other delicious heart-stopping treats.

Love / I Love a Polish Girl (I'm from India) [28]


Hardly a bad thing if your children don't know what fatty, greasy meat is.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


Monia, I made it clear that the course was offered by the Faculty of Law and Administration. Most people reading PF know the difference between "Faculty of... " and "course". You could just admit (as Paulina did, honourably) that you simply didn't know this. It also isn't offered by the Gniezno branch, but rather it is located in the main faculty building in Poznań. I don't know why you've brought up Gniezno - oh dear, you've been caught lying, again!


It isn't a "funny course", because if you actually knew anything about the course in question, you can see that it's quite a serious course in terms of knowledge gained.


I've heard of trying to save face, but this is taking the ****..


I made it clear how easy it is to access tuition free studies offered by the Faculty of Law and Administration at UAM.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


I think a lot of this abuse doesn't happen anymore, but it's still apparently rife in subjects that require a portfolio as part of the entry requirements. Can't say for certain though, as you never know how much is simply sour grapes by people who weren't good enough.


Yep. I was told all about this by a recent graduate of a very good high school in Poznan - she hadn't done well enough in her gimnazjum exam to get into the high school in question, but she (on her own initiative!) figured out who was worth talking to and asked them for private lessons to help with her English. After the first two lessons, the teacher gave her a simple proposal - a year of private lessons and she'd get a place in the school for the next year. It seems to be particularly common with certain "profiles" that are quite hard to access.


Basically - imagine having to study a course that is almost as difficult as law, but doesn't give you any right to follow a career in law? That's the Europistyka course :)


I guess it's also about power as well - if you can run a department with 1000 students, then you've got more power than someone who runs a department with 500 students. And so on and so forth.

I'd like to see the Ministry making it clear that entry requirements must be imposed for courses to stay funded. A place like UAM should not be letting anyone with less than 60 points near the university - which just so coincidentally happens to be the kind of score required for psychology and other popular courses.


Oh, I know this - she's just getting harsh treatment for the way that she abused others on here.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


I think it was more of the case with very desirable fields - for instance, I think Spanish a few years ago was pushing 90 points for entry. If the exam was administered at the course level, then there would be huge temptation to simply pay for private classes with a professor - I know it still happens with desirable high schools where the ability to 'insert' a student is still possible. It might not be outright bribery, but you get the idea. For me, it's the worst sort of corruption - because it is very hard to prove wrongdoing.


I think the problem with this course is that it's very tough going without giving you 'papers' - the professors are expecting people to be of the same standard as law students, yet they obviously aren't.

But for me, it all goes back to the entry requirements - it just seems insane that they would even want people with a crap Matura in their university. Don't get me wrong - there are courses at UAM with incredibly high entry requirements too - Norwegian had 91 points for entry last time round!

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


I think anyone who speaks English understands that "Faculty of Law and Administration" refers to the "Wydział Prawa i Adminstracji".


It isn't a faculty, it's a course. And it is a course that is heavy on European law.


It's a course within one of the best departments (if not the best?) at one of the best universities in the country. I believe that many professors from the Law course also teach on this course.

Can you imagine a top university in a Western country admitting people who barely passed their maturity exams? Sorry Monia, but it just shows that Polish education isn't anywhere near as good as you pretend it is.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


Monia, "faculty" refers to "wydział" in Polish.


I think you owe me an apology.


Which is still pretty low compared to the scores seen elsewhere. 80 points, even 85 should be a bare minimum for law.


I don't need to lie, I understand the difference between "faculty" and "course".


I think we trust cms far more than we trust you, a known liar who has previously claimed to be an expert in law, medicine and aviation among other topics.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


I smell nonsense, as a poster was once named. London can't afford you, yet you only have a budget of $1000USD a month in Poland? Hmm.

Something tells me that you're actually looking at Poland as a place to get a cheap residence permit.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


I think it's a good idea in one respect - it cut down massively on open corruption, especially in very competitive subjects. The system now is all automatic, so it's much harder to just insert a student to the list who didn't make the cut. From what I know, there's still a lot of nonsense going on in particular areas such as art - where students who take drawing classes with professors then have their portfolios judged favourably.

But at the same time, I think there's merit in having exams for entry rather than relying on the Matura - as long as those exams are open and fair (ie, not abused by professors giving exam questions to students who go to them for private classes). I guess professors simply can't be trusted to behave honourably, which is quite sad.


Hey, I wouldn't complain at getting a European Commission salary ;)


Exactly. I suppose it's also useful for those who want to get a job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but again - this is so highly competitive that the course alone will never be enough.


Sad :( I know the Ministry has finally started to put a stop to some of the nonsense going on - I forget the details, but it's something to do with the student numbers - if they only recruit 70 out of 120 one year, then they're not allowed to open 120 places next year. But that can only cause standards to lower further as morons go for "easy" studies :(

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


Nope, nothing written/spoken now - it's all on the basis of the Matura grades. The problem is that the universities (in their quest for more and more money) are letting people into such courses despite them clearly not being suitable - so the end result is that they get a high drop-out rate and the university looks bad in the long run. Monia alluded to a high drop out in scientific subjects - because stuff like physics is admitting people with such crap grades that they've got no chance.


I've got a family member that studies it - it's basically orientated around getting a good job in Brussels. You should (afterwards) possess a decent amount of knowledge about European institutions and how they work, as well as being capable in the two foreign languages needed to get a job there and a healthy amount of legal knowledge. But at the end of the day - if they're admitting people with such shockingly bad scores, then there's no chance of them going to Brussels!


And yet the madness of the situation is that they opened up more and more places :/ They've got a beautiful new building to pay for, so the "wydzial" is basically opening up any old nonsense to justify it.

I'm not an elitist so and so, I believe that there are room for weaker universities in smaller places, but not at the 3rd best university in the country!

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


(missed it, I apologise)

Forgive me if I misunderstand this, but I double checked it with my wife -

2012 - the first round of recruitment (to use the Polish term) gave a result of 19.70 points needed for admission. But because people often apply to such courses just as a backup, the end result was that only 76 were admitted with the result of 11.55 points needed for admission. Every 1% at basic Matura gives 0.50 in points (a bit more complicated than that, but averaged out) - meaning that people were admitted with some truly shocking Matura scores.

I think it's an absolute joke - a good university like UAM should not be taking in anyone with the basic matura in certain subjects.


I completely believe you on this. Business sense is often completely out of the window - as witnessed by the attitude by many students towards the idea of getting relevant experience during their studies. I got some CV's not so long ago that had stuff like "hostessa" - and she wanted to be a teacher, yet she had only done the basic teaching practice and not an hour more.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]

Perhaps Monia would like to explain to us why the third best university in the country (UAM) admits students with a mere 11 points to a faculty of administration and law?

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


Which means that something is seriously wrong with the university and the teaching if this is the case. Or the entry requirements should simply be higher - but that would mean an end to the gravy train, wouldn't it?


But you claimed that 'free' studies are difficult to access in general. Trying to use medicine or dentistry as an example is pointless.


Indeed, a great example. I heard some brilliant cases from people studying business in the Economics University in Poznan - they were often forced to be able to be able to use completely useless economical formulas, but they couldn't complete a basic balance sheet.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


What rubbish. Loans for living aren't given to non-UK residents.


You're talking about the scholarships, which are not loans.


Monia, you make it far too easy, you really do :D

amuland.pl/Portal/Progi-punktowe/DL-EUR-2012

11 points last year to get into tuition fee studies at UAM. That was chosen at random.

11 points is equal to around 35% at Matura. I'm sorry, but LOL. And this is one of the best universities in Poland.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]

Because in Polish universities, they learn vast amounts of theory and next to no practice. In the UK, they learn practical things ;)

Feedback / Alterations of thread titles - automatic or moderated? [10]


I think this is a bad idea - we already saw how certain trolls got very upset when their posts about Israel and Jews got moved to the off-topic section.

Study / MBA in Poland for 40+ and older? [62]


For some reason, I don't think cms is bitter or disappointed in any way. Realistic and pragmatic, yes.


Because they don't speak Polish.


Not really. They may know everything about theory, but their practical skills are often shockingly low.


Polish students have problems too, not least because of the pitifully low entry standards for many courses.

Life / What makes a man a Pole? what does it mean to be a Pole? [187]

Except it isn't. No-one recognised Poland as being occupied, no-one considered it to be occupied (especially as things such as the Free City of Krakow existed) and no-one outside of Poland except those blinded by ideology consider it to have been occupied.

The presence of a people on some territory doesn't indicate occupation.

Life / What makes a man a Pole? what does it mean to be a Pole? [187]


Are we talking about the people or the country?

The lack of a country doesn't stop the history of the people from existing. Poland may have vanished from the map, but the people were still Polish.

Nationality isn't tied to the presence of a nation state.

Life / What makes a man a Pole? what does it mean to be a Pole? [187]


There wasn't a Poland, as recognised internationally. For Poland to have existed, it would require that crucial thing - sovereignty. It didn't have any.


Just because the language and culture survived means nothing - it would be like claiming that Slovakia has existed for many years because the Slovak language and culture survived. Or Slovenia, or Croatia, or many other countries that are new.

A good example is Montenegro. No-one in their right mind would claim that Montenegro existed as anything other than a subdivision of Yugoslavia between November 1918 and independence in 2006.


You might want to start with the Czech pragmatism versus Polish romanticism