Law / Existing Polish bank accounts for clients without PESEL number would be frozen starting August 2019? [23]

I was very interested in this as I, as a GB citizen living in the UK (no Pesel) have accounts in Alior bank in Krakow. In your case, I would close all the accounts in mBank and go to another bank. All US nationals have to comply with Facta reporting..

USA, Canada / Thoughts on moving to Poland from USA [62]

You are kidding yourself if you think that. People on a fixed income are already feeling the pinch.

Law / Do foreign companies like Latin America or US based send Poland tax info? [3]

No, it is not just for record keeping. It is to establish your tax position and if any tax is due to Poland.

Real Estate / Leasing a flat in Poland: How can a foreigner fulfill the guarantor of eviction clause on short-term leases? [21]

Water is separate and he can only bill you for it after he produces a bill showing how much they are charging him. You should have a water meter in the flat and should pay according to how many cubic meters of water you have used. Chances are that he can bill you separately for rubbish disposal as well (this may depend on whether you recycle or not).

Work / Do I need a Health Insurance? Freelancer in Poland (umowa o dzielo) [22]

If you are from an EU country and have the health card, you have emergency cover for accidents, but only if you are on holiday. You are entitled to the same service as any other Polish national. If you are working in Poland you will have to pay into ZUS otherwise you will not be covered. You can take a chance, but if it doesn't work out and you need treatment you will have to pay out of your own pocket.

Real Estate / Leasing a flat in Poland: How can a foreigner fulfill the guarantor of eviction clause on short-term leases? [21]

Once bitten twice shy. A good reason never to mix business and family. He has been bitten once.
A better idea would be to go somewhere else. If at the start you are having these 'misunderstandings', think of what it would be like later on. If however you decide to rent the place, make TRIPLE sure that you take 100's of photographs of every bit of the flat and get him to sign and date the photos, so that he does not slap you with extra costs at the end.

Real Estate / Leasing a flat in Poland: How can a foreigner fulfill the guarantor of eviction clause on short-term leases? [21]

The landlord is quite right. The Law states that in the event of non-payment, he cannot evict you (especially if you have a small child) and if he wants to do that, he then has to provide another place for you to live. This is why he has to be sure, that if you don't pay your rent or you behave badly, he can get your stuff out legally and put it in the other place. Once the other people say that this will be your bolthole in case of something, the police can take you out and put you in that other place. This is standard clause in the contract, because in order to evict someone it takes years to go through the Courts, meanwhile the person usually stays in the flat without paying any bills and no one can forcibly evict them.

Your best bet is to go and speak to the police or to any solicitor/lawyer to establish the facts.

UK, Ireland / Polish passport - Can I apply from the UK? [51]

In order to get a Polish birth certificate, you will have to have the British birth certificate translated by a sworn translator. Then you can register the birth in Polish records.

Language / "Pan" or "Ty" - how people address each other in Poland? [55]

You are quite right to complain. It does not matter whether it's fast-food or slow-food establishment. The people serving you, waiters, baristers, managers and everyone else (all jobsworths) must remember that if they upset one person, that one person will lose them at least 20 customers. If customers don't come the staff will in time lose their jobs and the business will close. There are thousands of places to eat and enjoy yourself and the staff must do something which will get you back there rather than you going to the competitors.

I had a place (bar) where I had been going for main meals for about 10 years. (This is every day for 6 months of the year when I am in Poland). The owner of the place then changed and once, after being given the soup, they forgot to give me the cutlery and I reminded them politely at least 3 times they totally ignored me. I got my cutlery when the soup was stone cold. I ate it, but complained to everyone I met that the place, once they have your money, does not give a xxxx about the service. They all agreed as had experienced similar episodes. I never went there again. Not only that, but about 10 people went with me. We were all too polite to formally wipe the floor with them and voted with our feet.

Now there is a new owner and we've returned. And I still get 'Pani' each time I come and I call the owner 'Pan' to his face.

Language / "Pan" or "Ty" - how people address each other in Poland? [55]

When you meet a Polish person first time always address them as Pan/Pani. In time they may allow you to call them by their first name.

If someone addressed me (a lady pensioner) as 'ty' I would be very displeased and would wipe the floor with them using the Polish vernacular which they may not have even heard of.

UK, Ireland / Polish passport - Can I apply from the UK? [51]

You need to contact the Polish Embassy or the Polish consulate. Go on their websites and read up about it. You may need to make an appointment to talk to someone.

Language / Pronunciation question: ę at the end of a sentence [5]

Generally, you will only hear the 'e' at the end.

Work / Tax calculation filing jointly and having 2 kids - Poland [13]

Just out of interest, I looked on the calculations of salary of 5,750 pln per month gross, the net would be 4,006 pln per month.

Law / Surname Question - ski/ska [6]

If you married your partner in UK, then it would be easier to tell them that you want 'ska', as if ever you need to register your marriage in Poland, they could only register you as the surname on the British certificate and that would be 'ska'. If you were a 'ski' then there would be problems as your daughter is a 'ska'.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

My apologies, you are right. Benefit payable only until the child is 18.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

It would be very difficult to introduce the property tax (podatek castralny) based on the value of the property, as first every property in Poland would have to be valued. In the villages (where PiS is well supported) people who exist on the minimum pensions may find that 10% tax on the value of their properties is beyond their means and PiS would soon lose votes.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

When all the high-earners have left the country for work elsewhere, there will be no one left to support these free payments.
However, we will all see the results of these policies in 5 or 10 years.

I have just read that VAT in Poland will go up to 26% to cover social payments. This will mean that prices will rise and everybody will be worse off.

Life / Childcare / Creche in Poland - typical cost? [15]

It would be easier to employ a full-time nanny to live in. Look on gumtree for adverts.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

You still have to submit an application. The 500+ is also granted beyond the age of 18 as long as the child is in full time education.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

Just aside. I receive a small Polish pension and got the 13th in May. However, no one bought my vote.

Law / Polish citizenship - translation of birth and marriage certificates - MSF or sworn translator? [7]

The translator maybe a bit less than 200 pln, but this includes 2 original versions of the translation. Some departments may want to retain an original translations so it is best to have another copy.

I have gone through this same process in Krakow. They charge 50 pln for submission of the application. They may ask you for a name/address/details of a person (a proxy) in Poland who can receive correspondence from them. Be prepared.

In your position, if at all possible, I would have all the 'foreign originals' with me, come to Poland for a few weeks, get the translations done, submit an application and wait. Bring everything you have.

Law / Are foreigners with kids on work visa in Poland eligible for the "Family 500 PLN" benefit money? [36]

The sad thing is that people in receipt of the 500+ do not realize that they themselves WILL have to pay for this through increased taxes. In the villages, where PiS is very popular, many people have lower-paid jobs and this extra 500+ means a lot to them. They do not comprehend the fact that increased prices for food and media and transportation will get more out of them through taxation than the 500+ they receive. This 'bribe' and the '13th' for pensioners are all funded from 'borrowed money', which will have to be paid back with interest.

When the Finance Minister threatened to resign and said that there is no money, Prezes (all powerful with no responsibility whatsoever) said that 'we will borrow as much as we need as we must win the Elections.' This is what happened.

Law / Polish citizenship - translation of birth and marriage certificates - MSF or sworn translator? [7]

I have had numerous (maybe 20) documents translated from English into Polish by a sworn translator. This is the only translation that they will accept. Each translator has a number which needs to be stamped on the documents. They then take responsibility for the translation.

These are the only translations that are accepted by the department. I have been through this process myself. Translator charges vary, but usually go on for a number of characters including spaces.

Count on 200 pln for birth/marriage certificates.

Work / Tax calculation filing jointly and having 2 kids - Poland [13]

1. Yes, but only if one partner does not work or has any other income.
2. Yes, you can claim tax allowance for children on your tax return. You need to find out how much, but you can deduct so much for each child.

Work / Taxes in Poland if working for American company? [12]

The fact that you need an accountant is because you yourself will have to pay taxes and insurance and everything else. It has nothing to do with working for a foreign on local company. Many firms prefer this type of arrangement (i.e. you have your own company) because they do not have to pay you sick money when you are sick, or holiday money when you want to take time off. You are in effect working for yourself. You must have advice from a good accountant as to what is best for you.

Classifieds / Translation Needed: Zuzanna Danilowicz's Birth Record; And a P.S. [27]

There are records stored in Archiwum Panstwowe in Suwalki. You would need to go there to see the records. The first line of each index is the adress 'Suwalki, ul. Kosciuszki 69' and then the name of the person who added the record 'Maslanek Joanna'.

Make arrangements to see them and either go yourself or nominate a proxy. It is very likely that you would be able to obtain copies of the records they hold.

The separate line shows that this has come from the parish records of Rosochate Zalesie. .

History / In WW2 Poland who was eligible to sign the Volksliste ? [48]

I gather from the document that the nationality was 'Pole' and beruf/profession was a 'farmer/farming hand. Many people who lived in the Kaszuby region had German ancestry.

Love / Asking Polish Girl to be in a relationship [22]

I go to Poland often and observe couples (young and old) talking to each other. Very few actually 'talk' to each other and treat each other with respect saying nice things and being loving. What I often hear is loud voices, direct commands, words demeaning the other party and often think to myself that if a man or a woman said that to me, they would end up in hospital with a broken jaw and I am not a violent person.

Feedback / What makes an excellent forum? [119]

I have often found that in an argument (or a heated exchange of words) it is always better to remain calm and say absolutely nothing. You might be boiling inside but say nothing. The other person will go out of their mind as they want you to fuel the fire. This solves nothing. One thing they want is for you to see things their way (right or wrong) and the person who has the loudest voice or the better swear words is very often in the wrong. When they finish ranting, you just ask 'have you finished?' and go onto something totally different.

News / Schools in Poland to strike tomorrow [235]

There was a survey done recently on teacher's working hours. A teacher who has 18 hours blackboard time spent 47 hours in total on education related activities. There should be room in every school for a teacher to conduct their business including a working computer and printer, and time for marking, lesson preparation, meetings with parents, telephone calls from parents, emails and everything else. After 40 hours the teacher should leave and that should be the end of the working day.

The Government relies on teacher's goodwill to take work home for marking, use their own computers and printers. They should what used to be called 'work to rule' i.e. to the rule book. If there is no school computer then the teacher will not use their own laptop to mark school attendance, put the results of all tests etc. The school should provide time and equipment.

A teacher should start on 3.5K pln gross and have incremental increases. A director of a school should be paid 15K pln gross at the very least.