Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


I never had to either - just to the Urzad Miasta to submit the forms, once to the tax office (where they helpfully pointed out that one of my PKD codes meant compulsory VAT registration) and then back to the Urzad Miasta to pick up the documents. After that, everything was automatic - no need to talk to GUS, no need to talk to ZUS (my accoutant sorted that). The REGON came automatically in the post as well.

Quite painless really.

Law / The risk of investing in Europe has risen and Poland has suffered accordingly [90]

They had their chance and blew it.

Mind you, Catholic-Socialism isn't exactly going to help Poland either.

Law / The risk of investing in Europe has risen and Poland has suffered accordingly [90]

Democracy is democracy.

Again - who else? The SLD? PSL?

USA, Canada / What are the odds of my girlfriend getting a USA tourist visa? [70]


Aren't you the gentleman?

No wonder you were unwilling to move here.

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


I can actually think of a few occasions where arrogance by foreigners has caused them endless problems - usually concerning "ah, what do I need to do that for? it's stupid".

Funnily enough, the most successful foreigners here I know are the ones who have adapted to Polish conditions.

Life / Bureaucratic issues in Poland - I sorted complex problem using the telephone and email [37]


I solve simple issues all the time. No fuss, no pain and it's dealt with decisively.

In fact, I just applied to ZUS for a paper I needed to confirm that I'd been paying social insurance here - and it was ready within 18 hours.

Most foreigners problems with Polish bureaucracy isn't due to the bureaucracy, but rather the arrogance of foreigners.

Law / The risk of investing in Europe has risen and Poland has suffered accordingly [90]


I think it was pretty much in the public mind that EU membership = pots of cash. And to be fair, the EU made good on that for the first 7 years of membership. Of course, now that parts of Poland are wealthier than parts of the "old" EU, the tap is getting turned off - and with it, the massive sulk.


So, who would be good? What political party in Poland today could do a better job?


The current government was voted in by the majority of the Polish people.

I know Mark, you'd really like the Polish government to give you a free flat in Krakow, but it ain't gonna happen.

Study / The worst of Polish education. No wonder Polish universities are bottom of the list. [142]


Ahem! ;)

I think the saddest story I have is of a group of teenagers that I used to teach. They were great kids, I was only 23 at the time and they were 14-16, so we had a mutual understanding of "being a slacker" and "I want to go to sleep, not sit here". Everything was fine and well, until I decided that we would spend two hours playing games. I couldn't be bothered that day, they couldn't be bothered - so it made perfect sense.

So, first game was hangman. To make it relevant, I was using phrases from their coursebook. It was great, we had a laugh with some of it, everyone was happy - until I caught one of the kids cheating. He was actually looking through the book for the potential answer - but only when my back was turned.

Unsurprisingly, they all got an hour and a half of exceptionally tedious grammar teaching as a punishment. The icing on the cake was making them write about when they last cheated - and the sad part was that all of them had cheated in school within the last two weeks.

The kid never messed with me again, though ;)

UK, Ireland / Registering my Polish girlfriend with the UK home office? [4]


It's abolished as of April this year. It's pretty unlikely that they'll bother anyone now for working illegally - and there seems to be no cross checking anyway, so she's pretty safe now.

Law / Is it possible to open a home based bakery in Poland? [14]


Not sure about the need for a licence for you personally - I don't think there's any requirement, though.

You'll need to deal with Sanepid - and crucially, meet their requirements. There are very strict requirements for food production in Poland - and they are notoriously fussy. Certainly, you should evaulate if it's worth the hassle of dealing with food inspectors for a small business.

Yes, you'll have to register as a business.

Law / Karta Pobytu - how long can i stay temporarly out of Poland? [30]


The problem is that as usual, the wording is vague enough to be interpreted in different ways. I've found that in Poland, it's best not to try and do esoteric things - with the new law punishing civil servants for making mistakes, they're going to be absolutely unwilling to take chances and will be more likely to reject things so they don't get it wrong.

In this case, I can't see them fussing about a couple of months away, but they might not be too happy with a prolonged absence. It's also worth pointing out that they will probably check tax records - and someone who isn't declaring income to the Polish authorities will set off alarm bells.

Law / Karta Pobytu - how long can i stay temporarly out of Poland? [30]


They may. There's absolutely no guarantee of how they might interpret such absences from Poland - and as I recall, one of the criteria for permanent residency is that you have to show work history in Poland. Obviously, the Karta Pobytu cannot be refused to a family member of an EEA citizen - but you certainly might find that they deny an application for permanent residency based on your absence.

USA, Canada / REFUSED A HOLIDAY VISA TO THE U.S CAUSE IM POLISH [323]

It's not the most bureaucratic country on the planet - you need to try and live in France!

Even as an EU citizen, France is absolutely absurd to live in.

Law / ACN direct selling telecom company in Poland [45]

ACN, isn't that one of the pyramid schemes that Donald Trump endorsed?

USA, Canada / What are the odds of my girlfriend getting a USA tourist visa? [70]


Oh, sure - anyone with sense would make sure that they have everything documented to show the border guards.

Mind you, I did once get questioned on the Ukrainian border after telling them that I was going into their country for 10 minutes to buy beer!

USA, Canada / What are the odds of my girlfriend getting a USA tourist visa? [70]

Look at the UK border - it's quite common that someone with a valid visa is refused at the border. You see quite a lot of Americans and Australians refused too, especially if they don't have an onward ticket and don't look to be arriving on business.

The general rule for most countries is that you want to show that you have the means to support yourself as a tourist, as well as behaving like one. Turning up with vague plans and little knowledge of your destination would seem to be a big "here to work" sign.

USA, Canada / What are the odds of my girlfriend getting a USA tourist visa? [70]

He got dumped already, so that plan is out of the window.

Life / Anybody from Sanok? Good, bads, uglies? [10]


Just a few days here and there - it's a perfect gateway to Bieszczady and often overlooked, but I think it's a great place to visit.


No, definitely not - I can't imagine there being many foreigners there at all. Maybe a couple, but certainly not a lot.


Have you considered some of the towns in Dolnoslaskie? Places like Kłodzko will be dirt cheap to live in, yet much closer to civilisation in general.

Language / Rzeczpospolita Polska - translation? [42]


One issue could be that even the translation "Commonwealth" could be incorrect - as there are other Commonwealths, whereas there's only one Rzeczpospolita. As Ziemowit says - in English, it expresses the idea of a union - whereas modern Poland is a very centralised State with no aspect of "Union" about it.

Of course - there's no reason why it can't be Rzeczpospolita Poland in English. This could be a perfectly adequate solution - Greece is officially "Hellenic Republic" in English, after all. There's other countries with equally odd names - The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, anyone? There's even "Plurinational State of Bolivia"! Heck - Libya is officially "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" - whatever that means :)

One question (Torq? you're the man for this sort of thing...) I'd like to know - when did Poland expressly become a Republic in terms of being mentioned in a constitutional document?

Language / Rzeczpospolita Polska - translation? [42]


Oh, this is indisputable. Poland's bad deeds during the II RP are a drop in the ocean compared to Russia - but really, my point is that Polish history isn't exactly "clean" either.

(my home country? Sadly, my home country is a cold wasteland populated by Celts, Picts and a few Nordic types for good measure, all mixed together. Only time we ever saw any Slavs was after 2004 ;))


It depends on how you view the use of Rzeczpospolita. It's obvious that the founders of the II RP wanted to show that the Polish state was the direct successor of the I RP - hence the use of Rzeczpospolita. But the II RP (and, following it, the PRL and III RP) have all been very much Republics in nature - there is certainly nothing "Commonwealth" about them - and the use of Rzeczpospolita is simply for continuity purposes rather than for any sort of significant meaning. Even the Small Constitution (although not expressly saying it) makes it clear that the country is a republic.


Well, first of all - you have the problem that Poland borders the "Commonwealth of Independent States". That's one very good reason to avoid using the name Commonwealth in English. Then you have the way that the country is clearly described as a Republic in the Constitution - why create conflict?


It's dull, sure. But Commonwealth wouldn't be so good either - it would imply the presence of some sort of monarchy.

Language / Rzeczpospolita Polska - translation? [42]


Nothing? There's certainly enough skeletons in the II RP cupboard to write a very nice book - I'll start you off with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lw%C3%B3w_pogrom_(1918) . You could also perhaps read about the Polonization campaigns after Pilsudski's death, and perhaps finish with the annexation of Zaolzie.

Poland between the wars was no saintly country, that's for sure.

I can only assume that the reason for keeping the Rzeczpospolita name was solely to make it clear that the PRL was the successor to the II RP - perhaps to undermine the Government in Exile too. Or of course - it could just be a simple recognition that the Polish word for Republic (when applied to Poland) is Rzeczpospolita and not Republika - a mere historical curiosity.

Incidentally, would you want to risk the "Commonwealth of Poland" being possibly associated with the "Commonwealth of Independent States"?

Love / Appropriate Wedding Gift for a Polish girlfriend of several months? [37]


Blimey, what kind of weddings have you been going to?

For what it's worth, I really despise this habit of giving money - it's even worse than the British habit of creating "gift lists".

(delph - who really hopes no-one gives him any money come his own wedding soon)

Real Estate / Buying a flat in Krakow; prices are still falling? [200]


Anyone who got in here in 2002-2003 will be laughing today - but the people who were gambling on off-plan developments in 2007 quite rightfully got their fingers burnt.

Prices seem to be pretty stable now though. And still beyond Biernat's wallet!

Language / Rzeczpospolita Polska - translation? [42]


It's not a bad idea. But Rzeczpospolita Polska just sounds so much better than Republika Polska!

Isn't the whole idea of Rzeczpospolita designed to show that the II and III RP should be considered to be successor states of the I RP, rather than for any practical reason? Likewise with the French Republics. The English name naturally follows practicality rather than convention.

(always thought it was odd that the PRL used Rzeczpospolita rather than Republika - you'd think they would have wanted to have a "clean break" with the past)

Real Estate / Do any UK banks offer mortgages for Polish properties. [37]


For that to happen, it needs the Euro to become strong again, combined with investor confidence in the Zloty and a weak Pound.

But virtually every commentator was saying that the Zloty was nowhere near enough to sustain 4.1 - and look what happened, it collapsed to 5.25 within weeks.

For what it's worth, the PLN/GBP rate has always been very unstable.

Language / Rzeczpospolita Polska - translation? [42]


Russian controlled?

You do realise that it's the Russian Federation in official language, don't you? Russia has never been a republic - and the republics that make up the Russian Federation are autonomous only in name. If anything, you want to blame France, not Russia.


Commonwealth is hardly unique either (Virginia, Kentucky, Dominica, Australia, et al) - and really, in English, is used more when a State doesn't have full independence. It would also be incorrect - Poland is Poland, it's not made up of autonomous constituent parts, nor is it part of something bigger.

Don't forget - "common wealth" also has undesirable socialist tones.

Work / In search of an English speaking Au Pair in Poland [14]

Gumtree would be the first place to start, I think.

I'd also post on CS - especially in the London group and other places.

Hmm...could also put an advert on the UK jobcentre site?

Law / Thinking of opening up a Greek restaurant in Poland, bad idea or good? Jenkei [45]


No, the Polish-Americans love cheap Mexican food.

The Poles on the other hand are a bit "bleh" towards it.

News / Poland building an empire (instead of a nation)? [67]

Poland, finally, is starting to realise that history must remain history - and that historical grudges should be set aside for the sake of the country.

Working closely with Lithuania and Ukraine makes perfect sense.

Law / I want to run a Persian (Iranian) restaurant in Poland! [46]


Hmm. With clever marketing, a female Persian restaurant owner could make a lot of money here. It would certainly be unique!