Law / Red Tape - Polish drivers licenses [7]


No, not quite - the UK has quite a lot of grandfather exceptions for B category holders who passed before 1997. I'm not sure how it evolved in Europe, but the UK took the approach that they couldn't remove the right to drive something - hence why when the EU categories were harmonised, existing licence holders kept the right to drive what they could drive on the old UK "car" licence. That's why it seems that WB can drive quite a lot - because he would have had always the right to drive those things.

For instance - C1 never existed as a category in the UK. So you had the car licence, which allowed you to drive rigid trucks up to 7.5 tonnes, then (as I recall) class 2 (rigid trucks up to 44 tonnes) and class 1 (articulated trucks up to 44 tonnes). When it changed to the EU system, C1 was brought in - and thus anyone who had a B licence at that point was automatically given C1.


Count yourself lucky :P

Life / Who's Leaving Poland? [138]


Proper pubs then :(

The lack of a "local" pub is driving me insane here and makes me want to move into the centre of the city. I've got two that could be considered a local, but they're both 20 minutes away by tram and hardly local at all.

News / POLAND LEAVING WHAT COUNTRY FOR A BETTER LIFE?? [73]


Wonder where on earth she was buying it, because it certainly wasn't in any normal place.

Work / Moving for TEFL job to Poland, what can I expect? [12]


I can almost certainly assure you that there's unlikely to be any good restaurants or anywhere worth buying anything from in that town. Sure, scene bars and clubs suck - but you won't have *anywhere* worth drinking in such a small place - even a friendly local probably isn't going to exist there.

The thing is that Poles tend to have quite closed social circles as it is - you'll find it very difficult in a small town to actually integrate at all.

The other thing : I've heard of a few cases where foreigners going to small towns have ended up in trouble because their employer couldn't afford them. It's normal practice in Poland for schools to cut the most expensive employees first - and they will be the foreign native. In a small town, your choices are incredibly limited if the school has to cut your hours - you might want to consider job security as being next to non-existent in such a place. Ignore what the contract says, unless you can happily afford to sue them in a Polish court.

News / Anti-business Platforma mulls over huge hike for small businesses [3]


Jesus, just shut up and go away, will you? First you posted nonsense about Komorowski, now you're posting nonsense about PO and taxes - what are you, jealous?

PO are considering no such thing, in fact, the only thing on the table is a 1% increase in VAT for 3 years to reduce the budget deficit and the expansion of VAT to cover some things that aren't currently covered.

From Rzeczpospolita (the paper which supported Kaczynski) -


To avoid the risk of exceeding the threshold of public debt , increase VAT. To speed up privatization : the market will go packages PKO BP and PZU . There will be a higher pension contribution

Accelerated privatization and a temporary increase in VAT and the expenditure rule are the main locomotives, which , according to the Ministry of Finance have us guard against the dangerous relationship of public debt to GDP ratio at 55 percent .

The Government has today accept "Long-term financial plan for the years 2010 - 2013 " . For a few days the government raised the most controversial announcement of a combination of elements to organize and reduce expenses with an increase in income. Proposals to increase income, or raise taxes or levies , also caused quite nervous reactions of the Civic Platform politicians .

Jeez, this nonsense should be deleted from the site and not even discussed.

Mods, any chance of changing the thread title at least? It's not credible in the slightest and isn't sourced at all.

Law / Red Tape - Polish drivers licenses [7]

It's the same deal in the UK now - it'll be just that you had the grandfathered right to drive certain classes. What they did was after bringing in the new licence categories such as BE (car plus trailer above 750kg) was give the right automatically to those that had the parent category - so BE was given automatically to B holders at the point of introduction.

C1 is the right to drive a 7.5 tonne truck for instance - before what, 1997 or so, everyone that passed had the right to drive up to that limit. Now of course, anything above 3.5 tonnes needs a separate licence.

I think the only advantage a new British licence gives now is the right to ride a motorbike between 50cc and 125cc with L plates and no passengers.

Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]


What does Australia produce, apart from destroying her environment just to sell metals to the Chinese?


You bought something worth 10 zloty and thought that it would be made in a developed country? My my...you're either a complete idiot or completely naive.

Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]

Where? The only person who shares your opinions is an unemployable internet troll who lives in a dirty, small flat in Krakow with a grudge against the country because he didn't buy property when it was cheap.

Work / Information about jobs for Indian students in Poland [286]

If you intend to work in Poland to repay your bank loan - think again.

Life / Why is cheating at schools in Poland accepted?! [155]


Come on, that's normal practice anywhere in the world.

Having said that, you should treat a 50 year old man exactly the same way as a 16 year old - a warning, and followed up by tearing the paper up. Or even for emphasis, tear his paper up straight away. He can hardly complain about being caught cheating, can he?

Study / Which Polish Universities are multilingual, and teach Psychology? [36]


I think the fear was that English students would especially take advantage in courses like medicine - Scotland is a cheaper place to live in general and a medicine degree is a medicine degree, really.

I wonder what's going to happen if tuition fees go up further for English universities??


Yes, it is. It wouldn't be legal to have free education for only Scottish residents - the fee charged has to be the same for all EU citizens.

Study / Which Polish Universities are multilingual, and teach Psychology? [36]


All EU citizens must be charged the same tuition fees by law - in the case of Scotland, it's free. Finland also is free, I believe.

Curiously, English students are charged, but that was to avoid Scottish universities being swamped with English students.

Work / In Warsaw moving to Lodz...thinking about part time jobs.. [10]


I somehow doubt that you have a work permit. Anyway, it's not valid for anyone but the employer listed.

Study / Which Polish Universities are multilingual, and teach Psychology? [36]


You could study psychology at any university in Scotland for free, why pay? :)

Travel / Which train in Poland am I less likely to get shanked on? [30]


Is cost a factor? If not, you should try and get tickets for the overnight sleeper train - it's the most civilised way to do the 9 hour journey. As I recall, you can either take the Polish train that terminates in Szczecin, or there's also the sleeper train that comes from Lviv. Both go through Wroclaw and are really a much, much more civilised way to travel and certainly safe as houses. But - I would advise against travelling in the normal compartments on the overnight train. I've done it, it's safe - but it's utterly unpleasant and you're bound to end up stuck in a compartment with moaning students.

Otherwise, take the TLK. If you go 1st class, you can make a reservation - which is highly recommended at this time of the year.

Having said this, InterRegio can be fine as well - the only issue is that you're not guaranteed any quality on the train. I've travelled on IR trains that were superbly comfortable (double deck, with ridiculously comfy seats) - and also ones that had plastic seats, it's really hit or miss.


I dunno - during peak times, the guaranteed seat and compulsory reservations for all make it a much, much better way of travelling. I wouldn't dare travel on Friday afternoons or Sunday evenings on anything but EIC.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]

It does do in terms of sole traders - unless something has changed very recently, non-EU citizens (apart from some, such as US citizens) cannot become one. No difference in terms of limited companies, though.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]


Wrong. For the vast majority of non-EU citizens, it's not an option as it simply isn't allowed.

Talking about companies - the UK must be one of the easiest places to open one, as it can be done entirely online and pretty inexpensively. No tax on dividends either, as I recall.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

To be fair, it's more to do with their nasty habit of not telling people about what they sign - though in all fairness, they're the ones idiotic enough to sign credit agreements without actually reading it!

Teachers do seem very happy with Speak Up though - I know several from the Poznan branch and all of them are very content with the lack of hassle and the fact that it runs throughout summer.

Do they have the amazing write-on-glass-walls trick there too?

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Quite the opposite - look at how Profi-Lingua is still in business despite doing an awful job in general and producing many unsatisfied students. Their marketing is second-to-none, and people always want to learn English.


There are unofficial results available if you know the right people, but whether or not they're genuine, I have no idea. And yes, I agree - it would never happen. In some respects, it's not fair either - I taught occasionally an FCE group who were told that they shouldn't attempt the exam. They did anyway, and failed miserably - and it was all their own fault because they were lazy, unmotivated and with a real problem with accepting their true level.


It wouldn't surprise me. The British Council brand, for all the corrupt, jobs-for-the-boys-and-wives-of-the-boys nonsense that goes on with it throughout the world, is still exceptionally strong even in light of their cost-cutting and "refocusing". IH, for what it's worth, is hardly a reputable brand.


I don't think they're bad, but Poland is littered with examples of bad schools that not only survive, but flourish - mainly due to excellent marketing. Look at Speak Up for instance - many unhappy clients, yet they prosper.

Law / How to register a new business in Poland [129]


I pay 100zl+VAT a month in Poznan for an accountant who deals with ZUS and the tax office, handles up to 50 documents a month (incoming/outgoing, doesn't matter) and provides advice on an ad-hoc basis. Given that it's Warsaw - then I'd be inclined to say that 150zl+VAT is a fair price. For someone English speaking and competent, then 200zl+VAT.

Work / Moving for TEFL job to Poland, what can I expect? [12]


I would seriously reconsider it. It's a nowhereville village (town is pushing it), and Radom is universally seen as being a bit of a dump with very little to do. It's also likely to be a very conservative place - which is great if you enjoy the church and tedium, but it'll be hellish if you expect anything exciting to happen.

You can expect to be rather lonely there - the odds of there being any English speakers your own age are very low, outside of the people working in the school. It's also worth noting that such a school is likely to be tiny - so you will be a big shot, but equally so, you'll have all the drama associated with it.

If you want, PM me what they're paying you and I'll give you a fair assessment on the deal.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Or, more accurately, that they're willing to pay for the name. The British Council has been established in Poland for years - even during Communist times. Older people in particular pay great emphasis on the name - particularly the ones who are now directors of companies.


From what I know, most of them are paid for by their companies.

Also, given that the BC is one of the worst examples of a British quango, it wouldn't surprise me if many students are studying there as a result of dubious links between the BC and Polish businesses.

Love / How easy is it to pick up a girl from a club/bar in Warsaw ? [65]


Truthfully? If you have money, it won't be a problem - there are always idiots out there willing to be your girlfriend in exchange for being treated like a princess.

Otherwise? Forget it, the idiots aren't interested in poor people and the decent girls have no interest in randoms.

News / Pole loses language discrimination case in Germany; Scandalous! [97]

That's the question that people haven't answered - why is he only allowed to see them supervised? Seems rather odd to me as well.


I'm almost certain that in Poland, a German speaking man with supervised access only would be prohibited from speaking German to the children.

Travel / A Bad Long Train Ride (Sosnowiec-Krakow) [5]


Sure, with all that laundered money, Switzerland can afford to have nice trains. But they're not very fast in Switzerland either, are they?


Lies. It's actually 90km.

USA, Canada / Polish Citizen, US legal resident, but no Polish Passport... [67]


Curious. If you were a member of Solidarity, then you were in Poland in 1980 at the earliest. Everyone was issued a PESEL in 1979 or so, so the internet says.

Work / Private teaching and Polish law [4]

It's an absolute doddle - just make sure you have someone Polish to guide you through the process and it couldn't be easier.

The crucial thing is that you need an accountant (usual cost - between 100zl and 250zl, but you should find someone to do it for 100zl+VAT) and you absolutely must pay ZUS and the tax office by the deadlines.

Usual practice is to start the business on the 1st of the month, then you pay tax by the 20th and the compulsory ZUS contribution of 350zl by the 10th.

Work / Private teaching and Polish law [4]

As it stands - you will be resident in Poland for more than 185 days in a calendar year, therefore you're liable for Polish taxation. There are murmurings that the impending placing of VAT on education is going to be met with a very tough crackdown on private teaching - so you would be best to register as a sole trader in Poland and pay the taxes.

Travel / Poland-My 9-day experience [239]


Definitely. It reminds me of the UK in the late 70's/early 80's - institutional racism as standard, with many people harbouring a dislike of other colours for the sake of it.

Many well educated Poles use the term "******" in English freely as well, which is....surprising.

Genealogy / How hard is it to get a Polish passport? [74]


In practice, Poland just doesn't recognise the other citizenship rather than actually punishing anyone. Most countries in the world operate the same way, really.