Law / How to apply karta pobytu on basis of business in Poland [4]

I'm from the UK. Yes, my company - lindenia - and yes, I had no problems whatsoever. But non-EU citizens have it much harder, except Americans, who are allowed to become self employed here.

I'm in Poznan, so I know the score with the Foreigners Office here - and yes, they're sick of me.

Law / I have to fix Karta Pobytu for EU citizens [20]


I would try and push this - they should have access to the old paperwork and might be able to speed things up. I assume you've got a PESEL - I would make sure to clearly show them this, and generally anything at all that shows "yes, I have lived here before and no, I'm not some dodgy foreigner". It might even be worth attaching a couple of photocopies of the old Karta Pobytu if you still have it - they won't necessarily want or accept it, but it can't hurt.


They have a pragmatic attitude here - they do visits, but very often, if the person isn't home, the police just tell them that there are "no problems" - I was visited, wasn't home, they left a number. Came back from holiday, called them - and got told "oh, we decided that you're not a threat to Poland" - which was nice!

But thinking - if you have a PESEL, then they very well might just check your police record using that and not bother with an individual visit. Or what you could even do is submit a copy of your police record in Poland - I *think* you can just go to the police station and pay 50zl for a copy there and then.


Ah, only for non-EU citizens. :)


Oh jeez. I was thinking from your description that it might be somewhere like Russia, where you can pay someone off in London to sort it...but I cannot imagine Saudi doing anything to make it easy for you.


No problem, I owed you one anyway ;)

Law / How to apply karta pobytu on basis of business in Poland [4]

What kind of business - self employed, sp. z o.o or other?

Law / I have to fix Karta Pobytu for EU citizens [20]

Jonni, you should have sent a PM to me, I'd have given you the answers straight away! ;)


Basically -

You need the 3 months temporary zameldowanie first of all, get that from the Urzad Miasta, you know the score. You'll need what it asks for on the form (can't remeber off hand exactly what - some silly amount of photocopies and photos). You'll also need a copy of your health insurance (proof of paying ZUS last month should be adequate), proof of your financial status (advised is to take bank statements and a copy of a work contract stating clearly the amount of hours per week, as well as proof of your own business) - that should be all, but double check with them.

The zameldowanie is easy - as Harry says, "last week" is always the answer. They were actually content in Poznan with my answer of "I went to Germany last week for 10 minutes". They won't care about your other paperwork when going for the zameldowanie - so you can happily lie to them. The Foreigners Office isn't interested in when you crossed the border, only when you registered your address.

Remeber that for the zameldowanie, you'll need the title deeds for the flat you live in, or a contract saying that you can register there, or the owners of the flat in person along with the title deeds.

But - did you ever have the EU residence permit before? It might be much easier to apply for a new one if you already had one, as they'll have done all the checks before - I've never actually dealt with someone reapplying, as most people just apply for the permanent stay after the 5 years is up.

The problem is with the police check - this can take a fair while to be done. Mine took a month to arrange to see me, and it was a month for them to actually report back to the Foreigners Office about me.

Oh, and at least here, it's 1zl to make the application.

What country is it? You might be able to pay someone in the UK to fix it for you.

Travel / Driving to Poland from England - any tips? [264]


What the hell? Is that just a weird Deutsch-rule designed around their need for everything to be neat and ordinary, or is there actually a good reason?

Language / Learning Polish, good for beginners? [29]


Indeed - any teacher who stubbornly sticks to one style of teaching is a bad teacher.

News / Hollywood's War with Poland. [150]


Most non-Irish audiences did, even the Americans. The fact that it's clearly mentioned in the film that de Valera was saved from execution because of his unclear citizenship passed them by, I think.

Thinking about it now, the only thing that the film did completely right was in the portrayal of what happened to Connolly. And to be fair, the film does a very good job of showing how complex the relationship between Collins and de Valera was.

On a different note, it's fascinating how today, the division between the two major parties can be traced directly to Collins and de Valera.

News / Hollywood's War with Poland. [150]


Ah, come on, de Valera was an American ;)

News / Hollywood's War with Poland. [150]


Jordan blew it - he said himself that he may never make a more important film, and yet he made a complete mess of it. It's a good film if you take it as fiction, but in fact - it's so inaccurate that it hurts. The worst thing is that he was given the time to tell the story correctly!

Leeson was fantastic as Collins though - believable, likeable and generally fantastic. Rickman didn't do a bad job (does he ever?) as de Valera as well.

...just don't get me started on Julia Roberts.

Language / The Plural of Zloty? [46]


I'm not convinced that 5 zloties is correct - it sounds like baby talk and doesn't sound natural at all in English. The plural of Euro is Euro - and should be likewise with Zloty.

Real Estate / Do we need to get a UK solicitor or a Polish one? [19]


Not necessarily so, if you do your homework and don't go to the first one that advertises "WE'RE ENGLISH SPEAKING".

History / Jaruzelski asked Soviets for assistance [51]


Actually, the historical evidence suggests that while Poland was on the verge of being invaded by the Warsaw Pact in late 1980, the tide had turned against invasion in 1981. Jaruzelski actually sought assistance from the Soviets, which was denied - Poland had to sort it out herself.

Incidentally, this is old news - it's all detailed in Timothy Garton Ash's book about Solidarity. Nothing new has really came to light since about Jaruzelski, bar the usual nonsense 'found'.

Travel / Poland from a Persian Tourist's Perspective [269]

Don't worry, I really hope he's not - I've only so far met one American in Poland who was actually fitting the stereotypes!

UK, Ireland / English teenager refused service at Polish shop [87]


Because she's a chav.

Make your own mind up - facebook.com/people/Kaley-Leighton/626745316

I'd say the shopkeeper is quite within his right to refuse to serve some underage chav.

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]



Post #3 answers it in blank and white.

Though - does Canada operate a worldwide taxation scheme like America does for her citizens? I always thought it was a peculiar Americanism that demanded that her citizens pay tax irrespective of where they live.

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


Nah, you confirmed what I thought - that you don't have a clue about how it works here for foreigners.

There are isolated cases where someone in the Urzad Skarbowy has demanded residency papers from someone before issuing a NIP - but they're just that, isolated cases.

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


Jesus, it's like talking to a brick wall.

Tell us - what experience do you have with foreigners in Poland?

And it isn't the same thing as the National Insurance number in the UK - because the PESEL is an personal identifying number, whereas the NIP is a tax reference number. The NI number is both.

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


For EU citizens, they really couldn't care less I think. Nor are they particularly bothered if someone has a PESEL or not - just that it makes life easier because you don't have the usual argument of "you don't have it, why not?".

Legally, it's supposed to be that you register your residence 4 days after crossing the border. But who on earth bothers?

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


You don't even know the correct procedure, so drop the bad language.


Sure, you need to live somewhere.


Wrong. You have 4 days after crossing the border.


Wrong. For EU citizens (let's use them, because they're easiest to explain) - you need to have a valid 5 year residence certificate AND a 5 year meldunek before you can obtain a PESEL. The process takes about 2-3 months to complete - are you seriously suggesting that people can't pay tax for that time? Get real.

You CANNOT be issued with a PESEL if you only obtain the 3 month meldunek, which you need to apply for the 5 year residence certificate as an EU citizen.

There are plenty of foreigners here who don't have a PESEL and yet manage to pay taxes just fine.

UK, Ireland / English teenager refused service at Polish shop [87]


All shops have the right to refuse service. Or do you advocate shops being forced to sell products to people? :)

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


So why did I, and many other foreigners manage to obtain a NIP without a meldunek or PESEL? :)

The theory is often one thing in Poland, but the reality is vastly different.

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


I don't know and don't particularly care. I assume that in the absence of residency data, they simply use the address that you give them when applying for a NIP.


No you don't. You can apply for a NIP without either of them. How do you think people are able to pay taxes in Poland without having a PESEL or Meldunek, hmm?

Go on, quote me the official law that says that you must have a PESEL and Meldunek to apply for a NIP. Go on, I'm waiting.

As we say - put up or shut up.

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


What has the existence of a field got to do with anything? If you have one, you insert it. If you don't have one, you don't. Simple. The NIP is your tax number, not the PESEL, therefore it's irrelevant.


Again, what has this got to do with residency documents and a PESEL? Nothing.

Tell you what - why don't you find me something that says that you must have a maldunek and a PESEL before you can be issued with a NIP. You won't find it, because it doesn't exist.

Even the form in which you apply for a NIP simply asks you "why do you want one?" and doesn't ask you to provide proof of residency!

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


That's got nothing to do with residency documents, nor has it anything to do with your claim that you need a PESEL or maldunek to pay tax in Poland.

Of course there are various forms and obligations, but that has nothing to do with residency documents!

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]


Wrong. Poland issues a NIP to anyone that wants one. I know quite a few foreigners here who have one without any sort of residency. Poland is quite pragmatic and accepts that it's better to have them paying tax than not, even if they're not formally registered.

There's also no link between residency documents and a NIP. They don't ask to see them and they don't care - a quick check of the passport is all that's wanted.

But as I said, he's obviously got a NIP if he's working in Poland.

Jeez, so much misinformation on these forums.

Work / Canadian working in Poland? How do I go my taxes? [30]

Andrzej, he's more than likely got a NIP if he's working here on a contract - it would be very surprising if he doesn't have one!


It's not likely that you can - as you're resident here for more than half a year, you'll have to declare to the Polish tax office.

Law / On the spot payment with Police (ticket) in Poland? [25]


What part of "they do not issue ID cards to non-Polish EU nationals" is so difficult to understand?

I could make it even simpler for you -

The Polish State does not issue identification cards to non-Polish EU nationals resident in Poland for a period longer than 3 months. Instead, a piece of paper, called "zaświadczenie o zarejestrowaniu pobytu obywatela unii europejskiej" - is issued instead. You cannot obtain an ID card in Poland as a non-Polish EU national - you have to obtain citizenship.

If you want to split hairs further, the residence cards issued to non-EU nationals are not ID cards as they aren't valid travel documents - and they are actually only valid in conjunction with your passport. They are accepted and seen as equal to a Polish ID card by many people, but they aren't the same thing.

A driving licence doesn't suffice as identification in Poland either. For a start, there's no mention of your citizenship on the licence, and it isn't a valid travel document either.

Why are you persisting with posting misleading information?

Life / Do expats living in Poland speak Polish? [233]


Just to make a point here - the vast majority of fluent speakers don't need to be taught English! Why would you teach a fluent person a language, unless it was ESP?

Law / On the spot payment with Police (ticket) in Poland? [25]

If you're living in Poland and don't have a Polish ID card, my advice is to get a Polish ID card pronto. There is a general obligation for Polish citizens to have an ID card if resident in Poland, so not having one (and yet being resident) could get you into a bit of a fix.

Good question actually - I think they would treat someone with a Polish passport (but not an ID card) as not being resident - and thus on the spot fine.

Work / Are you teaching English in Poland? [120]

It's strange, but I'd say that for EU citizens at least, opening a company in Poland is completely painless. The only painful part is paying ZUS each month!


I'd say that getting one makes life considerably easier in Poland.