Travel / Visa to Poland for a person from India [52]


To do what?

News / New Polish gambling law - outlawing gambling except in casinos [34]


It may be, as suggested above, a useful way of cutting money laundering without making it too obvious publicly. I don't think most people disagree that 'Joker kiosks' are a blot on the landscape, but apart from that, it seems like a cheap way to steal votes from PiS.

Law / How can I get Polish citizenship after been married to a Polish spouse [75]

It's three years minimum.

There's also a good chance that a Polish language requirement will be brought in sooner rather than later, so I advise you to learn Polish now.

News / New Polish gambling law - outlawing gambling except in casinos [34]


This is the thing - they should simply legislate to get rid of them, while keeping them in pubs/etc where they belong. Or of course, they could simply make the maximum prize no more than 25zl - which would instantly spoilt the attraction for "kurwa boys" and the like, while still allowing them to be used as entertainment. A 25zl top prize (more in casinos, though!) would also put a stop to such 'Joker' clubs instantly.

Travel / Ski and Snowboard - Poland 09/10 season (updated: 10/11 season) [84]


Any recommendations for a place for an absolute beginner to learn how to snowboard, without being full of screaming brats and their neurotic mothers?

UK, Ireland / Business VISA to USA (currently living in UK) [6]


Citizens of Poland need a visa regardless of the circumstances, even if they're just transitting.


It is possible, but be prepared for rejection on the most ridiculous of grounds.

UK, Ireland / Born in Poland, living in the uK. Applying for Visa to the USA. [10]


You can apply. But America being America, you'll either need a good scholarship or a good bit of money available to you. If you want a visa to study in a mediocre community college, it just won't happen. Of course, if you're applying to an Ivy League place, then you won't have a problem. Be warned that America will want proof of considerable financial resources, unless you go down the scholarship route.

As for a free visa - forget it, unless you're on a scholarship which might cover the costs for you.


Much more difficult. A visa for studying is easy enough, but to get a visa to live and work there is incredibly difficult, even for EU citizens with stellar track records.

Language / WHY THE HELL CANT I LEARN POLISH?? [64]


It's not that rare actually - I've spotted a few old films with English subtitles on there!

Real Estate / Buying Property in Poland is out on Amazon [7]

Not a bad idea actually...

Travel / Credit / Debit Cards to use in Poland [37]

Yep - most banks are happy to welcome foreigners. mBank is probably the easiest of the lot, though.

Genealogy / Polish noble origins information [17]


Could you e-mail me his details at office@lindenia please? We could do with a good contact in this field :)

Travel / Sports bar in Poznan (SKY) [11]

Someplace Else in the Sheraton does, but it's the only place in town that does as far as I know.

(I know the feeling!)

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


Makes sense to promote the name virtually anywhere I can, doesn't it? As I say - things are going fine and the business is viable :)


Depends what the client wants, doesn't it? There's so many intangible factors that you can't magic a price up out of thin air. But as a rough guide, we try and go on charging the cost of travelling (receipts/etc provided - no sharp practices here!) combined with a fair hourly rate for the person doing the investigating - and this is all agreed in advance so there's no surprises. The more they pay, the higher quality the person will be - it's as simple as that - and it's entirely up to them.


I don't mix personal and business time? :)

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


It's working nicely, so there's plenty of sense :)

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]

Brits can go to Poland, send their children to state schools for free and use the NFZ too from day one... :)

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


Oh dear. If someone tried to hand me 200k in cash for something, I'd first of all ask them to deposit it in a bank and to deal with a lawyer, not me. I'd also be incredibly suspicious of why someone would hand 200k in cash to a small business that mainly deals with saving people time - it's pretty obvious that the cash would be dirty :)

And you didn't try to deal with us at all, so quiet little man - get back into your failing Indian restaurant and leave us alone! :)

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


The problem is that the more you try and do so, the more publicity you give me. The amount of enquiries and web site visits always, always goes up when you do - which is awfully kind. In fact, it allows me to refine things further - so really, all you're doing is helping me :)

Let's be honest, if you want to keep up a 'sustained effort' - then you're welcome. I don't know how you can be bothered, but hey :)


It's comical, because it actually is. The website keeps getting hits, e-mails and phone calls keep coming in too - and people are actually using us. It's doing absolutely no harm - keep it up! I don't think I would've had such the same opportunity to promote the brand and what I do if it wasn't for you :)


Native English speakers feel much more comfortable with their own than Polish people - this much is a fact. Then we add in the fact that Polish owned businesses are notorious for extracting vast amounts of money from 'Westerners' who don't know any better, and the fact that most people would actually like to pay 'Polish' rates rather than 'expat' rates, and it all adds up to a rather sound business case.

But seeing as you're obviously so interested - first month in, and it's already proving viable. People want my services - and they're paying for them. Nuff said :)

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


myp2pforum.eu/tvu/29718-soccer-channel-problem.html

I wouldn't go calling other people liars if I were you...


Oh dear. It's a bit difficult to con people when they pay for advice and results, isn't it? :)

Still - I suppose liars can always find it difficult to deal with honesty.

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


Oh dear. If I was a university drop-out (I'm not - still studying!), then you might have a point. But I suppose that you're just bitter that 'online proofreading now!' courses aren't really comparable to Higher Education.

As for 'comeuppance' - really, shouldn't you be spending time with your family rather than issuing pathetic little threats on internet forums? Oh wait, that's why you're banned from quite a few internet forums, isn't it? :) But hey - jealousy won't get you far, except maybe proofreading a few restaurant menus in small Eastern towns.


Didn't hurt some of the most famous names in business, did it?


Ah, it's personal you see. He's a forum admin on some TV streaming site, and we had a bit of a row on here because he threw the toys out of the pram. Since then, he's been trying to personally attack me here, there and everywhere - instead of answering one very simple question that he refused to answer :)

I like to call it the 'bored expat can't speak polish' syndrome.

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


Which is how any professional service should be operated, and we're no different. We might be of use to you, we might not - who knows?


You again? :)

I'm quite glad you've cropped up - every time you do, I seem to get more people visiting the site and sending me enquiries. It's actually fantastic, free marketing!


Why would I purchase a house when I'd like to live in the city? :)


Our clients are more than satisfied, thank you :)

But hey, the rantings of a jealous proofreader in a backwards town in Eastern Poland are very enjoyable to read - keep them up!

By the way - how's the piracy of UK television getting on? :)

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


Yes. Polish people by nature who live in new developments are very, very open about this sort of thing - in fact, Poles are not so bothered by talking about money in general. It's also a question of who you send - after all, a short skirt can do wonders ;)


Yup, which is why it's worth sending someone on the ground to find out exactly what something is worth. There's also the fact that someone on the ground can often find out things that aren't published anywhere - for instance, flats going cheap because some Brit bought an overpriced flat and now can't get rid of it.

People can do it themselves - it's not a black art, it just saves them time and potentially money. If you've got time to do this stuff - great! But many, many people don't.

Law / How do you set up a company in Poland? [46]


Yep - us - Lindenia

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]

I'm sure an expert like yourself knows fine well that many of these adverts are utter nonsense in one way or another. Poles are among the best in the world when it comes to false representation and propety - I think anyone who's ever had any sort of dealings with property in Poland can tell you this. Private listings are meaningless - the prices quoted can be nothing but fantasy compared to what they actually want.


It's one of the most effective ways to find out what people have actually paid to others - if not the most effective way - and it can often reveal things that aren't public knowledge. You also never know what might be offered - one of the best ways of finding property is, after all, getting out there and knocking on doors.


Yes, because an English speaker is really going to obtain things at Polish rates. Don't be silly - I have people to do this sort of thing for me.

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]

Pretty obvious, isn't it? Most English speaking consultants will see native English speakers as being gullible and willing to pay a ridiculous price for things. We get people things for Polish prices - and we tell them straight if they're being ripped off. For people that don't have a grip of things in Poland, it's pretty useful - and not expensive!

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]

Yep, based in Poznan - but I do know Lodz fairly well.

To give an idea of what we can do as an example - we can send someone to Lodz to spend a day exploring the property market there, talking to people that own the kind of flats that you want to buy, etc - then once we've developed an idea for the 'real' prices, we can then look at what might be achievable. By acting as a go between, we can do things such as approach sellers directly - and even discuss with flat owners about the potential of selling up. We can do anything, really!

The general idea is that we should be able to save you a considerable amount on the kind of prices that 'expats' get charged - even when it comes to finding a mortgage consultant, we look for one that knows the market and isn't looking to profit from foreigners who don't know the market.

Real Estate / Foreigners can now buy houses in Poland [55]


Depends very, very much on your own financial situation. Generally speaking, if you want a mortgage in Poland and have the money to buy outright, but don't want to do so - then you won't need a residence permit. But if you're taking a mortgage on without being able to pay the entire loan off immediately, then the EU residence permit is a very wise idea. Having said this, the situation can vary according to who you talk to - my advice is to stay well away from English speaking consultants.

My company, Lindenia, can impartially advise you on this (we don't have financial links to banks, mortgage consultants, estate agents - we are impartial, unlike most in Poland!) - lindenia

Law / i have a british learners licence valid for 10yrs can i apply 4 polish licence?? [6]


You'll need to have the 5 year EU residence permit before sitting the test in order to fufil the 185 days legal residency rule.

Other than that, you're free to go - there's no provisional licence here, so you just go to a school, sign up for the 30 hours of theory classes in English, do the first aid course and get a medical check, then do the 30 hours of practical training, then the test is yours to sit. The theory test is available in English in some localities, and you'll need a sworn translator for the driving part of the test.

Just spotted that you're in Poznan - zdaj prawko .com is highly recommended and provides you with everything you need.

Work / I want to move to Poland (but of course we need to find a good job) [117]


Ask Companies House what they think of Ltd companies that don't have printed articles of association and memorandums ;) UK company law is every bit as arcane as Polish company law, it's just executed differently.

Work / I want to move to Poland (but of course we need to find a good job) [117]


Aha, I was just reading about this. Those online limited companies are a waste of time, because you still have to comply with the Companies Act - which means having the articles of association and whatelse printed on a certain grade and colour of paper, among many other things. While it's true that you can get away with it

But the UK is really progressive in this sense - and a Ltd company really means nothing in the UK. At least in Poland, a Spolka z o.o suggests that they're serious. But hey, different countries, different systems.


Is it really such a bad problem that they want to verify who you say you are? Seems much more secure if you ask me...


Where on earth are you dealing with that does that? I have to deal with four places regularly - the Urząd Miasta, ZUS, the Foreigners Office and the Urząd Skarbowy - and all of them are a dream to work with if you have some common sense. I've even found that the tax office is willing to bend the rules a bit in terms of what information they give over the phone!


Saves time - and time is money for many people, I suppose. What makes more sense - spending hours persuing Polish webpages, or paying us to get straight answers?


It's not really about the how, but more about the getting - people don't have time to mess about with landlords and so on, so they can pay us to find them a decent flat with a decent landlord at Polish prices rather than expat prices. If you consider that expat prices might be 500-1000PLN more than what locals would pay, the first month alone would see them saving money.

Work / I want to move to Poland (but of course we need to find a good job) [117]


Not true. Setting up as a sole trader here can be done in as little as two weeks - including waiting time for documents to be posted. In fact, it can be done in a week if there isn't too much going on at the Urząd Miasta.


You don't need to in many cases - and in most cases, they need to see you in person anyway.


Wrong. You can actually do quite a bit by telephone. I get answers to many enquires over the phone on a daily basis.


Funny - most payments are made either online or in the same office.


Plenty of information is available online! Some isn't, sure - but what country (apart from Estonia, maybe?) has everything online?


I'd rather have the factual laws than nonsense hypothetical situations. Laws we can use to achieve a result - hypothetical situations are good for nothing.

As for reverse lookups - they're mostly illegal in the EU, so Poland is no different.

If Canada is so great, why don't you stay there?