Real Estate / Mortgage for foreigner in Poland - experience anyone? [13]

Usually the pre-contract agreements contain a clause that the deposit is returned if the mortgage isn't approved.

Study / Need advice with admission to the University of Warsaw!! Please help!! [26]


Dominic, do US universities not have centralised offices that make these decisions?

In my university in the UK, there was a specific department that dealt with such requests, and it was your duty to provide as much documentary evidence as possible to prove that the credits were transferable. You could never meet the people in that department, so decisions were made based on the evidence and nothing else.

In practice, you could add up to 180 credits out of 360 as long as the courses could be applicable to what you were studying. For instance, my friend had a biology degree, so he was able to transfer the full 180 credits to be applied against his second degree in horticulture.

Feedback / Access to Off-topic forum / random chat and posting therein [10]

Exactly. It's a fantastic idea, as it means those posters can be replaced with sane people who don't obsess over subjects that have nothing to do with Poland.

Life / Health cover for a married couple in Poland [70]


Nope, but they might well get a form of cancer that requires treatment with expensive drugs that the NFZ can barely afford. The risks increase with age, and the cost of your treatment will be at the expense of everyone else in Poland. There are news reports weekly about how the NFZ system is struggling to cope, and you want free healthcare from the same pot?


Risk management very much means not allowing retired people to get free healthcare if they've never paid into the system.


Self funded retirees are still a strain on the system if they get free healthcare here.

Law / Questions on Civil Wedding Ceremony in Poland- Do we get the certificate on the day? [25]


Why would they care? The law obliges you to be of sound mind, to bring your ID card or passport, and to have two witnesses with their ID cards/passports too. Oh, and you should also be able to say the vows, or have a sworn translator to translate them for you.

No-one cares about anything else, and they certainly couldn't care less about whether you're about to spend 200,000zł on a big party afterwards or what clothes you are wearing. In fact, you could even get married naked if the official agrees.

Law / Receiving money as gift from parents (Both Polish). What about a tax? [8]

It's tax free as long as you declare it.

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]


Which is why we're wondering why you've spent 20 years on this case, Croissant, rather than simply going to court to get access to the documents that you want to gain access to.

The fact of the matter is that Poland clearly regards you as an alien, and unless you can prove otherwise, you will remain one.

Law / Experience of a pre - divorce case in Poland [8]

Hard to say anything in this case, although I'm struggling to understand why you would put properties solely in her name.

Language / Best book for a language noobie? Learning Polish. [22]

I think it really depends on the language. In this case, given that Polish word order is quite flexible, it's not going to hurt if she uses the wrong case but has decent pronunciation. Polish is just so strange and alien for English speakers that I think getting hung up on the grammar is just going to cause her to give up, especially if she has no talent for languages.

I mean, I know someone who learnt Russian as a second language and therefore found Polish to be laughably easy, but that's not normally true for English speakers.

Work / Any Speed School of English in Poland? [54]


I wonder as well. You'd think they would have figured out by now to get a native speaker to write these posts with the help of some bullet points.

Language / Best book for a language noobie? Learning Polish. [22]


Generally speaking, I'd suggest leaving out grammar until she gets to grips with the way that Polish is built. If she's not good with languages, Polish grammar will just turn her off completely, and to be honest, it's perfectly possible to be understood in Polish without having correct grammar.

I'd say that completing the Duolingo course and being confident with the content is a great start - after that, she can worry about the grammar.

Work / Any Speed School of English in Poland? [54]


So we know who wrote this, then.

Here's a hint: you've made countless transference errors from Polish in your writing here. It's very obvious that a Pole wrote it :)

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]


It is a very serious topic, which is why applicants are checked against a wide variety of databases to make sure that they have no unpaid liabilities in Poland.

I know of one case where someone attempted to claim Polish citizenship through their deceased father. It transpired after a detailed background check that he had huge liabilities to the Urząd Skarbowy and ZUS, based on the fact that he had inherited the debts after the father passed away. Recognition of citizenship was refused until the debts were cleared.

Feedback / Access to Off-topic forum / random chat and posting therein [10]

I support it too. Time and time again, we've seen that a certain type of poster loses interest in PF when their posts cannot be seen on Google.

Feedback / Why would Polishforum be banned on a server [24]


For certain there are plenty of reasons, given how the poster known as "Deep" repeatedly attempted to post on PF with his insane diatribes while banned.

Life / Health cover for a married couple in Poland [70]


No, he couldn't. He would have to prove that he has health insurance from his own country first. You cannot get the card that proves it (the EHIC / EKUZ in Polish) without having health insurance. For instance, if you don't pay for health insurance in Germany, you can't get the card.


Yes, and in others, the charges are quite high. Again, it's a real struggle to see why I should pay 9% of my income for healthcare simply so someone that has never contributed to the Polish social insurance system (you) can benefit.


I think you overstate the benefits. That person also has potentially very expensive health care to pay for, particularly if they require long term treatment.

Love / I need advice: divorce and my rights as a father in Poland [165]

Not only advice, but for the lawyer to take on the whole case.

Either way, prepare for the worst and get pleasantly surprised by anything that involves more than no contact with the child.

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]


That is a remarkably naive view of Polish bureaucracy. If the person has such a case, then he should progress it through the Polish courts and onwards.


Polish citizens cannot lose their citizenship by law.


Quite. Someone trying to gain citizenship would be well advised to remember that a huge amount of background checks are conducted regardless if it's by descent or through naturalisation, and that owing money to the Polish state (especially for taxes/social insurance contributions) is a huge red flag.

Life / Health cover for a married couple in Poland [70]


I'm not sure where you're getting the impression that most countries offer free public health cover - that's certainly not the case in many EU countries. For instance, the German or Dutch systems require even retired people to pay monthly insurance fees, while others like the UK system are checking to make sure that you have history in the UK, which includes paying tax.


Most of us pay 9% of our salaries for health insurance. I repeat - why should you get it for free when we pay 9%? Would you prefer to pay 9% of your income?


No, it doesn't. The Polish system is an insurance based system, similar to the Netherlands and Germany. You have to contribute to get something from it.

Work / Polish employer suggests I have my own company in UK [21]

And it's completely wrong. Live in Poland, pay Polish taxes. Seems fair to me.

Language / Best book for a language noobie? Learning Polish. [22]

If she's not good with languages, get her started with Duolingo first of all. Don't go for a book just yet, it'll only frighten her.

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]

One thing that the OP would be well worth bearing in mind is that all applications for citizenship, either through naturalisation or through descent involve detailed investigation into one's affairs. That includes checking with the tax office, among other offices, and unpaid taxes (including social insurance taxes) are grounds for denying the application.

Having one's affairs in order is *vital* before attempting to claim Polish citizenship.

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]


It's not difficult to do. I can recommend him a good lawyer if he needs one, but as he is so certain of his claim, it should be trivial to petition the court to rule that he should be allowed to gain access to his grandfather's passport records.

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]

As far as I'm aware, citizenship is a reserved matter. The only thing that the European Union did was to establish the 5 year period for permanent residency, but the individual rules are down to member states. For instance, British citizens born outside of the UK and with no link to the UK do not pass on citizenship, as far as I'm aware.

Rather than talking about hypothetical court cases, the OP should begin by taking a case in W-Wa Srodmiescie, where I think the relevant USC for foreigners is.

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]


Exactly. Documentation is vital in order to ascertain one's claim. Many Polish documents were lost in WW2, but if the OP genuinely believes that the Polish state is hiding them from him, he should go to court to get them released.


Half? If such a scheme worked, I imagine they all would be doing it!

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]


For EU citizens. It is not a fundamental right for non-EU citizens, but rather a privilege.

Citizenship of countries is a matter for individual countries and is not under the jurisdiction of the European Union. Of course, you're welcome to take a test case to the ECJ, but that requires you to exhaust the route through the national courts first.

If the person was in Poland for 20 years, didn't have the nous to apply for citizenship through naturalisation and didn't take a court case to the Supreme Court in Poland, it's safe to say that they are simply delusional. Several forum members here have acquired citizenship through naturalisation, and as Polish citizens, they decide who gets and who doesn't get Polish citizenship. In this case, they have decided (along with other Polish citizens) that claims to citizenship must be documented.

From everything that you've described, I can tell you that Poland (like most other countries in Europe) require you to clearly document a claim to citizenship. You are not a citizen by virtue of your grandfather, but rather that your parent(s) must verify their claim first. It does not 'skip' a generation.

Law / Status of Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights [63]

I did see that. Wasn't there a somewhat notorious chap in Warsaw who spent years whining and complaining about this very topic? I forget the name, but he believed that he had a right to Polish citizenship because he was called "ski", or something.

Not even sure what's so difficult about getting citizenship, to be honest. Well, unless you look like the kind of person who drives around in an old van with "FREE SWEETS" written on the side.

Law / How to open a company with EU Funds in Poland? [18]

visit one of the many companies in Poland specialising in this sort of thing.

Life / Health cover for a married couple in Poland [70]


A person on 1500zł/month wages will have health insurance provided as part of their employment contract.


Why should you get it for free when I have to pay quite a lot of money for it?


They worked for 35 years and didn't keep records for when pension time came? Sorry, but that seems insane to me, especially after the economic change when employers simply vanished.

Feedback / Why would Polishforum be banned on a server [24]

Given the amount of trolling done by a couple of members on here, it shouldn't surprise anyone.