Work / Questions about moving from UK to Poland - work, taxes, child benefit [30]


That's quite ambitious. I know a German teacher who earns 1600 after tax, full time!

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]


Well, i believe that my degree and experience could potentially fit into your description of "good".

I can tell you, that my lifestyle, apart from when i worked in Switzerland, was nowhere near as good and comfortable as it is here in Poland. I have worked in Ireland, the UK, Netherlands Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine (although there i worked for myself) and now Poland and i must say, that i feel extremely comfortable.

Others may see it differently. But i have made the experience that there are people to whom you could hand a 200 zloty note as a gift and they would find something to moan about it.

News / Multi-culti (in Poland) -- roadmap to disaster? [344]


Why not?

I have found Poland to be a great country to live in and if you bring something to the table, also quite lucrative. I can not imagine to have a similar lifestyle in my home country (Germany) as i have here. Here, i do not have any stress or worries about any commitments (i.e. pain in the ass family members bothering me every Sunday). I work a pretty relaxed job that also allows me to travel abroad paid by the company, do a lot of private travelling throughout the country (something i would not do as often if i lived at home), go out for dinner every night because my disposable income allows me to do so. What's not to like about that?


Highly doubt that!


If you cannot bring anything to the table, you will most likely have a difficult time in any country, not only Poland.

Work / Translation Company in Poland - would it be profitable here? [12]


I am not sure if you really understand what it means to open and grow a succesful business. If you are serious about your "real business", the hostel that you want to open, having a hobby will be a luxury, leave alone actually turning a profit from your hobby. In the beginning which includes the time before your business actually kicks off, you will most likely be working 14 - 16 hours a day. I am not sure how you want to squeeze in a translation / proofreading "hobby".

I really think that you need to sit down and clearly think about your options and what you really want to do. Talking about a "profitable hobby" while also planning your "real business" sounds a tiny bit deluded to be perfectly honest with you.

Life / Warsaw or Wroclaw - for better cost of living? [19]

Exactly.......so why recommend Warsaw? :)

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]

So it is better to say "I could not get a job" or "did not want to get a job for that money" instead of saying "unfortunately my circumstances (family commitments or whatever) did not allow me to work in IT whilst being in Poland so i decided to work as an English teacher to still be able to provide for me and my family"?

I do not work in the IT industry but to be honest, if any applicant would tell me that they worked, no matter what job, instead of just sitting on their bum, they would have my attention.

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


On the contrary.

Employers more often than not appreciate the fact that someone was able to adjust to their circumstances and did what they had to do to earn a living, even if they had to cut down a bit.

It's beyond me how anyone can see something negative in the ability to adjust and be flexible.

Life / Want to become an expat to Poland? Consider your options before going abroad. [18]


You can not even the most simple of researches, yet you wonder why you have been taken to the cleaners.

Poland joined the EU on 1.05.2004. By my calculation that means that Poland has been a member of the EU for over 10 years.

But keep blaming others for your situation......

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


You meant "losers", right?

It's a pity that you never got to teach English..............

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


"They" do indeed :) :)


A telling off by whom? As far as i can see, you are the one who failed. Who are you to tell anyone off in your position?

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


Ah yes, of course, traitors leaving their country. Remind us again what you did two years ago? Only difference is that you could not make it, while you see other expats enjoying a great lifestyle in the country you failed in.

All i can see is bitterness. Leave, get out and try to get your life back together.

Work / Thinking of working or investing in Poland (Think AGAIN!) Experience and attitude of British toward Poland. [80]


That has to be the biggest nonsense i have ever read. If anything, employers will appreciate the fact that you went out of your way to provide for your family, instead of just moaning about your situation. That nonsense talk about being "professional" has gotten you nowhere in Poland. Now you have to pack up and leave and instead of trying to find the errors on your side, you try to blame everyone else. How are you going to explain the 2 year gap on your CV? Will you tell employers or agencies that you were too good or too professional to teach English? Good luck with that! My guess is that you will even fail in your home country with that attitude

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]


Well, unless Serbia starts to fund construction or any other projects in Poland, i can not see why Poland would turn away from their current partners.

I will be waiting for the signs that says "Funded by Serbia", next time i am using the motorway.

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]


Absolutely. Go for it! Importing "stuff" is always a good business plan

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]

ufo973

Which platforms fo you work on? I would be looking for someone to develop a webshop as an extension to my wordpress site.

I have been thinking about prestashop but still struggle with some of the configurations. Happy to pay for the work (ideally at a decent price) or partner up. Let me know

Law / Any good business ideas - what Poland needs? [114]


Kebabs are still going well in Poland, but there are just too many Kebab places. In 2012 / 13 i lived 2 minute walk from the Rynek in Krakow. In my street alone, there were 5 kebab places. Needless to say that the braniac who opened the 6th one did not last too long.

In Lodz, the "Kebab House" on Piotrkowska is constantly busy. I can only assume that they are still making a fortune.

What does Poland need? Well, what doesn't it need? It seems to me that many pepople focus on what they see when they visit Poland i.e. busy Irish Pubs or Hostels and suddenly they believe that they can also do it and make it, without thinking it through properly.

It is not difficult to open and run a succesful business if you are creative and determined enough. But Poland, just like any other country, is not a place where people who have no sense of business go and still make it. If you can not run a creative and successful business in your own country, you will most likely fail in Poland too.

Work / Suggestions for starting a business in Poland ( I have 50/60,000 USD ) [59]


The "200km" referred to Germans from a bit further afield who would travel all that way, just to sneak up some bargains at the markets at the border, a cheap tank of fuel and some cigarettes. It may have made sense years ago, now there is hardly any savings to be made anymore. So opening a supermarket, in the hope that it will be flooded with Germans looking for bargains would not make any sense anymore. Specially not when taking into consideration that there crossborder shopping flow now goes into both directions.

I remember a few years back (maybe two years or so) when Poles snatched up all the sugar in the supermarkets on the German side.

Work / Suggestions for starting a business in Poland ( I have 50/60,000 USD ) [59]

Plus, in order to be able to sell at prices like Biedronka, you have to buy like Biedronka i.e. in bulk.

But in any way, i think the times in which the Germans even drove from 200 km away to get a bargain just across the border are over.

In fact, you see more and more cars with Polish plates standing in the parking lots of the supermarkets on the German side of the border.

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]

What did you have to do to get yours?

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]



That could well be the reason as to why it was so easy for chesnakas.

I can definitely confirm that they do not issue PESEL numbers automatically in Lodz.


The level is slowly but surely dropping :)

Ok, so i just went to foreigners in poland website. Here is what they say:

"To get a PESEL number you need to fulfil a couple of legal obligations that hang over a foreigner. First thing is obtaining a residence permit for a fixed period of time and the second is registering your place of residence. (...) It takes up to 4 weeks for the City Council to issue you with the PESEL, but it may be less depending how busy the Council is"

foreigners in poland / polish-law/pesel-number.html

Can you please explain to me how this is in any way different to what i have stated in post number 5 of this thread?

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]

I can only tell you which process i have gone through last year and which process every single one of our 300 foreign employees goes through (everyone the same process).

Now unless we have all been wrong, our PESEL was issued incorrectly and Lodz Voivodeship workers do not comply with the Polish immigration rules and regulations, I will not move away from my opinion.

The fact that you have been "in and out of Poland" for the past 24 years does not change my own experience in getting my PESEL (also the experiences of our 300 foreign employees).

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]


As a EU citizen, they do not ask you for proof (at least they did not ask me). However, they ask you to tell them when you have arrived anyway. Whether or not you tell them the truth, is up to you.

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]


That is quite interesting.

I have just been through the process of getting a PESEL last year and your way, would in fact have been the wrong way.

That said, it could in fact be different for people residing in Poland without an employment contract i.e. registered as sole trader. In that case, it would be fairly difficult to first go to register with the immigration office as you simply won't be able to show an employment contract. Right?

However, the OP clearly mentioned that he is employed so "your way" (apparently the only right way) does not apply, does it?

So before you tell the OP that your way is the only right way and everyone else knows infact nothing, you should try to understand that there might be different scenarios. If you are employed with a contract, first you go and get your "zaswiadczenie o zarejestrowanie pobytu obywatela unii europejskiej.", then you go and get your PESEL.

In my opnion, this also seems to be easiest way.

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]


I am not sure if there are any differences from Voivodeship to Voivodeship but in Lodz it is a folded white piece of paper.

I just googled it and there seem to be different versions of it when you just google pictures of the zaswiadczenie o zarejestrowanie pobytu obywatela unii europejskiej.

Anyway, whether it is blue in one region and white in another, this is what you need first, before applying for your PESEL.

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]

It is the other way around.

First, you need your work contract etc to get your resident card from the immigration office. Without that card (actually a white piece of paper), they won't even look at you when you try to register your address (with the rental agreement) to eventually get your PESEL.

First things first.........

Law / PESEL for EU citizen working for a EU company (not Polish) in Poland [42]

Hi,

yes, first of all you have to register your arrival in Poland. For that, you need the following:

1 Copy of your employment contract + original version to show them
1 Copy of your ID or passport + plus the original to show them
2 Applications forms - all filled out in Polish with oeriginal signatures (so don't fill one out sign it and then make a second copy)

1 Statement specifying your arrival in Poland
1 Statement indicating that your understand your rights and duties of registration

After about 2 -3 weeks, you will get your "zaswiadczenie o zarejestrowanie pobytu obywatela unii europejskiej". Of course, you will have to go and pick it up. They don't send it.

With the "zaswiadczenie o zarejestrowanie pobytu obywatela unii europejskiej" you go to the town hall to register your actual address. You do this with your passport. application form, Certification of registration (zaswiadczenie o zarejestrowanie pobytu obywatela unii europejskiej) as well as your landlord (or a legal rep. of your landlord).

After another 2 - 3 weeks, you can go and pick up your piece of paper with your PESEL number.

It may sound like a complicated process, but in reality it is fairly easy (if......your landlord is willing to register you).

Travel / Warsaw to Prague Trains [21]


From Zebrzydowice to Warsaw ticket costs 136 PLN (according to IC website). Zebrzydowice is the first stop in Poland after the PL / CZ border, approx 15 Minutes from Bohumin.

Somehow, this seems a lot more realistic than your earlier mentioned 130 PLN all together from Prague to Warsaw.

Travel / Warsaw to Prague Trains [21]

130 PLN sounds fairly cheap from Prague to Warsaw. I remember paying 160 PLN from Katowice to Brno (also via Bohumin) which is only half the journey. Are you sure the website displayed 130PLN for the full journey?

Are you not able to book it online if even a price is being displayed?

Work / Warsaw - General Employment Situation for French man focusing on Business Development B2B and HR/Recruitment [8]

@ Jeremy, i believe that job-poland is run by a French man based in Lodz. Could not hurt to drop him an email through the website to see if he could maybe help you to establish some contacts in the recruitment industry in Poland.

Law / Ways of getting Permanent residency in Poland [101]


I take that as sarcasm :)

Well, in recent years they have started to enforce rules a lot harsher than they used to. But, unfortunately, in a lot of cases they have deported the wrong people.

For example families from Kosovo and Bosnia which lived in Germany for over 15 years were suddenly deported. Sometimes the children were born in Germany, have never been to Kosovo and hardly speak the language of the country they are being deported to. There have been reports on immigrations surprising families with a visit at 4am, made them pack up their belongings and brought them straight to the airport without any notice. Three hours later they were in a country where they had no home anymore, no source of income and hardly anyone to go to. Even in Kosovo the 100 Euro assistance money to get "settled" doesn't go a long way.

Mostly these were families who tried everything to integrate in Germany, even spoke German at home so their children could get a decent education in a German school.

Then you have people, who before going to Germany to claim asylum already plan to break every rule possible and even ask about it on forums. Those are the ones who are most likely to get away with it, exploring every single loophole.

To be honest, it makes me sick......