Law / UK Citizen - Getting Poland's temporary residence prior to Brexit [10]

Ok so if I was wrong I apologise I didn't have to show any of that stuff although I was married at the time maybe this was the difference. i would get health insurance anyway its a good idea. In terms of how much is enough to prove you can support yourself let say minmum wage is 2250 gross so 1650 net if you are employed so 12 months 19800 lets say 4000 english money. In real lif though tripple this

Good luck sorting it out. Man you choose the wrong time to come to poland the winter is the worst here. City or Country??

Law / UK Citizen - Getting Poland's temporary residence prior to Brexit [10]

This looks like an old one now I hope you sorted it. But if you havn't I think you have been given bum advice the two conditions are for a non eu citizen. just pop down to your local regional government office with your passport and it should be very straight forwar. Good luck

If not marry your girlfriend this simplifies things plus Polish wives are the best :)

Genealogy / Surname in the village - visiting the place in Poland where my father was born [4]

The best way is to contact the local Parish church if your family was catholic who may help you other than that if it is a village, the best way I have found is turn up in a strange car they havn't seen before and eventually some nosey villager will talk to you. You will have to speak a bit of Polish mind, but having done this myself I ended up in multiple peoples houses for coffee and cake just because a bloke speaking polish with a funny accent interested them.

Other than that post the name of the village I am sure if somebody on here lives near there they will help you out.

Real Estate / Buying building plot/land for building a house in Poland [5]

Ok so I would not say I am an expert but I have done this so heres is some quick and dirty advice.

You want to be looking for "działka budowlana" this is land which has permission in principle for it to have a hous on it normally it will have some restrictions to it but generally these are flexible. My plot were things like uptp 13m tall max for a house with a roof pitch of 45 degrees and other things but I submitted plans with a roof angle of 50 degrees and it was approved.

Then you want to look at what this land has Electricity, Water, Drainage, Gas etc. Do not believe any seller who promises you that there will be these things we made that mistake and 8 years on we are still waiting for the 2 months time we were promised. If you don't have have these things you can still build a house but facotr in about 30000 for water and drainage. Electricity is a must I think.

The next stage is to get a project you can buy them online and thats cheeper than getting one drawn I would look for someone to help you with the town hall process like an architect the submitting of the papers and planning permission takes about 3 months all told and about 4000 pln for the person to help you.

Then comes the fantastic process of looking for a reliable building company good luck with that one!

There are loads more things to consider.

All depend on the region etc etc

where abouts are you looking to build?

Law / Is there a legal requirement for us to support aging parents in Poland? [26]

Ok so the law states you have a responsibility to take care of your mother in the event of hardship but there are some get outs.

1. If you have been estranged from her for a long period you can claim in court no relationship and it will be upto the judge to decide. I wouldn't hold out much hope here as generally they will find in the parent's favour.

2. In order for the Polish court to make a decision on the amount you wish to pay, they must assess your income and they have no power to collect it in a foriegn country so you can basically just not send any details.

3. If you go down the I don't want to pay route though you will almost certainly forfiet any inheritance due if this is something you want it might be worth making a small payment .

4. The payment has to be shared equally between all siblings based on their ability to pay so if you have some rich brothers and sisters time to talk to them.

That's about it but basically they can't enforce this law in another country. So relax, Just don't move to Poland

Law / Fishing laws in Poland [4]

Dougpol is right almost all fishing requires a permit the best way to do this is to arrange a trip through a guide you may have to pay a little bit more but it will be worth it to have all the documentation straight. They do check these permits regularly and love to issue fine especially to foreign visitors. So if you know where you want to fish google the Local "Polski Zwiazek Wędkarski"

Work / Why do so many Poles accept to do such hard works abroad? [6]

I think the acceptance of low paid manual jobs is very psychological. You have to think of it if you were in their shoes. The average factory worker earns around 300 pounds a month for a very physical job and every month he/she struggles to feed their family.

So imagine you are a factory worker in the UK and you are used to your 9 pounds an hour, and all of a sudden you could quadruple that salary for the same amount of effort. Now working in a factory for 36 pounds an hour doesn't feel that bad does it?

That I think is the psychology and when they bring this money home it has a lot more buying power. Imagine like many brits owning a home was just a dream because of your 9 pounds an hour job, and then you quadruple your salary and you know in 7 years you could own a 150 m2 home with no mortgage it would help the drudgery of working in a hard job a lot I Think?

News / Poland exports 60 million tonnes of meat annually.. but.. [11]

I think this story speaks of a Polish attitude of making a little on the side.

I think that the slaughterhouse had no idea what was going on at night or choose to ignore it (making them complicit). I have come across this allot I think this is directly related to low wages especially in the countryside and the Polish tradition of finding a way to make some extra money. I am not excusing the video it was disgusting but I think there is a deeper problem here the fact that people will do extraordinary things to make a bit of side cash. The only way to solve this is to increase the low-level wages to a point where a family could survive on them. You try to live off 1500 pln per month with the prices here now.

As I said I am not excusing this video and if the owners did know they deserve the most severe punishment but I think there is a wider problem here what do you guys think?

Law / UK born, want to move to Poland. Rules? [17]

After the comedy version maybe now some practical advice.

So buying land as a foreigner you can buy up to a certain amount of building land (that is, land designated for construction) without any special conditions. I can't remember exactly the size but I do remember you would need to be building a massive hotel for it to apply.

No foreigner can buy "farming land" even if you are a pole you need to have finished farming school or be a priest so you want to be looking for land which is called "działka budowlana"

The next step will be doing admin like insurances buying a car getting electric etc things and for this, you will need a PESEL

Currently, the process is but again this is dependant on Brexit

To get a PESEL you will need to do the following

1. Apply for a residence card at the regional office of the place where you want to live not the town hall the regional office mine was Gdansk. For this, you will need to bring your Passport a marriage certificate if it is a Polish one it has to be dated within 3 months I think the same for an English one so you will need to get a copy and then you will need to have this translated by a recognized polish translator with a stamp. then after a month or so you will receive your residence card.

2. You will need to register where you live if it is your home this will be fairly easy if it is not you will need a legal rental agreement and the permission of your landlord most landlords will not allow you to do this so you need to check before you rent a place whether or not this will be ok. They don't like it as it makes it much harder to kick you out if you don't pay rent

3. After that, you will have a 5-year permit which after this period you can transfer to a permanent one again this may all change.

The Pesel is the key to being a citizen here so once you have this the rest is easier.

You will need to learn Polish trust me life here is almost impossible without the language.

Again give me specific and I will try to help you out more

Law / UK born, want to move to Poland. Rules? [17]

Having kind of done the same thing and to a village, I can offer some advice but I am a pre-Brexiter as the above say if our shambles of a government doesn't get their act together life will become much harder.

Ok so here is a rundown of all the mistakes I made so you can try to avoid them.

English thinking vs Polish thinking

English

I want to live in the middle of nowhere with a beautiful view far away from a road in a little cottage heated with wood fires ahhhh how romantic.

I will get a Job if the poles can live off 400 pounds a month so can I, We will have a house paid for and so I am sure we can live the simple life it will be nice to not be so consumerist.

I will get a job teaching English I am sure I can earn a decent wage whilst being self-employed and having more free time to relax.

Winter will be pretty Snow on the ground white Christmases sledding and horse riding in the snow.

Polish

You must be by the main road because in the winter how will you drive the 2 km of dirt track to your house. Beautiful view ha! but what about connections to electricity water and gas, I know the person who sold you the land said the would all be connected next year but I am sure he is lying. Wood heating are you crazy?!!! do you know how long it takes to chop stack and dry your wood, plus when you go out for the day, the fire will go out and all your pipes freeze, what will you do then you English idiot.

400 pounds a month, good luck with that English man, do you know how Kurva expensive Biedronka is??? One week's shop is gonna come to at least 80 pounds

Of course, you can teach English but remember that as you will be self-employed we will take 200 of your 400 pounds a month salary for Zus (National insurance) whether you earn money or not, because that is the law so just deal with it. Alternatively, work all the hour's god sends to enable you to live and work legally, or join the majority of Natives on the black market, but remember next time you have an argument with your neighbor he will report you to the tax office.

That white **** will ruin your life! Wake up every morning to shovel the f driveway and the path outside your house because if someone slips on the pavement outside your house even though you live on a forest road in the middle of nowhere, they will take you to court for not getting up at 6 instead of 7 and cleaning it so they could walk past your house in the middle of nowhere just for fun. O and forget driving home from December to Feb that's just not going to happen its a free gym everytime you come back from work hauling the 2 kgs of potatoes on your back through the forest.

Ok Rant over

A lot of that is tongue in cheek but there are definitely some things to watch out for. Be more specific and I would love to help you out

Real Estate / Help urgently - problems with the owner of rented apartment in Poland [6]

Ok so the first question is do you have a "legal " contract I am presuming you do that is why you think you have to pay the remaining 3300. I would imagine though if he is not paying any tax on the rental agreement I would imagine he won't want to go through the courts with it in order to get the 3300 from you. I would just refuse to pay and if he starts being aggressive about it. Say you will talk to the tax office about this I am sure he will soon calm down

Law / New car registration with old insurance after car purchase in Poland [5]

Enjoy the fun of the registration office a true Polish experience with lots of waiting, different rooms, paying and stamping of forms.

Have fun

For OC try Link4 or Aviva, they seem to be the best and if it is a beater car just buy the absolute cheapest, as OC is for other people not you.

Also you could try after you have done a quote online take it to a broker and see if they can beat it. I found if you go with quotes they will sometimes do you a better deal but without quotes you will pay through the nose

Law / New car registration with old insurance after car purchase in Poland [5]

You have to register this car within 30 days unfortunately and the myth that the old OC will work I have discovered is just that, a myth.

Think a couple of years ago it was the case but having bought two cars here now, I can confirm you will need to inform the OC company that the car has a new owner and both times we have done so they have made an extra charge for this. This charge was very high and we ended up taking out new insurance as it worked out cheaper to do it that way.

I think technically you can drive on the old insurance if the Police stop you but god help you if you have a crash. Also, the old owner can cancel the OC at any time or not make a payment and you will have no way of knowing this as all documentation will be sent to the previous holder.

I would say bite the bullet and get new insurance and register the car but if you are a foreigner this may be a problem as well, as you will need a PESEL

Welcome to Poland buddy enjoy!!!!

Classifieds / My interest in Korea can be traced to the beginning of the years 2000s... (GKS 2019) [4]

definately a scam watch out people

Classifieds / English/Polish speaking Canadian looking for work as Electrician in Poland [26]


I would say that this is true certainly if you have the right pieces of paper you will have to turn your phone off it will be ringing so much, but the pieces of paper are the key. Also, the economy is very different in different parts of Poland and the wages match this I have found that you can earn up to 3 times more in a city if your skill is in demand.

I would start at the Urząd Pracy but expect to be turned away with a shrug of the shoulders at first. I have found you need to use all your charm to get more than a brush off if you can find someone willing to help you I think they should be able to put you in touch with someone. You will probably be told like I was you need your residence card and confirmation of residence first though.

How I did it was bought a big cappuccino and used it to bribe my way past the initial refusals and eventually for the price of a couple more coffees I found a person who was willing to help me.

Good Luck

If you get it sorted and are going to live anywhere near Pomorski I may be able to help you with a job PM me if needed

Classifieds / English/Polish speaking Canadian looking for work as Electrician in Poland [26]

You are right that eventually, you will definitely need to learn the language of any country you wish to prosper in and I am only sharing with you my experience and my learning in order to give you a real view of what happens here.

I came here luckily with enough money to last 6 months without employment and thank god I did because I think this is the minimum time you need just to find out if you can work or not and if not formulate a plan B. Lots of people come here because its a beautiful country and they expect that because it is in Europe it will operate very similar to other European countries. When you are talking about anything official this is simply not the case.

My advice would be to start the process as early as you can get an extended holiday from work and come here with the sole aim of establishing if you can convert your papers and if so how long will this take at least then you will arrive with your eyes open. I have come across a lot of people coming here to follow a dream just as I did and they end up going back with their tail between their legs 2 months later.

I agree with France but in Germany, the demand for foreign workers is so high that standards are very much lower and the pay is not affected.

Classifieds / English/Polish speaking Canadian looking for work as Electrician in Poland [26]

I don't speak German, I think it would be harder for me to find work in Germany if I can't even speak the language

In Germany with English, you will have more chance to get a Job as 90% speak almost perfect English

I don't want to be Mr negativity. I dreamt too about coming here with a handful of English Qualifications in my hand and starting in the same high position I had in England but quickly discovered that my best option was English teaching. Can I survive? Yes, but forget making money the only way I have a decent lifestyle is because my English money paid for a house without a mortgage. In Germany, I could have started where I left off but after calculating the costs of travel and renting a place in Berlin I choose the teaching.

I think step one is to find out are your qualifications transferrable, but forget doing it on the net like a normal country, I am willing to bet that it will involve lots of trips in person to various government offices with lots of people just shrugging their shoulders at you.

On the positive side, I love where I live and wouldn't go back to England, but that may change the next time I have to change my car or some other big expense because my English money is gone and my Polish salary just doesn't go that far.

Law / UK Citizen resident in Poland dying intestate - inherited debt issue [17]

Yonita16

Where do you live I used a Lawyer in London she was a Polish one and is now an English one I am not sure on her speciality but if you live anywhere near London I will try and get you a contact.

It may be worth an investigation into the size of the estate as houses here are not cheap and I am sure his half of the house would be worth more than 20k make sure the new wife is not trying to put one over on your daughters. Maybe she is not but signing a waiver would be the way she gets all the estate and also the taking the car out of Poland thing is rubbish they could potentially. Depends in whose name the car is in. There are plenty of English speaking lawyers here in Poland and they will be way cheaper than finding a Polish one in London.

Which city did he live in?

Law / UK Citizen resident in Poland dying intestate - inherited debt issue [17]

You do need a lawyer

but I think it will be fairly straightforward they will just need to sign a declaration and the debts will not pass to them but also anything from the estate will also not be inherited

Law / British citizen requesting polish criminal record check [3]

Have Look here

ms.gov.pl/en/national-registers/national-criminal-register

Classifieds / English/Polish speaking Canadian looking for work as Electrician in Poland [26]

I wish you the best of luck and hope your qualifications are transferrable. I would seriously doubt they are. I have many UK Qualifications both professional and personal and nothing so far is transferable.

After spending 7 years getting my Yacht Master certificate, I was told as I live in Poland, and am not visiting they are not valid. I had to attend a level 1 powerboat inshore powerboat course, which I failed, becuase the instructer felt that my Polish wasn't good enough. That is just one example of how if you piece of paper doesn't have a Polish stamp on its useless.

Again I hope yours is transferable but I would die of shock if it is.

Where does your wife live if its drivable to Germany that would be a way better option as it would be easier to transfer your quals over and you would earn 4 times as much.

Just an Idea

Classifieds / English/Polish speaking Canadian looking for work as Electrician in Poland [26]

Hey ,

Are you sure you want to do this??

Ok I am not an expert but this is how I see it

The pros are, good tradesman, are thin on the ground and there will definitely be a demand for your services. The Cons, however, are lots 1st I am pretty sure your Canadain qualifications will mean nothing here, and if you want to get any jobs more than just fixing a grandma's light switch you are going to need Polish Papers which means starting from the absolute beginning again.

The life in Poland is great in terms of if you can earn enough money but you will never be rich here trust me

Language / Learn individual words or sentences? Best approach? (Polish learners) [6]

Ok so,

I would not say that I am fluent but definitely can get by in polish and have a good detailed conversation so this is how I did it. It won't work for all but it may work for some.

The first trick is a mental thing when you hear stories that children learn a language 3 times faster than adults it is true but why? It is because as adults we make learning languages harder for ourselves because we add an extra step along the way. We hear a word, translate this word in our head. Then when we speak we know what we want to say in our own language, and then we translate it. Children don't if you tell them this is a chair, they don't think chair = krzesło they learn that a chair is what they see in their mind's eye as a chair, hence removing the translation step.

So how do you achieve this? You need to train your Brain to think in the language you want to learn. So when you are thinking of something try to form those thoughts in your desired language. Start off simple, with things like shopping lists and the like. When you are in the shop don't think I need bread milk cheese, think Potrzebuję chleba, mleka i sera do this 3 or 4 times a day and then start to make things more and more difficult. What you will find is when you come to speak your new language you will automatically form the words in your mind and not have to translate this will make it so much easier to have a conversation.

Next is simple Practice Practice Practice but actively practice because just listening to the radio won't work unless you really want to understand what's going on. You need to listen to something you really have an interest in, something that fascinates you in your desired language, as this will motivate you to actively listen and this will help you learn a lot quicker.

Next, the wonderful thing about living in Poland is that you have access to native speakers all the time and for free, so every time you have a chance to speak Polish do.

Every day there is an opportunity for a free lesson and I love this. Go to polish parties and don't just listen get involved with the conversation express your opinions and don't worry about making mistakes in my experience the Poles will just love that you are trying to speak their language.

So when you get to a point that you can hold a decent conversation with people you need to then start to ask them to correct you. In general, people are polite so they won't but if you ask in my experience people are more than willing to help you out.

I didn't bother with lessons or grammar and in my experience, this is the best way.

So that's my two pennies worth

Love / Polish girl confusing me [22]

Yeh So I kind of agree with the above,

I would check the going rate for a room in your location I bet it will be more than the half of the mortgage she is asking you to pay and if so you are actually getting a good deal. Of course, it feels like you are paying someone else's mortgage but that is what you would be doing if you rented and you don't get to have fun with your landlord :)

Totally fair in my opinion but if the credit is more than renting a room which I doubt maybe offer her the going rate for a room in your area.

Genealogy / Place In Poland from an important passenger list - Morzeczyn [3]

This is a guess but I think that it is a town called Mrzezyno which is on the Baltic coast

UK, Ireland / Do British partners of Polish people in the UK speak their (Polish) language? [17]

To answer your question,

I think it's rare to find one that does but there certainly are some who do. Generally being a Brit with a Polish wife and speaking the language, I am yet to come across someone like me. I am sure there are thousands though. It is well worth learning a little Polish though as people will not expect it, and when you start to speak it they will be incredibly surprised and interested. Also, most will assume you speak no Polish whatsoever and I have often heard people talking about me at parties in Polish and nothing gives me more pleasure than to comment on what they just said about me in Polish.

HAve a go at learning it

Good Luck