Retirees immigration regulations in Poland

Does anyone have a link to the immigration rules regarding retirees? I remember reading that you could get a karta pobytu on that basis before...rather than a work permit or student status for example. "Retired" was the official reason for being in Poland. Is there a minimum monthly income required for this?

YEAH consult a lawyer!

There will be, but I'm uncertain as to the rules. It is certainly possible, I know it's becoming a tempting option for retired Polonia as it's a much cheaper (and easier) place to live. There'll also be the usual health insurance restrictions however - which could be difficult.

definiteloy as the rules have been changing and so who knows exactly what they may be today..


i would say that time has passed.. it's not as an attractive place to retire these days.. cheaper? depends what you're comparing PL with.

so, look long and hard and visit PL a bunch before uprooting where you are now.

Agree on this one, if you receive a foreign pension and own your own house its a good place to think about retiring, however you would need to take out PRIVATE medical cover (somebody might be able to assist with what that might cost) as the public system is pretty third world. With the US dollar going beyond 3 zlote its so much more attractive. There seems to be a lot of business uncertainty in the EU league and it is doubtful things will be any different in the foreseeable future hence a high US dollar.

I honestly couldn't think of a worse way to spend the golden years of your life than in Poland knowing that you will most probably die in Poland would be such a depressing thought.

Not to mention Poland will have the Euro in a few years time..Then you can sit back and watch prices rocket through the ceiling like they have done in all the other European countries....


Depends on where you are from..and what your pension is worth...Unless people are going back to settle with family, then I dont understand how it could be an attractive place (no offence), its hardly got a climate that the elderly would be dreaming of retiring in.


But what do you get for a Euro? You have to think long term..

Maybe this couple can help you out here: david-polanddavid.blogspot.com/

Can we please get back on track? I am not interested in people's opinion whether or not Poland is a good place to retire. I need specific information.

Does anyone know if "retired" is a legitimate reason for requesting residency? When you apply you have to have an acceptable reason like being a student in Poland or working in Poland. Each "reason" has it's own additional requirements like a work permit or university documents.

I am trying to find out if being retired is a legitimate reason and if there are any additional requirements for this reason. I am aware of the general requirements for any reason like insurance and zameldowania etc.

I thought I remembered seeing that it was an acceptable reason but can't recall where.

Matyjasz I am not sure what on that blog you were pointing me to...can you clarify?

lol.. now we're talking..


where are you from and what is your nationality? it makes a difference.. but, i never heard of "retirement" as the reason for residency..

your info should be somewhere there, but I can't find it: mfa.gov.pl

Here's another interesting link, if somewhat incomplete: expatfocus.com/expatriate-poland

from the expat site:


also, on the visa application there is a spot for a reason for the visit which has a few different choices but one of them is: "other (please specify)" which could work for retirement.

but to be fair, when i looked into this a while back, i sure never did find a way for a non pole to be able to move to PL and retire even if they were a millionaire (unless you were married to a polish person - see the two links above). you either have to be Polish or be productive in PL while you stay here.. also see the link below; there seem to be only 4 ways for a foreigner to be able to stay in PL and I have not found any links that would say "to stay for an indefinite amount of time".. they all say specific.. if you are thinking of retiring, that would not be specific amount of time.

so the only other way to retire in PL that i can think of would be to become a PL citizen.. that info can be found on your local PL embassy/consulate website.

Please explain why so many Brits are seeking out Poland and may I suggest yourself in line if the circumstances were right! hmmm. I also don't think elderly people go around gallivanting around the countryside 24/7, there are things as wood/gas heating to keep oneself warm in winter unlike wearing a great coat and having a water bottle to keep warm in England.


Understand that the Polish pensioner gets around 800zl a month to live on, and in fact is able to survive, most westerners would get a superannuation pension starting from around 4000zl a month plus a government pension. The Australian contingent in Poland will be able to apply for a pension (Australian) via ZUS in a few months time, this will surely make it more attractive to live in Poland.


Don't try to frighten me it won't work, the Euro is still a weak currency and will remain so for a long time, I don't think the EU will be around for a long time, the only people who will suffer in Poland will be the low income earners and pensioners once the euro is adopted in Poland. which brings me to what might happen if a second wave of debt hits the EU states, watch this space.

Expected to, its not set in stone - 20% isnt so bad, what about Denmark where its 25%

I pay the price on the tin, not some jumped up price when I pay (no sales tax like in the US) - most people wont actually notice a big difference to be honest.


Married to Poles or went over to teach English, I wouldnt actually say there are "many" not in comparison to the numbers in Spain or France.


Why would a Brit go from one cold climate to another? Oldies mirgrate for the winter to warmer places to ones with worse climates than ours.


Understand that a single British person with no savings gets about £60 per week to live off (why do you think they are coming back to Britain their droves from Spain, they can no longer afford it!).


You make it sound so attractive.


We dont have the euro..Not my problem,


Im not trying to frighten anyone..As for the Euro being weak..tell me, what is the exchange for a $? I'll tell you, 1 $ is about 3/4 of a euro, so its not that weak.

Plus all the other benefits and tax credits.

But they wouldnt get that in another country..my point is their basic pension is about £60 (not enough to retire to another country with), as for other benefits, trust me, the old in this country dont get that much..

Back on topic, I personally dont think Poland is an attractive place for an elderly person from Britain..South of France on the other hand is quite perfect..climate, food, language (yes a lot of olduns do learn the lingo)..

Government paid pensions should be abolished. Coffin dodgers should pay their own way. The state is not their personal cash cow.

Excuse me...I pay NI, what they should do is stop old foreigners coming here to retire and claiming tax credits on their crappy foreign pensions!

To my knowledge Polish law does not establish retiring as a legitimate reason for requesting residency. But there is another way you could try: if the person has got family in Poland, he could try "family union", "connection with family" (pl "połączenie z rodziną").

I am asking specifically in regards to Americans. I will look through some of the links people have provided. I also do not have any Polish blood. I have lived there before at length so am not naive to the good and bad about life there.

Some nations allow this retiree reason because it is money coming into the economy. The pension the individual lives on goes into the local economy while they are not taking penison, education and citizen's health benefits from the host nation usually. I know it is very different for EU members and that has nothing to do with me. I was pretty sure I saw that as an option on some paperwork at the immigration office during one of the many times I was there. It didn't apply to me back then so I glossed over it. But I seem to recall it said retirees with a certain income could apply for residency.

Anyway don't let me stop your arguing nonsense about who sucks and who doesn't.

Actually I didn't have anything specific in mind present on that site , but I wanted to point you to the authors of that blog. Surely they are more informed about retiring in poland and aquaring permanent residency than any posters that have posted in this thread. Here you have their e-mail adress: piekar66@hotmail.

I'm positive that you can - my understanding is that you can apply for residency on the basis of income received. But be aware that as living standards rise here, what is sufficient today may not be in 5 years time, especially if Poland adopts the Euro and prices start to dramatically rise.

Ah thanks. I thought I was missing some relevant article or link.

I'll have a look - but the Foreigners Office in Poznan has told me before that the criteria is all dependent on received income - they don't care where the income is from, as long as it is stable and reliable. Or of course - you simply have enough in the bank account to show them when you apply for residency.

actually it's way weaker then that right now.. didn't check it today but i know it's at a 4 year low..


but they want to know a reason why you want a residency in PL, none the less.. retirement doesn't seem to be one of viable options.. it has nothing to do with money.. one still has to have a valid reason.. and the validity is determined by some pencil pusher in PL..

Thats when I checked it, it was off a sight for "domestic" currency exchange and not "corporate"

Im sure the euro will pick up when things over here settle down..

You're retired, which is enough for them. Poland isn't bothered about the why - they are only interested in the how - which means having enough money to support yourself.

The problem with this route is that you'll have to apply for temporary residence permits every year - and the cost of these soon adds up.

Why? Wouldn't you be allowed to apply for permanent residency like anyone else after 5 years?

The reasons on the basis of which one can obtain a residency in Poland are stated in art. 53.1 and 53a.1 of the Polish Act on Foreigners (Ustawa o cudzoziemcach) which can be found here ...udsc.gov.pl/Ustawy,182.html (first link). In the act there is nothing about retirement as a basis itself, but you could try to persuate the office (urząd wojewódzki) by quarelling that retirement is "other reasons" from art. 53a.1.4

It is very different with EU citizines who, to stay in poland longer than 3 months, just need to prove that they have health insurance and enough money (they just need to have more than 500 zł per month :o)

are you suggesting the Euro will be devalued?? with so much debt that may be a option.