What are the requirements to get a cell phone here in Krakow?

Hey everyone. I just moved to Krakow today. I was going to wait to see about getting a smartphone here but I really need GPS in my life. What are the requirements to get a phone here in Krakow? Do they have any companies like Cricket in the US? I walked into the store, bought a phone, and had my service activated. It was that easy and simple. And it's prepaid. So little to no ID and address are required. Anything like that here? I live in a 'student hotel' and I don't have a bank account here.

You need to pass ABW screening ;)

ok... Do they just run my passport through a system or something?

you need a PESEL number to get a contract phone.

Probably the same as in Warsaw or Wrocław but I can be wrong.

Oh I see. I just looked up PESEL and it's something I'll eventually get after applying for residency. I'll just go to the shops and see what my options are.

u can buy a phone and prepaid no problems, suggest u hit those mobile phone shops that sell second hand or hit up ebay and then buy a prepaid card

It must be about 5 years since I bought a phone in Poland (it still works :) ). I took ID just in case, but was told that "you don't need that sort of thing over here".

Cue discussion about how everyone in the UK is now a suspected terrorist, and how the UK is now much more like commie-era Poland than Poland is these days :)

So no, you won't need ID.

if you want a bill phone you will need ID, proof of address and residency permit thingy, if you're from the EU you get a temporary one of these when you apply first then a "permanent " (5 years) one when that one runs out.

You'll need this 2nd one for a bill phone and some shops will only sell you a phone if you have been living here for 6 months.

If you're goin to use the phone as a business phone you'll also need your NIP number.

Also, I suggest gettin a phone on with Play, they are by far the cheapest, but they dont have the iPhone, however they prob have the samsung galaxy so you can still get a decent smart phone, stay away from Era/T-mobile, they're a rip off.

But as said above if you just want a pay as you go phone you can get one pretty easy

Thanks for all the replies. I really want a smart phone. A regular prepaid isn't gonna cut it unless that's my only option for now. That's why I'm hoping I can at the very least get a prepaid smartphone like Cricket offers in the USA (which is what I just had). I just paid for the phone and prepaid for 1 month of service. That's it. Then I got a bill every month to prepay for the following month.

You can get the phone no problem, but forget about a contract. You're not going to get a phone contract unless your residence permit is valid for the length of the contract (which it won't be).

Play's prepaid offer isn't bad, though.

Ah! I see.
Yeah, the contracts are for like 2 years or something like that. I'm going to have to get a residence permit, but from what I know it will be valid for 1 year at a time. So I will shift focus to paying for the phone outright and forgetting about a plan. I will be looking on Play's website. Thanks so much for the info =)

Now I have another problem. The language. I went to several stores and no one could speak English.
I will be learning Polish ASAP. I wonder if it's possible to get Android in my life before I learn enough Polish to be able to buy it in on my own.

Do you really need Polish? Why not to go to the Media Markt or Saturn store and buy a handset then go to Real or Tesco and buy a PLAY sim card?

I don't know, Peter. Do I?
All the people at the cell phone stores (Play, t-Mobile, Orange) say they don't speak English. I went to a Saturn store and one person spoke a little and directed me to someone else. Then that person directed me back to that same person. So it kinda sucked.

I don't want to simply buy a regular phone. I want a smartphone. I want Android back into my life. It's probably a little more complicated than buying a phone and sim card then just buying credit for it. There's internet involved. Also, I want to understand exactly what I'm paying for and how much of the service I'm getting. I had a HUGE problem with a cell phone company in France a few years ago when I was there studying. I don't want that sh** to happen again. That's why I was asking here if there's somewhere in Poland that's like Cricket in the USA. Buy a smartphone and prepay for the plan. So, you tell me, do I need Polish to do what I want to do? If not, I'm all ears because I really want to do this.

i bought my xperia x10 off ebay for 220 bucks, way cheaper than in shops etc.

What's so complicated? You go to the shop, buy the phone, then buy a sim card from any supermarket and voila. Nothing difficult there. Or if you buy it from the operator, it will come with a sim card included.


Okay, it's simple.

Go to the Play shop. Buy a phone "na karta" - it will come with a sim card. You put the sim card in the phone, and voila. You're off. You can add money to it in lots of places.


Then use their website before you go. Play is pretty straightfoward though.

You're not gonna survive in Poland if you need your hand held like this...

jeebus..... this is turning into quite the drama fest. List OP Poland is not the USA and no one cares about your Cricket over here.

As for no one speaking English, I find that hard to believe.

I bought a iphone 3gs 3 years ago with cash in the Orange store. 1799PLN. I never knew the language other than hello & thanks and goodbye. It's not simlocked to Orange. SO yes you can buy a smartphone. Even Media Markt sells them.

Just do like Delph said right above me. Buy a phone without a contract, get a SIM card from any provider which gives you the best offer for your needs, top it up in any Zabka, providers shop, Tesco, Media Markt, Carrefour, Real, phone kiosks and you're good to go.

You can get cheap phones from the provider, but u need to sign into a contract, and you, my friend, are not eligible for that at this time based on the info you have supplied to us here.

"You're not gonna survive in Poland if you need your hand held like this..." I do agree 100% with that comment

I'm out.

I'm confused about what's so difficult about going into a shop, buying a phone (how hard is it to say "dzien dobry" and then point at a phone?) and...plugging it in.

For that matter, why didn't he just bring a phone with him if it's so difficult?

I'm just waiting for the inevitable "I've been told that I have a week to leave Poland..." thread after he doesn't bother to get a residence permit.

Don't go to brand stores. They are con men. In Media Markt or Euro AGD you can buy whatever you want.
Now when you have handset and sim card you can log in on PLAY website and buy internet acces 25MB, 100MB, 500MB limit etc

komputronik.pl/category/1596/Telefony_i_Smartphone.html

I don't think you can get a smartphone without a phone contract here (but I can be wrong) - still you can have a phone with GPS without having to buy a smartphone

nawigacja.orange.pl/telefony.html

- google translate it if you can't get the gist

Yes.,....you are wrong and we've been stating that anyone can buy any phone they have for sale in any shop and without a contract.

Check out all the available smartphones on Allegro where at this moment there are 800+ ads for iphones starting at 490zł

Thanks, Peter. That answered my question. I wanted to know if it's possible to buy a smartphone and just add internet credit to it.

delphiandomine and unique_username, I think you missed my question and the whole point. Your off-topic obnoxiousness was not needed.