Moving to Poland, what documents do I need? I will be teaching English

I'm moving to Poland next month, I will be teaching English and have a number of interviews set up. My girlfriend is Polish and is already over in Warsaw, What documents do I need to take with me? How do i set up my insurance? What more should I do?

Thank you,

Saul

Doesn't your girlfriend know?

Haha aye, her idea

sorry miss read that. No, different for her as shes a polish citizen.

I suggest you put the words 'English teacher' into the search box. This question has been asked a hundred times on here. Repost if you have something specific to ask.

Thank you.

You'll generally get typically apathetic answers on here ;) Surely your girlfriend must've given you some information?!

Few things:

1) Do you have any teaching qualifications such as a CELTA or any previous experience? In Warsaw, this is basically essential as there are thousands of 'native-speakers' aka teachers. If you don't, you'll probably struggle or have to work for extremely low pay.

2) Insurance: At the very least, you should have one of those little blue European Health Insurance Cards. With regards to car, property etc., that's obviously for you to sort out.

3) Learned any Polish? It might help you in some situations when you're out and about.

4) Assuming you're an EU citizen (Scottish I'm guessing hence the "aye"), as far as I'm aware, you only need your passport.

Hope that helps a bit.

Thank you, I have a TEFL qualifications and a handful of years teaching/ supporting, the job shouldn't be a problem (interviews all planned, very positive conversations with them) etc.

No i'm English, good guess though, my polish is on its way up ha. Obviously I need to take my birth certificate etc. Anything else? I assume I will be paying taxes straight from my wage (know its a stupid question), should I take out extra insurance? Or will my employer do this?

Thank you

saul

Apply for The European Health Insurance Card from your country.

Contact your bank and ask them for the corresponding bank in Warsaw and also ask for a bank reference. You may find it difficult to open a bank account without a job or rental contract otherwise.

Take GBP or Euro if you are Brit or Irish and exchange your monies in Poland the exchange rate will be much higher in PL. These guys are one of the better kanors in Warsaw: Enjoy and don't drink too much.

Scots are not the only Brits who use the word.


If you're on a work contract, you'll need a residence permit. If you're working legally, you'll need to pay ZUS (Polish health insurance).

As I said, check out old threads on the forum. You'll find a lot of detailed, relevant and true information by people who know what they're talking about.

Don't want to sound too cynical but what TEFL qualifications exactly? Online ones? It would appear that they aren't very desirable in Europe/Poland.

Don't think you'll need your birth certificate, I've never needed mine. Scan your passport and your driving licence as back ups including any certificates relevant for future work.

Tax/ZUS/deductions/whatever you want to call it depends on your employer and how they want to pay you. Insurance may fall into this category too so ask these questions before any employment is actually offered. If they don't offered you a contract, you may need to set up your own 'company'.

Google ZUS Poland and select the first search result for more information.

Obviously it was just a guess ;)

Brilliant, thank you. Do you know what is the standard pay for a full time English teacher?

Thank you, very helpful.
saul

Thank you again. Oh really, no it was a course. Is not offering a contract happen often?

As said, you can search this forum as there are countless threads created by "people who know what they're talking about" (I jest, it's true) so be sure to check those out.

People on here will vehemently agree/disagree about pay. With Warsaw being the capital, you'll want a higher salary than the rest of Poland. Also depends on your Mrs and how much she's bringing in. Never lived in Warsaw so can't what you should expect. 3,200 net +/- is decent for a 20-30 year-old living in a city provided that you share a flat with someone.

Will do, thank you again.

What was that job you were after?

Teaching English, got loads of interviews for schools.