Law / English-speaking bank in Warsaw ? [33]


I can report the opposite - they've always rustled up an English speaker when I've called, even at absurd times in the morning.

The major issue with them is that their 'finance centres' are run as just that - finance centres. You have to go to the kiosks they run in order to find out about any banking issues.

mBank's internet service is only in Polish though, which is a major problem for anyone completely unfamiliar with the language.

Life / Why is cheating at schools in Poland accepted?! [155]


Do you not perhaps think that you'll meet significant opposition, given that you have next to no experience of Polish life and culture? Even ex-pats that have been here a while will often say that they're bewildered by some aspects of Polish life - so what makes you such an expert?


So you want to change the Polish culture, yet you still indulge in the very practice that are laughed at by many Poles? As for it being enjoyed...suffered is probably a far more accurate word, except they're too polite to say so :)

Yes, you are an ex-pat. I've still got my British passport, too. But when in Rome and all that...


The point is that you wouldn't go to a neighbours house and start demanding that they change their way of living just to suit you. The fact that you're not even here permanently is also significant - if you don't even intend to stay in the country, how can you expect anyone to take you seriously?


Morals? In ESL? Pleeeeease.... the business is more ruthless and cut throat than many other industries. Again, it's a business - morality doesn't come into it.


You're the one that seems to be struggling with the concept of the teacher being there to make the student feel good about themselves. You're not there to humiliate them, you're not there to make them feel bad - you're there to reassure and coach them. But what would you know about teaching, seeing as you're not a trained teacher?


The problem is that you're talking about private schooling. It's not comparable - in private schools, teachers are paid upon results. If a teacher fails everyone and doesn't guide them, then no-one is going to send their children to that school, are they? Again, it's a business - not a vocation.

I'm sure you'll find exactly the same behaviour in private language schools in the UK. Ultimately, private teaching is all about results - and you're paid accordingly. No-one wants to hire a teacher that fails, do they?


Aha, stereotypical ex-pat who gets defensive about his lack of knowledge.


I would be very careful if I were you. Calling a countries public and private sectors 'incompetent' isn't a great way to win friends, especially in a country with high nationalist feelings like Poland.

Anyway, in banks - I've had excellent service off mBank. Government offices? They bent the rules for me in Poznan, and I had excellent service from the Urząd Skarbowy. Hospitals? They're professional, although badly underfunded. Police? They let me away when crossing on a red light after realising that I was a foreigner, with a smile. Can't ask for more than that.

The problem is that you're associating cheating with incompetence, when it can be argued that cheating successfully is a sign of competence.


The language? I have started learning but it seems a bit more difficult compared to my French and Spanish learning days.....don't do it!!!....I'm 10 months in and I can say hello...and well goodbye!....perfectly btw![/quote]
So you were in Poland for 10 months and could only say 'hello and goodbye', yet suddenly you claim that you know lots more? And - given the date of the post (January) - you'll have been here for what, 13 months? If you're such a great teacher, I'm sure you'll be aware that 23 months away isn't exactly 'soon' when it comes to obtaining a passport. But hey, nothing like living in a fantasy world, eh?

Your girlfriend, hmm? You won't get a Polish passport without being married and living here for three years, for a start. Where you think you'll get this Polish passport from 'soon' is a mystery to me :)

I can't help but think (especially since you posted the thread about the millions of things that you would bring to Poland, and the fact that you drink Stella) that you're simply one of those delusional expats who believes that he's somehow important to the country. You claim to have worked as a teacher in many countries, which I find hard to believe. If you had done just that, you'd understand the value in keeping your mouth shut.

Incidentally, it's pretty shameful that you've been here so long and don't even know the word 'grosz'. Rather typical expat behaviour, really.

Life / Why is cheating at schools in Poland accepted?! [155]


Nothing, but we're not the ones paying our wages. If they want to cheat, then it's their choice. You'll find that much more experienced teachers than you regard cheating in private schools as being nothing more than amusing - if they want to cheat, it's only themselves that they're cheating. Certainly, I don't think anyone regards 'CALLAN METHOD STAGE 9' certificate as being actually worth anything, or indeed having any integrity whatsoever.


Who are these people? I certainly haven't had any issues with people that have specific qualifications to do certain jobs. The only problems I've had here is with unskilled jobs, such as ticket inspectors. But relating to your own experience - what use is a certificate from a language school in the real world? Even the Polish civil service demands the FCE as the standard - private language school certificates mean nothing.


How do you do this, bearing in mind that you don't speak the language? I'd be very careful before slandering the medical profession in Poland, given that they often do an excellent job with a lack of resources. Or are you judging them on the basis that they don't speak English, like so many stereotypical ex-pats?


Actually, this is where your ignorance is shining through. It's actually arguable that as many teachers coming through nowadays tried all the different ways to cheat, then it's much harder for the children to cheat in school. But the problem with the system here is not the teachers, but the system itself - there simply are no effective sanctions towards someone that's cheated. But that's a matter for the Ministry of Education.

Certainly no teacher with any integrity whatsoever would wilingly allow students to cheat. What's the point, when they can't influence the external exams?


You really don't get it, do you? Private education in a language school is a business, not a vocation. In business, you pay for what you expect - and as private language teachers, it's our job to make people believe they can use the language. How they use it is entirely up to them - if they want to cheat, then it's their choice, because they're cheating no-one but themselves. They'll be found out quite quickly anyway, so why are you bothered about it?


A privilege and an honour? Are you living in cloud cuckoo land? Given the lack of job security and poor working conditions in many schools, it's certainly not an honour or a privilege. Even if you view it as that - you should be looking at why people are paying your wages. They're paying you to keep students happy - and if they have to cheat to be happy, then it's not an issue.


They had problems with Kwaśniewski, they had problems with Wałęsa, they had problems with Jaruzelski. Having a problem with the President is a common issue in Poland, and you can trace this right back to the start of the 2nd Polish Republic.

Anyway, Kaczyński wasn't voted for on the basis of his qualifications, so your argument is rather moot.


Feel free, but you're not going to get much of a favourable reaction. You don't understand the culture, you haven't lived here for long and you're frankly acting like the stereotypical ex-pat who can't get his Full English Breakfast when on holiday.

Cheating is deeply ingrained in the national identity. For better or for worse, it's accepted in Poland and while Western/Northern Europeans might see it as alien and strange and unacceptable - it's perfectly fine for the Poles. Leave them to it - it's their culture, not ours.

I can't help but think that you're looking at this from the point of view of a Brit who can't accept other people's failings but are willing to ignore his own country's failings. For instance...


Ah, because Poland is completely alone in having cheated in the past at football. No British born player has ever cheated, of course not. I mean, Glenn Hoddle never said anything about disabled people being punished for their sins or anything, did he? Course not.


Ahaaaa...Haven't you heard about the mysterious case of ballots going missing in Glenrothes after a very dubious by-election win by Labour, or the postal voting corruption associated with Labour in several places? The Polish electoral system is rather sound, as far as I know.


Goes on everywhere. The Skye Bridge is a rather famous example.


Because people never falsely claim benefits in the UK, do they? 800 million pounds was the last figure for benefit fraud in the UK. And that's merely the ones detected.


Why don't you complain to the Ministry of Education, then? Funnily enough, cheating in UK schools is much more difficult and punished much more severely - yet we have exactly the same cheating culture as Poland. Why, Mr Social Scientist?


That's a problem with the British Council and Cambridge, nothing else. If they were stupid enough to not schedule the exam at the same time everywhere, then what do they really expect? Are you seriously telling me that Brits wouldn't sell an exam the day before if they could? Of course they would.

Perhaps you should live here for a lot longer before trying to change the way of living.

Law / Polish EU Drivers Licence - can I get one the easy way (by paying for it)? [185]

There are no serious contacts in Poland. The driving licence system is linked to your PESEL number and thus it's impossible to obtain a bent licence. There's no system for people without PESEL numbers to obtain a licence.

Life / Why is cheating at schools in Poland accepted?! [155]


Bollocks. There might be a lack of transparency to some extent in university tests, but how, exactly, do you propose to pay someone to pass the Secondary/High school exams, given that they're externally marked? The other exams barely count for anything.

The problem, and the only problem is a lack of a suitably harsh punishment for cheating in schools. Although I agree that the systematic approach to cheating is bad for Poland - they could solve the problem overnight by simply awarding a 1 for the entire year to anyone undeniably caught cheating. Likewise, universities could stamp it out by applying an automatic fail to the module in question.


That's their choice to do so. If it makes them feel good, great - it's entirely their choice if they want to cheat or not. Certainly as paying customers, they have the right to cheat if they so want.

What you or I think about people cheating in private situations is neither here nor there - it's entirely a matter for the individual.

Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [142]

If you're EU, then you can do whatever you like and it's highly unlikely anyone will care.

If you're non-EU, then the Schengen rule is 90 days in every 180 day period. Overstaying this is likely to get yourself in all sorts of bother and going home won't reset the clock :)

Life / Exam for Drivers License in Poland; English? [99]


In respect to the driving examination, all that can happen is that it's an automatic fail of the test. Beyond that, nothing - and bearing in mind that no provisional licences are issued here, then you can't even lose your licence.

Poland might be catching up rapidly, but no-one will convince me that the lady in the window of the driving test office won't accept a bribe to get an earlier appointment for a re-test.

Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [142]


For what it's worth, Wielkopolska is defining self sufficiency as either a bank account statement from a Polish bank or a contract of employment with the salary stated on it.

Of course, no-one is defining just what you need to have in the bank account.

Life / Parking Fines in Poland [26]


Jesus, imagine the costs to a country like Estonia if they wanted to prosecute Maltese citizens?

Love / Top 5 Cities with most beautiful/ugly girls in whole Poland [65]

Poznan has turned into a city of fat people, it's official.

Either that, or the sun made all the monsters come out :(

Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [142]

EU citizens are getting a piece of paper with a stamp on it, which is useless for identity purposes. Probably because the vast majority of EU citizens have ID cards, except us and the Irish :(

But nothing has changed for non-EU citizens, as far as I know...

Work / What jobs pay 10,000 zlotych per month? and Where can i find one? :o) [101]


I haven't fallen into this trap, mainly because of getting a couple of horrific hangovers early on in the year... But it must surely be true. Me and my girlfriend worked out a while back that we could go out, drink 3-4 beers each, a couple of shots of vodka (more than enough to reach the 'inebriated' point), get food and a taxi home, all for around 100PLN. I'm not surprised people end up partying constantly when it's that cheap - and you could easily knock 20PLN off if you take the night buses or the first trams ;)

Having said all this, I really should find myself something to do in the summer. I don't have to (being a typical canny Scotsman and all that...) - but well, sitting around is bound to get boring :)

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

See, I'd say that a Callan school is a good way to start out - if you find the right school. The 'method' is dreadful, but it does let you loose on real, paying students who have expectations and demands. The great thing about it is that if you find the right school, you can experiment on people - with the benefit of being able to say 'right, that's enough, back to the book'.

One huge problem I've discovered is that a fair few people see themselves as being at a certain 'standard' just because they've completed six stages of Callan. Of course, they actually suck in reality - and you have the problem of dealing with their inabilities without being horrifically rude.

Seanus - question for you, out of curiosity. When you did the CELTA, was the whole thing focused on teaching you to teach the kind of English that Cambridge examiners would like to hear, or were they more realistic in terms of accepting how diverse English is?

Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [142]

Why were you refused?

Life / Price of cigarettes in Poland? [192]

Apparently Poland is now a full fiscal member of the EU and thus the limitation has been scrapped - though it's still in force for quite a few of the eastern countries. The recent tax rise in cigarettes helped to seal that particular deal, so I believe.

HMRC in the UK don't have the 200 cigarettes limitation anymore, anyway.

Law / Setting up small business in Poland? [191]


All you need to do is go to the Urzad Miasta with the owners of the property and your passport. It's quite painless - in theory. The reality is that many owners of flats won't register you for whatever reason - some out of fear that they won't be able to remove you, some because they don't want anyone to find out that they're renting the flat out. If you own it, then it should be much easier.

When you go there, simply tell them that you arrived a few days ago. There's absolutely no way of checking (last four entries into the Schengen zone, I've simply had a quick look at the passport, no scans/etc) when you actually entered Poland for them - so don't worry about that.

I would talk to the tax office about you having paid taxes. It's quite likely that they didn't pay taxes for you at all - although it is possible that they did, it would seem quite likely that they were simply pocketing the 19% or whatever for themselves.

Work / Questions about teaching in Elblag or Opole? [23]


The fact that they constantly advertise for teachers says everything.

Work / Would previous experience be necessary to teach english in poznan [22]


As far as I know, Wrocław has a pre-entry questionaire combined with a possible interview - but a BA isn't a requirement. It's more about being able to pass the course - if you can show them that you know the stuff, they won't be demanding a BA.

It's worth calling them and talking about it - but I think they base it more upon actual ability in the language than qualifications.

Law / Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations. [299]

mBank is sort of in English - the online banking isn't in English, although the website is. They do have English speakers in their call centre, and they do exactly as they say, although it takes a while to set everything up. But they are good, if you don't need face to face services.

ING seem to be well recommended by people.

Work / I want to move to Poland (but of course we need to find a good job) [117]

No, you're certainly not wrong. Poznań is wide open for something different - the amount of those 'Sphinx' restaurants around the place should tell you everything you need to know.

I'll drop you a PM, there's some things that you should definitely think about.

Law / I WANT TO IMPORT SAUCES AT POLAND THEY ARE FROM MEXICO..can you help me?? [30]


It might be worth investigating Berlin for this kind of thing - it's only a 3 hour drive (even less if you don't have problems with traffic between the end of the A2 and the border) from Poznan and I suspect that you'd have far more luck there than in Poland.

Law / Polish EU Drivers Licence - can I get one the easy way (by paying for it)? [185]

I think this is because you won't obtain a Polish ID card until you're actually resident in Poland - but seeing as you have a Polish passport, you should be able to register in the country without any of the formalities and so a PESEL should be easy to obtain?

Law / Polish EU Drivers Licence - can I get one the easy way (by paying for it)? [185]

You can drive for 12 months in the EU on a foreign licence, so there's no problem there.

The rule is that you must have a PESEL number in Poland before you can be given a Polish licence. Unfortunately, if you're from New Zealand, the registration process isn't as straightforward as if you were EU.

But basically, you don't need it - unless you really want/need an EU licence.

Law / How do I verify a Polish company's existence? [240]


I don't know, sending them several million messages could be amusing... :)

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

The only thing you'll probably manage would be manual construction jobs, washing dishes, that kind of job. Nothing well paying at all, to be honest.

You might be better off trying to get an English teaching job in somewhere that only cares about money.

Law / Polish EU Drivers Licence - can I get one the easy way (by paying for it)? [185]


Germany will cost a lot of time, blood and tears. They have no speed limits on many sections of Autobahn for a reason - their driving test, and the route to get there is one of the toughest, if not the toughest in the world.

Poland is much easier and cheaper in comparison - you can get the full 30 hours theory/30 hours driving course in Poznań for 1600zl - in English. But the driving examination centre is hit or miss - they seem to insist on 185 days residence in Poland, but how they judge residence seems to depend on which dragon is working on which day.

Law / How to register a foreign Non-EU car in Poland? [25]

Are you registered in Poland? This is basically the test - if you are, then you can register a car.

Life / School system in Poland? [59]

There's one 'British' school that I know of. But you should be very careful with this - children attending this kind of school will be alienated from Polish life to a large degree, and many children are from a non-European background. This is fine and well if you are too - but it's not so good for a child to grow up in an environment if you are from a European background - particularly given the fact that Poland isn't very multicultural.

You might also want to consider the quality of the English being spoken by their peers - it may very well not be of a high standard, but the only option for many Asian families.

Law / Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not? [90]


Yes, it is.

Many students in Poland have the 'must return to mummy at the weekend' attitude - and many of them will travel a ridiculous distance to do so. The travelling with clothes part is just convenience - but until PKP wises up and realises that giving discounts at peak travelling times to students is ridiculous, the habit will continue.

Law / Laundromats in Poland? Good business venture or not? [90]


Unfilled for a reason, I think.