Life / Anyone living in Szczecin? What's the city like? [69]


I went for a trip there, and I wouldn't move there personally. It's a nice city, near the sea, but dreadfully artificial - even the 'stary miasto' is from the late 90's. There's a great shopping centre, but quite a lot of wrecked buildings around the place.

Quite dreadful links to Germany and Poland too - you're about 2.30 from Berlin and 3hrs from Poznan, so not a good base to explore the rest of Poland.

I wouldn't bank on there being many expats there, at least not of the English speaking variety.

I know some people who have friends there, who can't wait to finish their studies and get out, whatever that means...

Travel / VISITING POZNAN, can anyone suggest places to visit including good bars/clubs? [16]


Last time I was in Dragon, it was full of sleazy 40-something expats trying to pull 18-19 year old Polish girls who were obviously using them for their money. :/

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

Are you sure you're a teacher?

Travel / VISITING POZNAN, can anyone suggest places to visit including good bars/clubs? [16]

...

I thought the Roosters place was some awful chicken restaurant!

Clearly I know nothing about this city :/

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

A degree isn't compulsory, but it helps.
Age-wise, anything over 21 and you'll be fine. I'd say maturity and professionalism was more important than what age you actually are.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

If a school is desperate, yes. But it won't be easy - would you really take an 18 year old seriously if he was trying to teach you something? Of course not - and this is what you'll have problems with.

I've looked at your previous posts and I'm sorry to say, but it's very unlikely that you'll be able to find a job here teaching.

Unless you've already got a support network in Poland, I'd strongly recommend against considering coming here until you're older.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

As far as I can tell, a lot depends on your working environment. Some environments recognise that Polish speakers that learnt English will always be able to teach something using Polish as an aid if needs be, whereas other schools of thought seem to think that native speakers with no Polish can do so. I know some people will argue that a good teacher will be able to explain it solely in English, but I don't believe it's possible.

I'm not a grammar teacher and don't pretend to be one - and I have a deal with my school where the choice is mine as to what I teach grammar-wise and what I don't. I've settled into a routine where Polish teachers will teach it initially, but I can reinforce it after it's initially been learnt.

Law / Poland residency permit / registration questions. [23]


Absolutely nothing to stop you going through the process where your husband's mother lives. :)

Life / Price of cigarettes in Poland? [192]


Poland is now a full fiscal member, so the 3200 guideline now stands.

Law / Can a student go in any other Schengen country with a Polish National Visa (D) [46]


Yep, to add to this - those category D visas are not 'Schengen' visas - they're still national-only visas. They haven't harmonised the long term visas across the Schengen zone yet (and perhaps never will, which is why you see the Straż Graniczna pulling non-whites).

I've no idea if you can apply for a Swedish visa in Poland, but I don't see why not.

Life / Price of cigarettes in Poland? [192]


Can you read, or indeed spell?

In theory, as much as you like, however, you'll still have to satisfy Customs that they're for personal use. The reality is that 3200 is the limit.

Law / Can a student go in any other Schengen country with a Polish National Visa (D) [46]

Best bet is to contact the Polish embassy (or whoever Poland has an agreement with) in your own country and ask there. I don't see why not, but you'll have to meet the immigration restrictions for that country.

Whatever you do, don't attempt to travel in other Schengen countries without a valid visa.

Law / Can a student go in any other Schengen country with a Polish National Visa (D) [46]


Why did you obtain a visa for Poland if you don't want to study there?

I will repeat this - do not attempt to enter Sweden on the D visa in order to study. It's valid for 5 days (I think...) to transit through Schengen countries to reach Poland - but it isn't valid for EU travel. You'll need a Swedish/Norwegian/Danish visa for that, or a short term Schengen visa.

If you're caught, then as a visa national, you'll probably face a lengthy ban from Schengen.

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


I'd blame this squarely on the fact that the old system of Magister degrees (pre-Bologna) were first degrees, yet took 5 years. Now that it's changed into 3+2, they desperately need to start culling people after 3 years.

It's ridiculous that someone can obtain a Masters degree despite getting the lowest grade the whole way through.

However, the government has plans in this respect, starting by stopping free 'second' degrees that many people do.


I'd actually argue that the UK is becoming worse than Poland in some respects. The move towards faceless offices with officials that can't be contacted is getting worse and worse in the UK - just try and get hold of a decision maker with the Identity and Passport Service, for instance. The call centres for them are outsourced and the staff follow scripts - and the hassle invovled to actually get a first passport is becoming worse and worse. They're cutting all the local tax offices, they've shut most local benefit offices and the Jobcentre is absolutely useless for all but routine form filling.

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


More and more courses and universities are moving to the 3+2 model as a result of the Bologna Process. So an MSc/MA/Mwhatever obtained today will more than likely be a true Masters degree.

As for it being 'pretty obvious why it's done' - tell me why most of Europe was using this system before the Bologna Process? In fact, some Magister degrees are 5 years and not 4 - and these are close to an actual Masters.


The problem is that the Masters element is available to everyone. Anyone with an interest in education will tell you that it's clearly nonsense (where the Masters part is seperate) for people to get onto the M level without a decent grade in the Batchelor level - but Poland seems to be struggling to come to terms with the fact that the amount of people who have a Masters must fall - possibly because they'll have a lot of expensive staff doing nothing until they retire.

But I think part of the blame has to lie at the way that Polish students don't embrace relevant work experience, partially because some universities have worthless placements.


What's different from the Yankee homeland? I'd say most degrees handed out to athletes on scholarships (something that's banned in the EU) are worthless from the US.

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


He lied about it, though - considering Walesa didn't have a Masters either (as far as I know...), it wouldn't have mattered - but to lie about it is another story.

Travel / Best method of transport to get from Warsaw to Kaunas? [14]


Schengen visa for a short term stay, no. If it's a long term Lithuanian one, then yes.

Work / Is easy to get call center jobs in Poland if is how much zl they can pay [3]

I know of someone working in the Easyjet call centre. She's getting around 1200zl/month for full time work, and this is with knowing English and German on top of Polish.

Call centres will demand Polish as well as other languages.

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

It's *very* rare for schools to actually advertise for teachers in Poznan - don't wait to see advertisements, you'll have to go out there armed with copies of your CV and convince your way into meeting the directors in person. If I'm right, you might not need to get a work permit if you're here based on marriage, so stress this when talking to potential directors as most will assume that you need a work permit. There's a *lot* of schools in Poznan, and it shouldn't be hard for you to get something.

What I'd personally recommend is going for one of the 'direct method' schools - they're a nice introduction to teaching, and they should be quite happy to take you on without any formal qualifications.

I'm in Poznan, so I can give you advice about teaching here :)

Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]


Hmm...I live in Rataje, so I'm not very familiar with that side of the city - my suggestion is to type 'jezyk szkola poznan' into google and go from there :) I know there's a few schools around Mickiewicza, but these aren't really 'close'.


I don't know of any, but basically, any school advertising Callan or any method that doesn't have coursebooks will be the direct method. The money isn't so good at these schools, but they involve *much* less preparation - in fact, you can pretty much get away with turning up 15 minutes before the class without actually having seen the material before.


Yep, CV/Resume, same thing :) In Poland, they'll also expect a cover letter (or motivation letter, as they call it here) and a photograph with the CV.

As for public transport - pick up a KomKarta and load it with a monthly pass - it makes life much, much easier as there's no hassle with validating tickets :)

Law / Old Polish money banknotes - what's their value today? [414]


They're worth about 1 cent US - for all three.

Life / Things that annoy you in Poland. [114]


Tastes vile, but I've never heard of anyone getting ill from drinking it. To be honest, it's no worse than the water from Essex or other parts of England where the water is heavily treated.

Law / POLISH BEER IMPORT TO UK [37]

I don't think it's actually that difficult - you just have to sort out the payment of excise duties when the stuff is imported. There's things such as bonded warehouses where the goods can be stored upon importation without duty being payable - but when they're removed, you have to pay.

Life / Wholesale beer prices in Poland [10]


It won't cut the price, because you'll have to pay VAT on the purchase with no prospect of a refund. You wouldn't have to charge VAT on the sale - but any advantage is lost with having to pay VAT to the Polish side of things.

Plus you'll have to have the money to pay the excise taxes upfront - the latest thing I found is saying that you'll pay around 1EUR per bottle of your average Polish beer. Let's say you can get the stuff for 0.60EUR a bottle - you're upto 1.60EUR up front before you even consider transportation costs.

Law / Can I take the Polish written test and obtain a Polish driving licence? [28]


Not true - as long as you're living in the UK, you can obtain a driving licence. There's no systematic register of who lives where in the UK (at least for the moment!) - so a driving licence is easily obtainable by anyone who lives legally in the UK.

Law / Can I take the Polish written test and obtain a Polish driving licence? [28]


The defining factor is that you have to have a PESEL to get a driving licence in Poland - if you don't have this, then you won't get a licence.

Law / Can I take the Polish written test and obtain a Polish driving licence? [28]

There's not much opinion needed - unless you have a PESEL and valid residence documents, you can't sit any form of driving test in Poland.

The 185 day rule isn't really relevant - it's the ability to give a PESEL that matters.

Law / Can I take the Polish written test and obtain a Polish driving licence? [28]

How did you manage that? The Poznan WORD won't accept an application without a valid PESEL...

(as for getting one, it's easy!)

Law / Can I take the Polish written test and obtain a Polish driving licence? [28]


It's straight from Poznan WORD, so it can't really be more authoritative than that. They simply won't accept an application to sit the test if you don't have the number. But of course, other places may interpret it differently.


I wonder if Poland has an agreement with the UAE to allow a year on the UAE licence?


What you've said here actually backs up the PESEL point - to be legally in Poland for 185 days/year, you'll have to prove that you have legal residency. So while you might not actually *need* the number, one will probably be generated for you regardless once you legalise your stay.


Basically, you have to have either the residence card for non-EU citizens or the 5 year EU residency stamp. Renting a flat/etc won't be enough - you'll have to have legal residence in Poland for that period of time.

I'm not sure if they'll be so strict as to enforce the 'you must be here for at least 185 days' rule in terms of sitting the test before 185 days, but you must be here legally and for more than 185 days.

Law / Can I take the Polish written test and obtain a Polish driving licence? [28]


Why don't you call Poznan WORD and ask them for yourself? The information I have came straight from the horses mouth there.

But other people are suggesting that the relevant residency documents are enough - although anyone with them should have a PESEL generated for them automatically anyway (though I'm not certain if non-EU citizens will have it done?) . The exception may be Polish non-residents - but they'll be obliged to gain an ID card when they move to Poland anyway, thus a PESEL will be generated there too.

Oh, and there's the simple fact that the application form *asks* for it. While individual offices may be doing things differently, it's still asked for officially.


Groan...

You'll have to obtain the relevant residency documents to fufil the 185 days criteria. It's not enough to have a EU passport and a contract for 9 months work - you need to be legally resident in Poland under the 5 year stamp for EU citizens. Once you fufil all the criteria, you'll have a PESEL automatically generated, which will be requested on the application form.


You really don't understand the residency situation, do you?

Poland has a system where you must legalise your stay within 4 days of arrival on the territory of the RP. For EU citizens, this process can be abused because no-one cares less - BUT - certain things depend on having legal residency. You can live and work here happily without having a registered address, but certain things are barred to you, and one of those things is obtaining a driving licence.

You have to be in possession of the EU 5 year residency permit in Poland in order to sit a driving test. You'll only get this once you've been here for 3 months already, and the process can take quite a while as it involves police checks and so on. Once you've done all this, a PESEL will be automatically registered for you - and the driving licence application form explictly asks for it. They may be able to override it - but I stress may, and it'll be up to the discretion of each driving centre. They also won't override the requirement to have valid residency documents - because these are the proof that you've been here for 185 days.


I suggest that instead of relying on websites that may be incorrect, you rely on what they're actually *practicing* in Poland. You certainly won't get very far in Poland by waving English-language information around.

You do also know that Poland has mandatory 30 hours of theory learning and 30 hours of driving practice before you can take a test? Even if you only need the theory part, you'll still have to do the 30 hours before you can take the test.