Life / Struggling young Polish couple - try to solve their problem [176]


I haven't read all your other posts. Considering that too many people in Poland still live in the way they were taught by comminism i am not surprised by this. I knew of a guy who was earning 1500zł net but still lived with his parents in a 38m2 flat he grew up in and sharing the only Bedroom with his sister. Him 31 and sister 29 no matter where you come from this kind of living does not help you to grow(it's very unhealthy) or to fend for yourself. Some parents are just too protective they just don't know when to totally wean their children and even insist that they should stay coz renting a flat is a waste of money. 3000zł mate for a couple that is normal if they live in a small town which i guess they do, rentals for 1bedroom flats rarely go above 1000zł. I have a student who is married and their total income is just above 3500zl he tells me but they live in a good apartment 42m2 and pay just above 1100zł including utilities they live in a 35000 population town.

Language / Polish verbs are confusing/I get many results when I look them up in an online dictionary [54]

I think this comes down to the fact that English is not Related to Polish in any way they come from different families. The Germanic and Western Slavic Languages.I learnt from Polish speakers and discovered that the vocabulary is quite limited that one word in Polish might have many different meanings in english. However it's also important to know what the word is being used for, skakać generally means to jump but to leap (as a verb) in english meaning to jump either high or a long way is still considered as to jump in polish although sometimes but (i guess not all the time) u can use przeskakiwać if you want to specify though, but to many polish people it's still to jump.

Love / I need advice: divorce and my rights as a father in Poland [165]


jy in kak, boet. I'd say most of the advice you're getting on here is quite sincere, you seem like a descent bloke but you probably don't know what you're up against. Your lady has made up her mind and i'm sure you know where this is heading to. Take Delphiandomine's advice go to the UK Boarder Agency as well they will block her taking the child out of the UK. All the best and keep us informed..

Law / Can I get Polish citizenship if exceeded the "3,5 year after marriage" time limit? [8]


Rightly so and which country will give it's passports to foreigners my dear? You have to write a letter of intending to aquire polish citizenship within 6months of receiving your permit to settle and from there they will tell you what documents to bring in. Nowadays they try by all means to give a decision with in 3months if all documents are in order.

Off-Topic / Humiliated by landlord. Why women are so cruel? [27]


One of those classical mistakes people make when moving abroad i bet your english is not that good at all. Of coz she can abuse u and get away with it coz she knows you've got nowhere to go. If you don't have friends who can help do yourself a favour and start learning the language don't leave it till it's late. Powodzenie..

Love / Goal: Meet a nice Polish girl! [62]


Unless you were doing this to avoid being hurt again, i'm sure this is a line you would like to avoid coz it kinda has a negative connotation about yourself. I might be wrong but i will tell you this you have a chance to meet the woman of your dream just be down to earth there are many Polish girls who will understand your situation. You being American doesn't give you the edge though just hope you've been abroad before. Not knowing how long you're gonna be here but Warsaw club scene as a potential meeting place of your future partner then you might as well keep on looking in Boston. You'll need to invest sometime in this otherwise you'll be disappointed again.If you're not afraid of internet dating start now i'm sure you'll have a better chance come fall. There are many polish websites and i'm sure u can ask the folks on here for the good ones. Good luck..

UK, Ireland / A South African moving to Poland with Polish wife- we live in London. Excited and scared. [27]

Howzit Kurt?

To be fair on you mate you need to look at the time factor as well. Don't set up something thats gonna be a hussle for you here in polska just for the sake of avoiding to pay too much tax. There are some type of companies that might take you to the cleaners when it comes to closing up shop. Just open a one-person company and pay the little ZUS fees(for the first 2years) and the little tax you can afford according to your earnings. You could get your wife to open it as the owner and you the employee and after 2 years close up shop because of slow down in business. Make sure you get the company registered after you get your residence card. If you looking to settle beyond the 2year period you've mentioned then you might need good advice on all this.


You darn right thats paying through the nose mate, they only do that the moment you tell them you're a foreigner it's like they've hit the jackpot put your wife into the mix let her speak to them in polish and you will find out that you won't even pay half of that here in Polska. It has worked for me many times...

News / Dumbing-down in Polish schools and the Matura [185]


I can relate to this coz something similar happened to my mate in 2009 when he was completing his PHD in new technologies.His thesis was about new technologies in Diesel engines he came up with very good points he had discovered coz he already had more than 15years under his belt working in the automotive industry. The old professors at the University in Rzeszów told him that his ideas were not applicable in the Polish Industries. Sort of tried to make him write something they had taught him from their own books and these are people who have been teaching for so many donkey years and have written many books but have never done any meaningful practical work.What a farce..

Law / Applying for Polish citizenship through marriage. [116]


Theoratically yes. I hate to be the spoiler here but i'll just say what i have heard before. Spent seven continuous years (if i'm not mistaken) out of the country (but i don't know if it includes being in another EU state) and they will revoke your citizenship it's not only in Poland apperantely most countries have such rules for naturalised citizens.

UK, Ireland / A South African moving to Poland with Polish wife- we live in London. Excited and scared. [27]


You won't have to wait for 3years mate. Yours is quite simple "theoratically" you will need to get yourself a residence card when you arrive which will be valid for 2years.Since you've already been married to your missus for 3years now you'll be eligible to apply for permanent residence after 2years of uninterrupted stay in the country. Meaning you cannot live outside Poland for more than 6months continuous. However as a word of caution your situation can be very tricky as well. If you guys are gonna live off your UK earnings while she is studying full time when it comes to applying for citizenship they might ask for tax returns. In this country they like foreigners who pay taxes to the government if one day you're gonna become a citizen.My advice would be that you'll need legal advice when applying for citizenship on this issue otherwise you'll need to find work or register a company thats the easiest.Find out as much information as you can cause here what applies in Poznań might not apply in Kraków. Good luck to you two.

Love / Expat marrying Polish - honest experiences [38]


You've definitely fallen for the trap around here mate, most of the posts are just winding u up. In disregard of race any marriage is what you make it. I'm sure when it comes up to interracial you're bound to raise a few eyebrows here and there on both sides of the races. If you're gonna put up here in Polska don't tolerate the Dresy Mob they're just a bunch of no-gooders (hooligans). Then again most folks in this country are not racist at all but it's all down to curiosity most of them have never come close to people of different colours. I'm sure you'll get a lot of response from others on here...

News / Don't let Poland become like my country, France. [630]

I sometimes really get irritated by other people who think that America Belongs to the Europeans because they are the majority in numbers. Europeans were the first settlers in North America but the land already belonged to the the Red Indians or Native Americans to be politically correct as you call it. One law maker in a certain State once reminded the American people during a heated immigration debate that everyone was a descendent of an illegal immigrant coz the first european settlers were not granted permission by the Red Indians to settle on their land. Imagine the Red Indians had a good system in place to control all the Europeans who were fleeing poverty at that time to the West how many would have been allowed in??? Then again many of you would choose not to even consider this. America is a great nation because of many nationalities (not only europeans) who came together to build it so in my opinion America will always be land of a mixture of colours and cultures.

News / Don't let Poland become like my country, France. [630]


Just wondering though but i would like you to set the record straight here, as much as you're angry with the way your government is dealing with immigration in your country what have you done yourself as an individual to welcome or at least to try to know the new arrivals. How do you know that you don't have educated, secular, smart turkish citizens in France? Do you even know who is turkish or not or do they all look the same to you coz they all look somewhat arabic?

News / Don't let Poland become like my country, France. [630]

To the OP i hope you're open to constructive criticism. First of all i respect your views and i could also feel like you considering where i am coming from. The only difference is that i have travelled immensely and have seen what our fore fathers from the west did during clolonialsim. They messed up the world(True to David Cameron's words when he visited a region in Pakistan and donated 650millionGBP towards education) and true to it some of us are suffering to a certain extent due to their actions but then again if you don't see how the west benefited because of colonialism then you're a bit ignorant. Registeredd you talk of no-go areas and the things that are being taught in schools in france. I'm sure you're quite educated enough to know that most western countries did the same during colonialism they gave the people they had colonised their names, named towns, streets, schools, and buildings after their own even forced them to speak their own languages (now you know why they speak better english, french or spanish) and they even built suburbs which are still standing up to now where the locals were not allowed to venture into.While this was happening they also milked most of these countries off their natural resources coz they knew that times would change one day.

Look at our great nation The UK we have 53 countries in a club called the commonwealth more like a mockery to the former british colonised countries. Most of the people from these countries feel like they belong to the British empire but who can blame them, they have english names, they speak english very well, they follow english traditions, they have towns,schools, colleges, cities and streets named after their colonial masters. When you look at it all it's kinda sad but somehow this was bound to happen coz milking their lands dry was always going to lead to this influx. As much as most of you on here would like to ignore this part of the coin coz you think we should not be held accountable for what happened in the past the truth is we benefited from colonialism we made our nations rich and prosperous at the expense of other nations. Now that they are left with nothing they think of coming to the so called greener pastures.This is quite normal human behaviour in such circumstances and this is where history tends to repeat itself we can go back to the Roman Empire, The Greeks and so forth there is nothing new here. Put yourself in the shoes of those on the receiving end i'm sure you would not even contemplate that coz you have your strong views which are centered on what you can see only on the surface.

Why poland and other east european nations are not affected simple they have no colonial past (they themselves are former colonised countries) walk into any french or english speaking african country or latin america and mention Poland or Hungary nobody knows of such countries.They only come to the so called powerful nations coz they have something to offer to them and after all they already have their education so it will never be difficult for them to find work. I once asked a fellow up in Preston why he didn't mingle with his english peers he simply said to me he would like to but what's the use if they will all start looking down upon him just because he is originally from Pakistan. That speaks volumes about why most immigrants don't intergrate, but make no mistake about it i am all for intergration. I just thought i should come in on this coz most of us have no clue as to what is actually spiralling all this mass exodus of economic refugees to the EU.

Law / Let's see how good is your Polish income tax law knowledge :-) [8]


Very interesting considering how things are done by the revenue office in this country i wonder how you can pay taxes using the PIT 53 form without being a registered resident for a long time.It is possible that you could pay your taxes like this but after some time considering how long you're going to be in this country and whether you're an EU citizen or not they will advice you to get registered. Infact by EU laws you're obliged to register yourself inorder to live and work here after your initial 90days have expired. I heard about someone who got into trouble after he had been here for over 2years without registering himself. To be on the safe side with the EU laws get yourself registered.


Infact you're not legal you're actually violating the EU laws once you've been living here for more than 90days.

UK, Ireland / Holding a British passport. Married a Polish woman. Applying for Polish passport? [21]


Is there anyone who has a link to this new law??


When you come on here and post something like this you should have a proof man. I have called the Voivodship office in Poznan and they have said there is nothing like that on the drafts of 14 April 2011.If u do have the proof(a link) please share it with us i'm sure it would benefit many..

UK, Ireland / Holding a British passport. Married a Polish woman. Applying for Polish passport? [21]

slick578:I currently hold a British passport Just as a matter of interest were u born in the UK??
If it is really necessary that u need Polish Citizenship the first thing you have to do is apply for permanent residence. You have been married to a Pole for over 3years and you have lived in the country continuously for more than 2years so you are eligible. Just make sure u have never been outside the country for more than six months continuously in 1 year. Make sure you have at least a job or a business and have been paying taxes to the government for all that time. Taxes are very important here in Polska. Then of coz the big question will be why you need Polish Citizenship, that they ask to everyone who applies you will also be required to write a Biography of yourself and translate it into Polish. I'm sure you'll get lots of help from others on here but if you're in doubt you can always contact the office of foreigners in your Voivodship Office. Good Luck and please update us on how it goes.

Life / Are there ISP's who have a broadband speed of 25Mbps in Poland? [6]


Anyone with similar experience???

Law / Certificate of no impediment - Single Status - UK Getting Married in Poland [24]


It might sound like that mate, but when u get around it you'll discover it was nothing but just a bagatelle. Every USC office in this country is becoming too bureaucratic, i can imagine if you were to get married in another city or town u will find that they will not even bother you with that. It's the interpretation that is quite different with the people who work in these offices and unfortunately sometimes you can't get past them. When we got married the so called szef in the USC office had even suggested that in the letter of no impediment a statement saying that i had been given permission to get married to my fiancee (Her full name included) should be written. You can imagine what i went through. There is no country in this world which can tell the other how to compose its official documents. Lucky enough we got a well known translator who could play around with the wording and alas the USC szef softened his stance towards us he became very friendly and did everything for us in a very courteous manner. Just ask your fiancee to look around for translators who have dealt with letters of no impediment. Good luck to you both.

Genealogy / HOW TO GET BACK YOUR ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE AFTER MARRIAGE IN A USC OFFICE [13]


Understandably so Malina, they have the right to keep the original copy of the Birthcertificate when registering a foreigner in their registry.It's always good to have more copies of your birth record but not all countries in the world will print multiple copies coz you feel they should some need a reason for the second copy and some will not, simply coz of their security concern. The main issue here was that the person got married in that same office USC(had it been in another office then for sure they would demand another BC) and they retained his original copy,(Where in some Towns and Cities they only keep the notarized copies) he still lives in the same town and they were demanding another copy of the birthcerificate(Which they already have in their files after he got married there) in order to be registered in the Polish Registry.This just needs a bit of understanding thats all. In this case my colleague was told by his embassy in Warsaw that they had never heard of such a case where original documents of a foreigner were kept just because they got married in a foreign country. He even told me that when he got the Polish Birthcertificate they got all his information from his civil marriage that they have in their system so it was just a matter of filling in the application form, explain why you need it, pay the fee and they printed it thats all. Then again i'm not saying it works out like this for everyone, you need to do a lot of homework before you part with your documents in a foreign country.

Work / I'm curious, how much do Polish actors really make? [8]


Of coz mate, don't even need to go that far in comparison.
If this is true grubas it works out to about plus or minus 2000 GBP per episode before taxes for a good actor here in Polska. Now i know why Kuba from X-FACTOR was demanding 10 tys zł per casting session. Considering how much they make from X-FACTOR i even feel sorry for the winner who is going to walk away with a 100 tys zł in all earnest it should be more.

So inorder to maintain a lavish lifestyle which these actors desire they will have to pick up more roles in disregard of where they come from.Hopefully they are paid more in Movies considering that Poland is the largest producer of films in Eastern Europe. No wonder it's difficult to pick up roles in commercials.This is where most of these actors earn the extra quid from and it closes the door for people who are trying to make a break through. In commercials you need fresh faces, ordinary people so as to reach out to the targeted market and not only Big stars to endorse a product. Especially the Old, Blonde Actress in the Polish Produced SIM PLUS commercials seems like she is indispensable... Even saw Old Andrzej Grabowski and a few other familiar faces trying their hands at Stand Up comedy. Now i know why....

Work / I'm curious, how much do Polish actors really make? [8]

Well still wondering though, is there anybody out there who's got the real figures on what they (Polish Actors) actually make??

News / Poland - Third World Country?? [300]

The terms third world, second world and first world were probably coined by someone who was totally biased or quite ignorant.The USA is not an entirely developed country the states that are the most developed are the ones on the coasts and everything else in between i can say is not that developed at all. (Wyoming, Idaho, Kansas , Alabama, Mississippi don't even get me started.....)Development in the USA is quite disproportionate if we were all to take a trip from the east to the west most of you would be surprised with what you'll see.Unfortunately the kind of life that is portrayed by most news channels that broadcast out of the USA to the world is all about the Hype. If you want to see whether the country is developed or not take a trip there or at least try to watch American Local News Channels if you can get access to them from outside. What do i know about Poland having been here for quite sometime and criss-crossed the country on a number of occassions simple Poland could have been much better had it not been for the events of the past. Poland is a developing country i only need to look at the Public Transport System which doesn't seem to be going anywhere, Buildings that we live in some are crumbling, Infrastructure although there seem to be some work going on due to the Hosting of Euro 2012 with the help of EU funding the government still sings the same song they have been singing for ages "There is no Money", You want to talk of Education in Poland besides the way they want us to teach students foreign languages (which is a bummer in public schools believe me) you'll only have to feel sorry for the youngsters who are about to write their Matura and have never conducted a single experiment in Physics as everything is read out to them by their teacher simply coz there aren't enough Labs at the school. The list is endless we can go on and on and many of you might just think i'm a hypocrite or i'm just bitter no i'm neither i'm just a realist. I'm more optimistic than my Polish Family and Colleagues about the Future of Poland but i will never lie to say Poland is a developed country. Development is a work in progress as we speak right now in this country. On one of the episodes of Boso Przez Świat when Wojciech Cejrowski was in Thailand he first of all showed the viewers the other side of Thailand that many would not see on his Programmes then he posed this question to the Viewers "If Thailand is said to be a third world country, then what is Poland?" This coming from a Pole who has been around the world speaks volumes about his country, you be the Judge to that...

Law / Karta Pobytu interview... what do they ask? [12]

Well you have no reason to worry if you guys have been married that long. They need to find out if you're in a genuine relationship and you will definately not need any papers for this if you're not comfortable in Polish yet you'll need a sworn in translator. Things they will ask are where and how you guys met and then of coz where and how you guys live here in Polska. Examples like what your place of residence looks like, where you keep certain things, who else lives with you, and personal things about your spouse and if you know each others inlaws. You don't have to know all the answers to the questions if you don't know don't guess or lie you will be interviewed in different rooms all they are looking for are certain things that have to match. Hope that helps and Powodzenia...

Law / Karta Pobytu - how long can i stay temporarly out of Poland? [30]


Delphy you're spot on, on this one mate. Make anything a bit obscure to their understanding and believe me they will make it difficult for you. To Johnfisher if you intend to make Poland Home genuinely, The Polish officials believe that you or your spouse should at least have a job here and pay taxes to the government if you decide to work abroad then you'll need to declare all your earnings to the Polish Tax Office.To them what is genuine is some who is going to at least get a job in Poland and Pay taxes thats their understanding.

Law / Karta Pobytu - how long can i stay temporarly out of Poland? [30]


As you've already seen from other posts nothing is as clear as it sounds. Warsaw is a good place and a bad place as well there are a few offices and there you'll find all sorts of people. If for example you'd already been married for 3years before applying for pemanent residence it would have been much easier they would just look at your 2year uninterrupted stay in Poland.But because you got married here and are only going to be eligible after your 3years of marriage they might want to check the whole period. Ask your wife to go to your Woiwodship Office for Foreigners in Warsaw and ask for clarification. Good luck to you both...

Law / Karta Pobytu - how long can i stay temporarly out of Poland? [30]

Simple Matey, my understanding is this, U'll be eligible for permanent residency in Sept of 2013. Within the 2 years of uninterrupted stay you're only allowed a total of 10months stay out of the Country. But let me tell you the interpretation of this differs in all Woiwodships if you got married here they might consider the whole 3years. If you stayed longer than the allowed time then they will deny you permanent residency....

Genealogy / HOW TO GET BACK YOUR ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE AFTER MARRIAGE IN A USC OFFICE [13]

Thought i should update this one for the benefit of those in the same situation. My friend finally resolved his issue but went through a rough spot. He had to get a lawyer involved coz apparently the people in his local USC and the police were not willing to help.He even called the The Home Office Ministry in Warsaw and the incompetent people there simply told him it was up to the Director of The USC whether to give it back and retain the Notarized Birthcertificate or not.According to the law once documents are retained on the day of the Civil Marriage they can not be returned,(for the reason that maybe they only believe in original hard copies) so it's true that he should have insisted or even hired a lawyer to be in attendance on the day its self. In some Towns they have no problems in returning back the Original Birthcertificate to it's owner(once they have seen it and made copies) but in some they do. I guess it kinda sums up what this country is all about. A Bunch of jokers....

But any way to cut a long story short they agreed to give him a Polish Birthcertificate which he now has and can use while living in the country.