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Posts by rtfm  

Joined: 14 Oct 2020 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 21 Jul 2021
Threads: 1
Posts: 62 		From: Tarnow
Speaks Polish?: No

Displayed posts: 63 / page 1 of 3
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rtfm   
14 Oct 2020
Law / Help with confusing requirements for emigration from UK to Poland [22]

Hi,

A little about me first - I'm an Englishman married to a Polish lady for 6 years (together for 12) and we were planning to go and live in Poland next week to be resident in Poland before the end of the transition agreement so she can be closer to her family after her young brother died of cancer suddenly last year. My wife will give up her job in the uk and not be seeking work in Poland.

I have work in the UK which I will keep (working remotely with the bkessing of my employers) and will pay UK tax and national insurance. Both and English and polish accountant have told me this is fine.

I also have a house in the UK which I will keep for at least a few years (but not rent out).

So it's the week before the move and my inlaws suddenly say "you need an s1 form you can't register to live here without it" - an S1 form is apparently a mechanism for my uk NI contributions to pay for Polish healthcare that I have to apply through via hmrc here. Apparently the office in Rzeszow said this was the case.

It's not a guaranteed thing to get and the lead time is 6 weeks because hmrc messed up my records and I have to apply by post!

My research indicated I just needed my passport and official translated copies of my marriage certificates so what's going on?

Please can someone help me quickly with a definitive answer to this, I've already spent a lot of time and money setting up the move and working things out with my employer and have flights booked for late next week!

If I had to I could pay voluntary contributions to the NFZ fund (I think that's around £230 a month) but I got blank looks from the inlaws when I mentioned that so I don't know if that's really possible either.

Many thanks and possibly much alcohol to someone who can help. My main aim is to register to live in Poland quickly and the health stuff can be sorted out after - I do have emergency travel insurance available if needed :-)

Rob.
rtfm   
15 Oct 2020
Law / Help with confusing requirements for emigration from UK to Poland [22]

I agree I may well end up with Polish tax liabilities which I am prepared for despite what my company may say. I don't really care where I pay tax so long as I only pay it once. I'm not out to cheat my way out of my liabilities, I'll leave that to the multi millionaires

I do also expect there is a possibility i will end up paying tax in both countries and claiming back from one or the other so the first year I will be saving like mad. It's all part of the fun of moving and I accept that. It gives another customer to a Polish accountant if nothing else!

At least my living costs in Poland will be extremely low with no Polish mortgage/rent to pay.

Although my employer have said they have other employees in Europe doing the same as me so they do not think it will be an issue, I haven't seen the terms of the new contract yet so I can't comment on if it is accurate.
rtfm   
13 Dec 2020
Law / Help with confusing requirements for emigration from UK to Poland [22]

Hi, just a quick update in case it is useful to anyone. I've been in Poland now for a month (flying during lockdown turned out to be great apart from rebooking my flight with 3 different airlines - top tip, don't bother with Easyjet).

I have my meldunek and pesel thanks to my wonderful inlaws and am waiting for my 5 year residents permit (after which I will get the permenant one).

As far as health insurancd goes, I am still waiting for my S1 form so i can register for nfz healthcare. I spoke to the friendly and helpful nfz lady who told me I can't buy nfz insurance while paying ni contributions in the uk - I have to use the s1. If after the end of the transition period I no longer qualify for s1 from the uk then I can pay separately for nfz contributions.

As far as tax goes, I'm saving for a tax bill but not particularly concerned as I know I won't be double taxed in the long run and my finances are in good shape. I've got nothing here yet to draw attention to my finances anyway (no Polish bank account) so I suspect I won't be on the radar for now.

My only concern is getting health cover sorted before the end of the year as the ehic will no longer be valid and this sodding S1 form is takes up to 8 weeks (I applied before I left so 8 weeks is up soon).
rtfm   
23 Dec 2020
Work / Moving to Poland, Working for a UK Company [34]

Hi, I'm in a similar position - I've moved to Poland with my Polish wife but am still working for my uk employer. There is a double taxation agreement with Poland so you will not pay tax twice. I've only been here for a few months but expect I will need an accountant at some point to sort my liabilities as Polish tax is higher so I may need to pay the difference. My advice would be to make sure you have plenty of savings to protect you from any tax you may have to pay and claim back later. Having said that, both my uk and and a polish family accountant have told me I won't pay any tax in Poland at all.

You will need health insurance to emigrate but you should be able to get an S1 form and have your uk NI contributions pay for your nfz (Polish national health) entitlement. You apply for this on the government gateway and the lead time is currently 3 weeks. You can also do by post but this is currently 12 weeks lead time!

Good luck!

It's probably obvious but once you've got the Polish healthcare via the s1 you won't qualify for NHS treatment but as you will be living abroad that would be the case anyway
rtfm   
23 Dec 2020
Food / Kaszanka and haggis? [34]

British people don't care about mixing and matching imperial and metric units. It doesn't matter and seems funny to me why it is confusing or even important. Describe units however you want.

I like my height in feet and inches and distance in miles and beer in pints but measuring length in metres, and any other liquid in litres and weight in grams/kg.

On the other hand it is no big deal to convert km to miles or pints to litres etc so for most Brits are used to this. The only difficulty might be if one does not realise that an American gallon is not the same as UK inperial gallon.

Please get back to the topic
rtfm   
23 Dec 2020
Travel / Comparing London and Warsaw? Does anyone know both cities who could help? [9]

London is a f*king expensive dirty crime ridden shthole (all of it). I just don't get why people bother to visit, there's much nicer places in Uk to see where you won't get blown up/run over/stabbed/robbed/shot/over charged for everything.

Warsaw doesn't actually feel Polish to me but that's because of the architecture, shops etc. rather than lack of polish people. To me its more like Western Europe and has lost some of its Polish feel.

Warsaw is miles nicer than London (cleaner, less people) imo but then I'm not a fan of cities anyway so i wouldn't live in either.
rtfm   
23 Dec 2020
Work / Moving to Poland, Working for a UK Company [34]

No problem. Keep us posted on your progress! One other thing i probably should have mentioned is health care for my wife relies on my S1 as she is not working and I am. Without the s1 i can buy health insurance to meet the visa requirements but she would have to register as unemployed to get state health care as she cannot buy the same insurance.

As I should qualify for an S1 I have been told that neither myself or my wife can make voluntary nfz contributions and pay for health care that way.

It's all very odd. It means I have temporary basic health insurance to cover my residence requirements while I wait for my s1 and my wife is uninsured even though she is a Polish national.
rtfm   
24 Dec 2020
UK, Ireland / Who can transport my car by trailer from UK to Poland? [22]

Merged:

Anyone know of a company that can help import car from UK to Poland?



So I've found out it's actually not that expensive to have my car transported from UK to Poland.

What I'd like though is a proper company to assist with all the paperwork required to register in Poland to do all the necessary legal bits. It looks like a bit of a nightmare (its a rhd car so probably even more of a ball ache).I'd be happy and prefer to pay a company to do it for me.

Is there such a company or service? Any ideas?

I'm not after opinions of how terrible driving a rhd car in Poland is or that it's not worth the money though ;-)
rtfm   
6 Jan 2021
News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]

The EU is attractive to the poorer nations simply because of free money and the opportunity for the citizens to leave to work in richer member states.

Once Poland becomes a net contributor I think feelings towards the EU here will change especially as the EU attempts to become ever more controlling and dictatorial. Although many Polish people I know see the EU for what it is - a communist super state in the making.

Although the free money and opportunities have been good for Poland, it will all change when the next wave of poorer countries join, Polish jobs/factories all move abroad and Polish taxes start paying for new infrastructure in Turkey (or wherever).
rtfm   
6 Jan 2021
News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]

@pawian - when the next wave of countries join the EU I'm not sure but it will happen, the EU wants to seek expansion it doesn't seek to stay as it is. I'd say it's more than half of Poles I've spoken to that see the EU as EUSSR in disguise.

Jon, yes the EU does by its very nature seek to become more controlling. That's the whole idea of ever tighter integration. It has some benefits but is at the eventual cost of the erosion of individual states independence and identity. Manufacturing would move wherever it is cheaper which would be whatever poor country joined next and got a huge load of EU grants to help it upgrade itself. Any trade that's moved to China already is irrelevant, I am talking about what is left.
rtfm   
6 Jan 2021
News / Poles say a big YES to our European Union [957]

Pawian - for sure the EU wants to be an empire and I do think it is communist in its nature. Pushing mismatching economies into a single currency (handy for German exports) and the desire for an EU army for example are signs to me of that desire and of what the EU is working towards.

I hope I'm wrong and the EU is really just this benevolent well meaning organisation rather than the giant pissing money up the wall, power grabbing corrupt pile of poop it appears to be.
rtfm   
14 Jan 2021
Work / NFZ and contributions and a FINE!? Working as a teacher in Poland. [11]

That's interesting. What constitutes not being covered though? I have a policy for emergencies which covers my statutory minimum health insurance requirements while my nfz/s1 saga drags on seemingly indefinitely but I don't get routine health care with it.
rtfm   
14 Jan 2021
Life / Are Poles suspicious of Facebook? [50]

The leftist mantra is free speech as long you agree with what we say which is pretty much the same as the media. No wonder people on the other end of the spectrum made their own forum and did the same thing.

We are sadly in times where we can no longer have adult discussions about opposing ideals without the permenantly offended screaming an "ism"

As for "diversification" in jobs, that is just another word for racism if it is selecting candidates based on race rather than merit
rtfm   
14 Jan 2021
Work / NFZ and contributions and a FINE!? Working as a teacher in Poland. [11]

I like that idea only I already have a full time job in the UK for which I'm working remotely here in Poland. I can imagine a world of extra fines if I get caught doing dodgy pretend jobs for discount healthcare.

It is somewhat funny though that I am stopped from making voluntary payments by the nfz and then eventually when I can register I will be fined for not paying for the services I wasn't able to use.
rtfm   
15 Jan 2021
Work / Moving to Poland, Working for a UK Company [34]

Hey OJK. So the HMRC finally wrote back to say I need to write to ZUS who will write to HMRC who will write to me and maybe send me an S1.

Well, I say they wrote back but I mean they
finally confirmed via a telephone call. The actual letter is still in the post and expected to take 3 weeks to arrive!

Crazy situation
rtfm   
15 Jan 2021
UK, Ireland / Brexit complications for UK nationals [10]

After brexit but not after the transition period - I can say with some confidence it was far far easier for my Polish friends to register to stay in the uk after brexit (5 minutes on an app) vs me registering to stay in Poland (nobody in the council offices knowing what is required, endless bullshit translations of irrelevant documents).
rtfm   
15 Jan 2021
UK, Ireland / Brexit complications for UK nationals [10]

So I have my bit of paper now to say I was a EU resident before transition ended. No card as yet because they haven't decided on what they will look like. The process took 6 weeks and would've been longer if I didn't have my wonderful inlaws helping me!

Due to my working arrangements and the utter uselessness of hmrc, there is an ongoing saga with regards to my health care and taxes out here which i would be amazed if it's sorted in less than another 2 months.
rtfm   
16 Jan 2021
UK, Ireland / Advice about UK life insurance options [27]

UK nationals in Poland and Poles in the UK should make sure they either have insurance or enough funds to repatriate their body or pay for a funeral. It's not cheap to repatriate a body so if it matters to you you need to be prepared.

Personally, I'll be dead so it won't matter to me either way.

One other thing about the UK is it's an opt out organ donation system so your body parts will be harvested if you are a resident unless you have opted out before death. Frankly this is disgusting, basically you don't even own your own body.
rtfm   
16 Jan 2021
UK, Ireland / Advice about UK life insurance options [27]

The disgusting point is the arrogant presumed ownership of the state of your body and you have to request to have control of it back. A lot of people are unware of the change to the rules too.

Just a matter of principle really. Instead of encouraging people to make the desired choice of being a donor the government decides that by default you body belongs to them and hope people don't notice.

Also open to potential abuse, people being killed off early in hospital harvest organs for example or records of withdrawn consent just "lost" when convenient.
rtfm   
16 Jan 2021
UK, Ireland / Advice about UK life insurance options [27]

Tacitus - Can't be very attached to them or aren't aware of the rule change perhaps.

Don't get me wrong, organ donation is a good thing. But the presumed consent is not and I rhink it is immoral. That's just my point of view, other opinions are available.

Also, the vast majority of people in the UK are cremated rather than buried ;-)
rtfm   
17 Jan 2021
UK, Ireland / Brexit complications for UK nationals [10]

Yes, I think you'll be fine, especially as you have a Polish employer. If I hear back about the proper card being decided on I'll update the thread.
rtfm   
20 Jan 2021
Food / British food products in Poland? [334]

Sorry but the quality of fish in Poland is ****, it would be travesty to try and recreate fish n chips here.