A D-visa required? Info regarding emigrating to Poland.

Hello! I'll write this in English as my Polish isn't quite ideal yet. I'm a US citizen who's been long interested in moving to Europe. And after a few years of consideration in terms of job market demand and university options I've set my sights on Poland. I'd like to reside there while working and studying.

But one thing that isn't clear and all info I've found is rather contradictory: is whether or not I need to acquire a D visa before arriving in the country or if I can simply go with a passport and get everything handled within the 90 day visa free period. I've attempted reaching out to my districts consulates office multiple times to no avail and they're nearly an 8 hour drive from me so I'm trying to gather as much information as I can without having to go to such lengths. I work in the USA as a CNC programmer and am planning to study as a web developer/programmer as it's the line of work I'd like to go into. I have roughly 10,000USD set aside for this and have heard that one option is hiring a TRC lawyer upon my arrival which I'd have no issue with if it actually is an option. I'm just looking for some clarification on whether or not the D type visa is absolutely essential beforehand or if it's something I can forgo in favor of getting it handled once I've made my way there. Thank you for reading and your time!

As a US citizen I don't think you need to apply for visa to visit Poland or any EU country. You can use your passport and legally spend up to 90 days in Poland on the US passport. While in Poland, you indeed have 90 days to apply for residency etc. Make sure you have all the original documents ready and you could translate them in Poland as they require translated documents. I'm not sure, but I think you can stay legally in Poland over 90 days as long as you have legally applied for work or study permit within 90 days and have a proof of it.

@Tlum
This is what I've heard, I'd just like to be absolutely sure before I go that way I'm not scrambling for a solution should it fall through somehow. Translating documents shouldn't be an issue as my polish is getting pretty decent. If the general response on this thread seems to agree then I'll forgo the visa in favor of handling residency and applications/permits upon my arrival there. Thank you for your help!

You need official translations of documents. You can't do them yourself. You have to use a 'sworn translator'. It's very easy to find one and not that expensive.


Get used to it. That's Poland in a nutshell. It's very common to be given completely conflicting information by officials. A lot of them don't know their arse from their elbow. If they don't have the answer to your query they either get annoyed with you (they're often downright rude) or they just make something up.

There is no dispute that on the US passport you can stay in Poland for up to 90 days, period. If you have resources, I'd just fly to Poland and spend the time on going to offices to get more information for your specific case. Yes, all the documents must be translated by a sworn Polish translator and it's best to do it while in Poland. Do not even try translating them yourself. A good translation office, which is sometimes combined with a legal office, may provide useful information about your migration plans and give referrals.