An Australian girl living in Poland: Residence permit, please help!

Ok, I've trawled through these forums and I know this has been covered many times but the answers are convoluted at best. If somebody with experience could please help me it would be much appreciated.

So this is my situation, in clear point form....

I'm an Australian girl living in Poland.
I arrived on a 90 day Schengen visa and really liked the place.
I applied for a work permit as an English teacher.
I waited and waited for a response but had to get out of Schengen before my 90 days were up.
So I went to Ukraine for a few weeks waiting it out.
I finally gave up waiting and came back.
The permit finally came through but it's not valid untill I get a residency permit.
Now at this point I know that I've broken the 90 days out of 180 rule, but I have not stayed longer than 90 days at one time.

My second round of a 90 day stint is almost up and I'm wondering what to do.
I know the law states that you can only stay 90 out of 180 but there are many stories of people still getting away with "border runs".

I also know that I should have applied for this residence permit 45 days before my Schengen visa expired in order to get a response in time. But this whole process was impossible for me.

Basically here are my options.....
I can try to leave Schengen and return at the cost of many hundreds of PLN with the risk of being refused re-entry. If I successfully return I would I apply for a residence permit at the cost of many hundreds of PLN.

There are many ifs and buts about this expediture being worth while.
I mean I've broken the 90/180 rule, is it worth doing any of this at all?
I would like to stay in Poland. If I've already broken this "Rule" and will get banned from Schengen for three years then I figure I may as well stay here for as long as I can. I have the means to support myself so why not enjoy my time here for a couple of years then deal with that ban when I'm ready to leave. By that point I won't care so much about the ban, there's a whole world to see.

Can anybody please proffer some advice.
I know there is 90/180 rule but I see people getting away with this.
Can people please tell me their experiences?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Yours -Kate

Sorry for the negative post but here goes:

Why do foreigners feel that its okay for them to break the law in Europe when its so difficult for us to go to Aus? You have stated several times that you have broken the rules..so why continue? Or do you feel that its okay to be illegal in a country?

If you're thinking about coming to the UK, you will have to prove you have sufficient funds to be allowed entry..border controlls are tighter than a ducks ar*e and if you dont have a work visa and they think that you are going to work in the 3 months you intend to stay, then you have no chance of entry.

As for not thinking that you've not broken the 90 day thing (you seem a little confused abou this!), you have...You have to be out of the zone for 90 for the next 90 days to start again...being in the Ukraine for a couple of weeks doesnt really count.

By the way you can face a fine as well as a ban/deportation.

I can't give you any advice, but I can understand people who break rules when Polish red tape is involved.

Thanks so much for your advice.
So based on that I may as well stay here, same result if I stay or go.
Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Any other opinions?

It's not Polish redtape, it's just straight forward schengen rules.


the only difference is that once in violation, you will be deported. if you have no belongings, and no rental contract, nobody that you wouldn't mind seeing for a long time, then you have no problem and can stay here and hope not to get popped.

Basically, yes. The punishment is pretty standard - you'll have a week to leave Schengen with a ban of a year, plus a fine.

Does anybody have any experience with succussfully breaking the 90/180 day rule. Stories abound of people doing this.

Anybody?

Thanks -Kate

go visit home and lose your passport. now you have two...

Does anyone have any personal experiences.
I've been trying to do the right thing here but it seems impossible.

I've got some serious thinking to do. If anyboy else has an opinion on this it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks -Kate.

Find yourself a husband.

Hmm.... should I stay here or take the risk with leaving Schengen and then returning. A lot of people seem to be getting away with this.

Only if they want to stay here illegally, not if they want to get a work permit! It all depends on how bad a day the border guard's having as it's his/her decision whether to let someone in at the end of the day.

Anyway, you've broken the (very clear) rules. Your best bet is to go to the UK for 6 months and try again, remembering next time to apply for the residence permit within 45 days of entering Poland.

Thanks for your response inkrakow.
So what you are saying is that I can technically get away with leaving and returning every 90 days, but if I apply for residency after doing this they will take my application fee and kick me out with a Schengen ban?

Surely it's obvious that if you're here illegally, any dealings with officialdom will enhance your chances of being found out made to leave? A friend of mine was chucked out after being found drinking in public by a policeman who had nothing else to do that day, so it could come at any moment.

if it is illegal to be here more than 90 days out of every hundred then why are people being let back in after crossing the border on day 90 and coming back a few days later?

Because they are idiots. So far they've been lucky idiots but they're still idiots.

Time means> The right thing... apply for a work permit the day you arrive. It takes more than 90 days for that to come through, plus another 90 days, sometimes more for the residency permit to come through. Impossible.

Harry> Who are the idiots here? You'd think if a law were to be enforced it would most definitely be applied at the border.

If the general consensus here is that I've already broken the law then I'm definitely leaning towards having a long stay here now because the end result will be the same as leaving tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

It depends on when you put in for your permit and papers. If you applied before the first half of your 90 days was over you are supposed to be able to stay. Since you received your paperwork why do you have to leave?

I would call the Polish embassy in the country you are from and ask them.

If a work permit has been applied for before 45 days are up, then it should be relatively straightforward to obtain a temporary residence paper from the Foreigners Office to allow you to stay until the decision has been given.


I think because you went over 90 days without permission, you're illegal. But I'm hearing mumurings that they can (but this doesn't mean they will) legalise an illegal stay if there's exceptional circumstances - I know Germany has been doing this, but there's no guarantee that Poland will do the same thing.

Incidentally, it's a year's ban from Schengen, with formal notice to quit Schengen if you're caught. Some people are banned for longer, but where it's a clear cut case of overstay by a tourist, it's the standard punishment.

I really can't understand why you want to stay in Poland as a person coming from Sydney, I'm a brit moving to Sydney in around 6 weeks and it looks amazing.

Thank you so much lowfunk and delphiandomine.
It turns out that the applying 45 days beforehand thing is only applied to the residency application, not the work permit. But you must have a work permit to apply for residency.

Very very frustrating.

good luck:)

dnz> Australia is a truly amazing place and I do miss many parts of it. Australia will always be my home but I want to live a different life for a while. Even if it means freezing my arse off.

Albeit an illegal one.

@KateFromSydney

Fair enough, The best of luck to you. The Polish authorites will probably do everything in their power to make things difficult but i'm sure all will turn out well.

No one wants to make a decision that they could get in trouble for. It's much easier to say no.

Something I don't understand - they are obliged to respond to a work permit application within a short period of time - I think it's two weeks? For this reason, you should've been well within the 45 days. Of course - another option would have been to leave Schengen on day 43/44 and wait for the permit to come through - you could then easily come back and apply while still within the 45 days.

It took around four months to get a response for the work permit. It actually really took them two months but the monkeys at the Polish bureau of bureaucracy semmed to "lose it in the pile" the date it was approved on the document was two months before they finally "found it".

No ,if you leave tomorrow you won't be banned for a year, whereas if you're caught, you will be!

Who was advising you in regards to the work permit? Two months wait for a work permit is unacceptable - and the employer should be ashamed of themselves for leaving it so long.


Not neccessarily so - they can ban you at the exit check just as well. It depends very much on the mood of the officer on the day and whether he/she can be bothered to scrutinse your passport carefully.