UDSC

› MAIN PAGE › LEGALISATION OF FOREIGNER’S STAY IN THE TERRITORY OF POLAND › Visas

A A A

Foreigner may enter territory of Poland if he has a valid travel document and a visa, unless provisions of the Law state otherwise.

You may apply for a short-term visa if you intend to enter territory of Poland and stay there for a period not longer than 3 months. Visa application is submitted to a consul.

If circumstances of planned stay in the territory of Poland are connected with a visit, business, cultural activities or participation in international conferences, execution of official tasks by representatives of foreign country's authorities and international organisations, performance of work or stay connected with scientific, training or teaching purposes that require residence exceeding a 3 month's period you can apply for a long-stay visa, where residence period shall be determined in accordance to purpose of stay indicated by you. Long-stay visa cannot be issued for a period longer than one year.

You can apply for a visa if you have a valid travel document that entitles you to return to the country of permanent residence or to travel to another country. Visa is stamped into the travel document, if its validity exceeds the date of leaving Polish territory upon issued visa by at least 3 months.

Within at least 7 days prior to the end of stay upon a short-stay visa (14 days before end of stay upon a long-stay visa) you can apply to the Voivode (governor) appropriate for your place of stay for extension of a stay visa. Visa may be extended only in case when following conditions are jointly fulfilled:

•  it is supported by your vital professional or personal interest or humanitarian reasons,
• events, being the cause for visa extension's application, have occurred independently from your will and were impossible to foresee at the time visa was issued,
• circumstances of the case do not indicate that the purpose of your stay will be different from declared,
• there are no circumstances justifying refusal of visa.
  

Residence period in Poland upon an extended visa respectively cannot exceed a stay period upon a short-stay or a long-stay visa.

If application for visa extension was not lodged within the aforementioned deadline and proceedings will not be completed before expiry of visa you will have to leave the territory of Poland and await decision abroad.

Stay visa entitles to a single, double or multiple entry to Polish territory and to stay there for a period of time determined by visa.

Apart from determining the period of stay visa includes also its validity period, which cannot exceed five years during which the first entry to and final exit from Polish territory must take place, and also number of entries into Polish territory permitted within the stay period.

Authority eligible to issue a visa is consul.
Authority eligible to extend a visa is Voivode (governor) appropriate for foreigner's place of stay.

Foreigner is required to leave the territory of Poland before the lapse of stay period determined by visa and prior to expiry of visa's validity date, unless he has acquired extension of visa or a residence permit for a defined period of time, a permit for settlement or a residence permit of a long-term EC resident in the territory of Poland.

WORK VISAS

Work visa entitles to stay and work in the territory of Poland.

Work visa is issued by consul appropriate for your place of permanent residence, when you present a promise for issuance of a job permit in territory of Poland or a document indicating that such promise is not required.

A work visa will be issued to a foreigner, who intends to perform in Poland seasonal work for a defined period of time, for the stay period corresponding with period of time indicated in the promise for issuance of a job permit. However, not longer than for 6 months within 12 months counted from the day of first entry.

You may lodge an application for a residence permit for a specified period of time via consul (when you stay abroad) or directly to Voivode if you intend to perform work in the territory of Poland for a period longer than 3 months and you have acquired a promise for issuance of a job permit.
 
Residence in the territory of Poland without a required visa, residence permit for a specified period of time or permit for settlement, or residence permit for a long-term EC resident, as well as performing work or commencement of business activities against binding regulations may result in your expulsion from the territory of Poland without possibility of re-entry for a period from 3 to 5 years.