Visa

VISAS

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.

A foreigner may cross the border and stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland if he/she is in possession of a valid travel document and a visa, unless the Act provides otherwise.
You may apply for a short-stay visa if you plan to enter the territory of the Republic of Poland and stay here for more than three months. Visa application should be submitted at the consul's office.
If circumstances of the planned stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland relating to a visit, carrying out economic and cultural activity, participation in international conferences, performing official duties by representatives of a foreign country body or an international organization, participation in granting asylum proceedings, work, stay for scientific, educational or didactic purposes, stay under temporary protection, as well as participation in cultural or educational exchange program or students' holiday work require that the stay last longer than 3 months, you may apply for a long-stay visa, the stay period of which will be established according the purpose of stay indicated by you. A long-stay visa may not be issued for a period of stay exceeding 1 year.
You may apply for a visa if you have a valid travel document authorizing you to return to the country of your permanent residence or to leave for another country. A visa is placed in a travel document if the validity period of the travel document is longer by at least 3 months than the period within which you have to leave the Republic of Poland according to the issued visa.
A stay visa authorizes to one, two, or more entries into the territory of the Republic of Poland and staying there within the period of stay indicated in the visa.
Apart from indicating the stay period, a visa validity period is also determined and it cannot be longer than 5 years, The first entrance may take place and the last departure from the Republic of Poland must take place during this period. The number of entrances into the Republic of Poland allowed within the period of stay is also indicated in visa. The period of visa validity should begin no later than 3 months from the date of a visa issuance.
The authority competent for issuing visas is a consul.
The authority competent for extending the visa period is a voivode competent for a foreigner's place of residence.
The authority competent for issuing visa s in the course of Article 33 (1) of the Act on Aliens is the Head of the Office for Foreigners.
A foreigner must leave the territory of the Republic of Poland before the expiry of the period of stay indicated in visa and before the expiry of visa validity period unless s/he has been granted a visa period extension or a residence permit for a fixed period, or a settlement permit or a residence perm il for a long-term EC resident within the territory of the Republic of Poland.
Within at least 7 days before the expiry of period of stay based on the issued short-stay visa (14 days before the expiry of period of stay based on a long-stay visa) you may apply for visa extension to a voivode competent for your place of residence. The visa period may be extended only if the following conditions are satisfied:
-it is essential for your important professional or personal interest or humanitarian reasons,
-events which are the reason for visa period extension have happened independently of your will and cannot have been foreseen in the moment of visa issuance, the case circumstances do not indicate that the purpose of your stay will be different than declared, there are no circumstances justifying denial of visa issuance.

The period of stay on the territory of Republic of Poland based on the extended visa may not be longer than the residence period according to, respectively, short-stay or long-stay visa.
lf an application for visa period extension has not been submitted in the above mentioned term and proceedings do not finish before the visa validity period expiry, you will be obliged to leave the Republic of Poland and await the decision abroad.
Work visas entitle you to stay and work in the Republic of Poland.
Work visas are issued by a consul competent for your place of permanent residence against a work permit in the Republic of Poland presented by you or against a document proving that such a permit is not required.
Work visas are issued for a period of stay which corresponds with the period indicated in the work permit, but no longer than one year.
A foreigner that plans lo carry out work depending on the seasons of the year cycle for a determined period in the Republic of Poland receives a work visa for a residence period that corresponds with the period indicated in the work permit, but no longer than 6 months within 12 months of the day of the first entrance.
If you plan to carry out work in the Republic of Poland for a period longer than 3 months, and you receive a work permit, you may apply via a consul if you are abroad, or directly to a voivode for a residence permit for a fixed period.
Even if there arise circumstances on the basis of which a foreigner should be refused visa, s/he may receive a stay visa in the course of Article 33 (1) of the Act on Aliens, if:
1) provisions of the Polish law require that a foreigner should appear in person before a Polish body of public authority;
2) his/her entry into the territory of the Republic of Poland is indispensable because of the necessity to undergo medical treatment to rescue directly his/her life, which h/she cannot undergo in another country;
3) there is an extraordinary persona I situation requiring his/her presence in the Republic of Poland;
4) it is required by the interest of the Republic of Poland;
5) there is a justified assumption that a foreigner is a victim of trafficking in human beings within the meaning of Council Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings (OJ L 203, 1.8.2003), confirmed by an authority competent to carry out proceedings concerning combating trafficking in human beings.
In the case of such circumstances you may receive a visa for 3 months at most. An application for such a visa should be submitted via a consul or to a voivode competent for the place of your residence.
Staying in the Republic of Poland without required visa, residence permit for a fixed period, settlement permit or residence permit for a long-term EC resident, as well as carrying out work or business activity against provisions in force means the risk of extradition from the Republic of Poland and la ck of possibility of entry within the period of 3 to 5 years.

Visa application form in English for downloading:

Visa form