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Registration in Poland

How to register in Poland

Poland - Visas & Permits

Registration in Poland

Registration (zameldowanie) is very important in Poland. You need to register for a temporary stay (before you can apply for a permanent stay), and then for a residence permit (karta pobytu), for the authorities, banks and for the fiscal authorities.

Everybody who comes to Poland needs to register within three days of entry. You have to apply at the appropriate registration office (Urzad Meldunkowy). If you spend your time in Poland at a hotel, hostel etc. the registration will be done for you. If you stay with friends, you will have to go to the registration office with the owner or tenant of the flat at which you are staying. Nevertheless registration is fairly easy.

For permanent residence in Poland the registration process is more complicated. You will need your passport or ID-card and a rental agreement. In addition (although this doesn’t appear to be a consistent requirement), you may need to be accompanied by the owner, who has to show a proof of ownership (e.g. certificate of title) and his identity card.

This might seem a bit exaggerated, but with the zameldowanie come several privileges (at least for Polish people), and that´s why the process is so complicated. After you have obtained temporary registration (zameldowanie tymczasowe), you can apply for a residence permit (karta pobytu) at your local wojewod office.

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Other comments

  • Anon, 14 September 2009 Reply

    Maybe incorrect or out of date info

    The information here may be very much out of date or simply incorrect. Visitors to Poland DO NOT need to register within 3 days. Citizens of the EU are entitled to remain for 90 days without informing anybody.

    As for the regisration, it is a lot more complicated than this short article suggests. For example you will need proof of having enough money or income to survive, proof of insurance and any other random document the under-motivated-government-official feels like demanding.

    Note that the process and indeed the cost is most likely different for EU citizens, Non EU citizens and family members of an EEA citizen exercising treaty rights.

    • MagdaLuiza 24 Feb 2010, 12:52

      temporal registration

      I think you mean the need of obtaining "Zaświadczenie o zarejestrowaniu pobytu obywatela UE" It's true - you need to have it if you want to stay ion Poland for longer than 90 days but it's not the same as a temporal registration in the Local Authority Office( Urząd Dzielnicy)