VISA & APPLICATION

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR EU CITIZENS

If you are a citizen of an EU member state the only thing you need to have to enter Poland is a valid travel document or a document confirming identity and citizenship (i.e. your national ID). However, if you wish to travel abroad during your stay in Poland it is a good idea to have a passport with you, as it is necessary to visit some of Poland’s neighbours that don’t belong to the EU.

For a stay shorter than three months there are no formal requirements. Your studies will however take longer. For such a stay a registration of residence is necessary. You should register with Voivodship (Provincial) Office.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-EU CITZENS

The two main documents you will to enter Poland if are not a EU citizen are a valid travel document (passport) and a visa (if required).

Visa

As a general rule you need a visa to enter Poland. There are, however, a number of countries that are free of this requirement. You can check if your country is on the list here: http://www.msz.gov.pl

Poland is a part of the Schengen zone, so you can apply for a Polish visa and travel all around Europe (excluding the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and states outside of the EU).

There are several types of visas to choose from:

• “A” type – an airport transit Schengen visa, so it cannot be used by a student coming to Poland
• “C” type – a short-term Schengen visa allowing the holder to stay in the Schengen territory for up to 90 days in 180 days period
• “D” type – a long-term national visa issued for up to one year allowing travel around the Schengen area for up to 90 days in a 180 days period A visa can only be extended in exceptional situations. Should you need to stay in Poland longer than specified in your visa please do apply for the temporary residence permit (see below)

5 easy steps to get a visa

1) Find a Polish consulate that can process you application. You can use the MFA’s search engine http://mfa.gov.pl

2) Read carefully ALL the information concerning visa application on the consulate’s website and follow ALL the instructions.

3) Set a visa appointment with the consulate. In most cases you will have to register through the website: http://www.e-konsulat.gov.pl

4) Prepare the necessary documents, including: application form, travel document (passport), biometric photo, health insurance, sufficient means to support yourself, documents confirming the purpose of your stay. The specifics of the required documentation may vary among consulates, so confirm them with the consulate’s website.

5) Submit all the documents including a printed and signed application form and the visa fee. Your visa application is complete. It will take up to 15 days for it to be reviewed.

TEMPORARY RESIDENCE PERMIT

Who needs it?

Every Non-EU student needs it.

You should apply for a Temporary Residence Permit before your visa expires. 

When you receive the permit you will be issued a Temporary Residence Card, an ID card that proves that you have a residence permit. Together with you travel document it allows you to cross the Polish border as many times as you wish. The first residence permit is issued for the period of 15 months. It can be renewed for periods of up to 3 years but for no longer than the remainder of your studies.

REMEMBER: You should apply for the Temporary Residence Card when you are legally staying in Poland, which means after you arrive, but before the expiry of your visa

Application

You have to apply for a Temporary Residence Permit with the local Voivodship Office. You can find a complete list of offices here: : http://www.migrant.info.pl/ The documents you will need to legalise your stay include an application form, photos and documents proving your identity and citizenship, address, purpose of stay (a certificate from your school) health insurance and possession of sufficient funds. For detailed information check out the Voivodship Office’s website. The procedure costs 390 PLN in total.

EU students

EU students do not need to apply for temporary residence permits. As UE citizens they should only apply for registration of their stay with local voivodship office within 90 days of their arrival. They will be issued a cost-free certificate of registration with non-limited period of validity proving their right to stay in Poland. For detailed information check out the Voivodship Office’s website.

World Wide College helps students to apply for a student visa to Poland. The procedures may vary depending on the country you come from. However, some of the requirements remain the same for all the countries and they include:

• A filled-in visa application form
• Valid passport
• Official letter of acceptance to a school in Poland 
• A short CV
• Your school certificates and diplomas
• Evidence of proficiency in the language in which you wish to study
• Confirmation of having the funds for studying and living in Poland
• Health insurance
• A photo

If you would like to learn the requirements for visa application from your country, feel free to contact us! 

Stay permit

Another condition you need to fulfill to be able to study in Poland is to legalize your stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland. If you are a European Union (EU) citizen and you would like to stay longer than three months in Poland, you need to register your stay in the country. If you are a non-EU citizen, you need to obtain a visa at a Polish consulate in your home country before your arrival in Poland. Once in Poland, in order to prolong your stay, you need to apply for a Temporary Stay Card – karta czasowego pobytu – 45 days before your visa expires. To arrange this, feel free to contact one of World Wide College.

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