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Your Guide to living in Poland. Poland visa, citizenship and more.

Why live in Poland?

Though there were times when many young Polish would leave the country to find employment elsewhere, times are clearly changing for this European country. Poland is home to 39 million people and many of them choose to stay for all the great things that can be found within its borders.
According to The Telegraph, Warsaw is one of the most improved cities in the world. Unemployment numbers used to be sky high but have dropped dramatically over the past decade and are currently even lower than they were before the financial crisis. Pollution is decreasing, the average wage is rising and the income per household is also increasing.
Polish love their beer and are one of the six largest beer consumers in the world; they drink about 99 litres a year. Having a beer together is part of Polish culture and builds a relationship of trust. Poland is also the most religious country in Europe, with 86% of the people saying they’re religious. Accommodation in Poland is generally cheap and the cost of living is low compared to a lot of other places in Europe. Health care and education meet European expectations, public transport is modern and well structured and most people have at least a functional grasp of English.

Poland Visas and Permits

Work Visas

Citizens who are not from the European Economic Area need a  work permit to work and live in Poland. Your future employer must support your application, making the permit employer and position-specific and in most cases switching jobs means you have to apply for a new permit.   There are five types of work permits.  You can find details on all of these and the application procedures here.

Youth Mobility Visa

  • If you are an Australian, Japanese, South Korean, New Zealand or Taiwanese citizen between the ages of 18-30, you may be eligible under the Working and Holiday Visa programme. Note: you may need a letter of government support to undertake this type of visa.
  • If you are a Canadian citizen between the ages of 18-35, you may be eligible under the Working and Holiday Visa programme. Note: you may need a letter of government support to undertake this type of visa.

To find out if you need a tourist visa to visit Poland, please use the VisaHQ tool below.

Family Visas

If your spouse is a citizen or permanent resident of Poland, you are probably eligible for residency.  If your spouse is a citizen, you can apply for citizenship after 3 years of marriage and 2 years of residency in Poland.  Please note that your status of spouse needs to be legally recognised in this country.

Poland Citizenship

Citizenship by Descent

If one or both of your parents were citizens of Poland when you were born, you are probably also a citizen.

Citizenship by Naturalisation

You can apply for Polish citizenship if you know the Polish language, and meet one of the following criteria:

  • If you have lived in Poland for the last 3 years as a permanent residency, you have a stable and regular source of income, and own or rent an apartment or house.
  • If your spouse is a citizen of Poland , you can apply for citizenship after 3 years of marriage and 2 years of residency in Poland.  Please note that your status of spouse needs to be legally recognised in this country.
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