Registration of residence of a citizen of a European Union Member State

 Citizens of the European Union Member States and their family members may stay in Poland for a period of 3 months without the need to register their stay. The only requirement is to have a document confirming identity and citizenship. If the stay on the territory of Poland is longer than 3 months, an EU citizen is obliged to register his stay, and a family member who isn’t an EU citizen is obliged to obtain a residence card of an EU citizen's family member. The application for registration of stay must be submitted to the voivode competent for the place of stay, no later than on the day following the lapse of 3 months from the date of entry into the territory of Poland.

 The three-month period doesn’t apply to an EU citizen who entered the territory of Poland to look for a job. In this case, the period of stay without registration may not exceed 6 months. The deadline may be extended if, after this period, the foreigner proves that he is actively continuing his job search and has real chances of being employed.

As a rule, an EU citizen has the right to stay for more than 3 months if he meets one of the conditions:

1)is an employee or a self-employed person in the territory of Poland,

2)has sufficient financial resources to support himself and his family members for the period in which he wants to stay in the territory of Poland and has appropriate health insurance,

3)is studying or undergoing vocational training in Poland and has financial resources to support himself and his family members in Poland and has appropriate health insurance,

4)is a spouse of a Polish citizen.

The procedure for registering an EU citizen's stay is free of charge. If there is an proxy in the case, only the stamp duty for submitting the power of attorney in the amount of PLN 17 is payable. In order to register, the following documents must be prepared:

• application for registering the stay of an EU citizen,
• a copy of a travel document or other document confirming identity and citizenship,
• in the case of an employee: a written declaration of the employer or entity authorized to entrust the EU citizen with the performance of work on the intention to entrust him with work or a certificate of performance of work,
• in the case of a self-employed person in the territory of Poland: a written declaration regarding the entry in the National Court Register or the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity or other evidence confirming that the citizen of the European Union is a self-employed person in the territory of Poland,
• in the case of students or persons undergoing vocational training: a certificate of a state or non-state university of admission to studies or a referral to vocational training, a document confirming the possession of health insurance, a written declaration of having sufficient financial resources to support oneself and family members or proof of their possession,
• in the case of a spouse of a Polish citizen: a document confirming contracting a marriage with a Polish citizen,
• in the case of registration of a family member: a certificate of registration of residence of a European Union citizen, with whom the family member resides in the territory of Poland,
• in other cases: a document confirming health insurance and proof of sufficient financial resources to support oneself and family members, e.g. a certificate confirming the possession of means of payment in a bank or other financial institution, confirmed with the seal and signature of an authorized employee of that bank or institution, issued no later than one month before submitting the application for registration of stay.

After registration, a certificate will be issued, which is valid indefinitely. Failure to register your stay in Poland is punishable by a fine.