Before your arrival to Poland

It is advisable, before your arrival to Poland, to check whether the inviting institution or company will provide you with accommodation. Many higher education institutions and research institutes have their own accommodation facilities for their staff. Some institutions have concluded contracts with hotels, and thus their visitors can benefit from various discounts. Information about accommodation arrangements can be obtained from the Department of International Co-operation of a given institution. When your prospective employer does not provide accommodation, then you might find the following information on the accommodation and housing system in Poland very useful.

Guest houses, guest rooms, hotels, apartments, hostels

Currently, Polish hotels sector is being developed intensively. At present in Poland you may find the global chain of very luxurious hotels (Marriott, Radisson SAS, Sheraton, Holiday Inn, etc.), tourist chain hotels (Ibis, Etap) as well as small private hotels. The official Poland Tourism Website provides information on hotel accommodation available in all Polish regions.

The Internet also offers plenty of hotel search engines divided according to cities and accommodation categories. As an alternative to hotels you can reserve fully furnished apartments or find cheap guest rooms, apartments and guest houses all over Poland.

Buying and renting a house or an apartment

Apartments and houses on sale or for rent are advertised in newspapers, on the Internet and in real estate agencies. The following sources might be helpful in your search:

The rental cost varies (in Warsaw, Gdansk or Cracow you may expect higher prices). Agencies charge you a fee to the tune of at least 1-month rental. The deposit is given back when you terminate the rental lease provided that you follow the contract rules. In most cases you are also obliged to pay for electricity, water and gas according to the meters.

Any additional facilities such as telephone, Internet, cable TV and others are obligatorily paid by tenants. When renting an apartment, please make sure whether the price includes charges related to the use of the apartment (building maintenance costs, etc.). Also be prepared that the rental lease will be in Polish.

Permits to buy property

The EU/EEA nationals are required to apply for a permit only in order to purchase an agricultural or a forest property during a period of 12 years after the accession of Poland to the EU (until 2016). The permit is issued by the Minister of Interior and Administration (MI&A) in a form of an administrative decision. Nevertheless, no permit is needed in case of buying a property being a second house either for residential building development or for a rest and leisure purpose unless it is done in order to obtain a place of permanent residence. 

Non-EEA nationals are allowed to buy a property in Poland but they must obtain the permission first unless it is an apartment for which no permit is needed.

Households effects

If you enter Poland from another EU country, you have the right to duty-free importation of goods purchased abroad.

Poland is covered by the EU Customs Union which means that the Community system of exemption from customs duty applies outright to goods imported or exported to or outside the territory of the Community.

In this connection, households effects are exempt from customs import duties for travelers entering the customs area of the Community from a third country territory on condition that the import of these goods will be declared in the customs office in the territory of Poland. In the described case only Polish customs offices can make such exemption from duty. It should be added that if customs declaration is not made in the customs office on the border of the Community, these goods will be covered by the transit procedure while crossing the border.

Bringing cars

Since the EU territory is bound by the customs union, the EU citizens are not concerned with customs duty when bringing their cars to Poland. Non-EU citizens are granted exemption from the duty by the Customs Service upon crossing the country border for the first 6 months of their stay. The exemption can be prolonged by the same authority. Excise tax (akcyza) also applies to cars. Moreover, the information on moving cars can be found on the EURES Portal.

Polish legislation and regulations on importing goods (whether for a personal or commercial use) are subject to change so it is wise to check them with the relevant authorities, for example the Polish Embassy in your country.

Useful links