European Union citizens

EU citizens enjoy the freedom of movement scheme. This entails being able to freely move about the member states to seek employment and reside legally without the need of additional visas.

All categories include:

• look for a job in another EU country   

• work there without needing a work permit

• reside there for that purpose

• stay there even after employment has finished

• enjoy equal treatment with nationals in access to employment, working conditions and all other social and tax advantages

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Free movement of workers also applies, in general terms, to the countries in the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

Once you have remained in Poland for longer than 3 months you'll need to register your stay as an EU citizen in Poland, also known as Rejestracja pobytu obywatela UE – pobyt krótkoterminowy, which allows you to stay for the purpose of working, residing etc. It is important to inform the respective Voivodeship Office [Urząd Wojewódzki ] whenever you change places of residency, personal information/appearance or have lost your card. 

Afer 5 years of continuous stay in Poland (3 years for EU citizens married to a Polish citizen), you may qualify for a Permanent Residence Card [Prawo do stałego pobytu obywatela Unii Europejskiej]. 

If you are a holder of a valid EU member driver's permit you do not have to exchange it for a Polish one, as they are valid across all EU member states. Should you wish to exchange your driver's permit, you will require a sworn translation into Polish. For more information contact DokuPol.

Once you arrive in Poland you should register your stay [Zameldowanie na pobyt czasowy] within 30 days. This document is issued by your respective City Hall [Urząd Miasta/Gminy] for a period that corresponds to your basis of legal stay (e.g. work, housing contract). The certificate is issued for a cost of PLN 17 and is useful when registering your stay or filing taxes. Non-Polish citizens automatically receive a PESEL number when registering their stay. PESEL numbers are similar to a social security number. This number helps with banking and other government applications. 

Should you be a Polish citizen living in another EU member state and require legalization of documents, DokuPol can assist. This includes registering birth, marriage and death certificates from another EU member state into the Polish database. DokuPol can also assist with legal name changes or divorce entries.