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Visas

A foreigner may cross the border and stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland if he/she is in possession of a valid travel document and a visa, unless the Act provides otherwise.

You may apply for a uniform stay visa if you plan to enter the territory of Schengen states and stay there for less than three months. Visa application should be submitted to the consul's office.

If circumstances of the planned stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland relating to a visit, carrying out economic or cultural activity, participation in international conferences, performing official duties by representatives of a foreign country body or an international organisation, participation in granting asylum proceedings, work, stay for scientific, educational or didactic purposes, stay under temporary protection, as well as participation in cultural or educational exchange programme or students' holiday work require that the stay last longer that 3 months, you may apply for a national stay visa, the stay period of which will be established according to the purpose of stay indicated by you. A national stay visa may not be issued for a period of stay exceeding 1 year.

You may apply for a visa if you have a valid travel document, the validity period of which exceeds visa validity period, authorising you to return to your country of origin or to leave for third country.

A national visa is placed in a travel document, if the validity period of the travel document is longer by at least 3 months than the period within which you have to leave the Republic of Poland according to the issued visa.

A stay visa authorises to one, two, or more entries into the territory of the Republic of Poland and staying there within the period of stay indicated in the visa.

Apart from indicating the stay period, a visa validity period is also determined and it cannot be longer than 5 years. The first entrance may take place and the last departure from the Republic of Poland must take place during this period. The number of entrances into the Republic of Poland allowed within the period of stay is also indicated in visa.

The period of visa validity should begin no later than 3 months from the date of the visa issuance.

The authority competent for issuing visas is a consul.

The authority competent for extending the visa period is a voivode competent for a foreigner's place of residence.

Authority competent for issuing visas in the course of Article 33 (1) of the Act on Aliens is the Head of the Office for Foreigners.

A foreigner must leave the territory of the Republic of Poland before the expiry of the period of stay indicated in visa and before the expiry of the visa validity period unless s/he has been granted a visa period extension or a residence permit for a fixed period, or a settlement permit or a residence permit for a long-term EC resident within the territory of the Republic of Poland.

Within at least 7 days before the expiry of the period of stay based on the issued short-stay visa (14 days before the expiry of the period of stay based on a long-stay visa) you may apply for visa extension to a voivode competent for your place of residence. The visa period may be extended only if the following conditions are satisfied:

it is essential for your important professional or personal interest or humanitarian reasons,
events which are the reason for visa period extension have happened independently of your will and cannot have been foreseen at the moment of visa issuance,
the case circumstances do not indicate that the purpose of your stay will be different than declared,
there are no circumstances justifying denial of visa issuance.

The period of stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland based on the extended visa may not be longer than the residence period according to, respectively, short-stay or long-stay visa.

If an application for visa period extension has not been submitted in the above mentioned term and proceedings do not finish before the visa validity period expiry, you will be obliged to leave the Republic of Poland and await the decision abroad.

National stay visas with work permit entitle you to stay and work in the Republic of Poland.

The visas are issued by the consul competent for your place of permanent residence against a promise of work permit in the Republic of Poland presented by you or against a document proving that such a permit is not required.

The visas are issued for a period of stay which corresponds with the period indicated in the promise or declaration, but no longer than one year.

A foreigner that plans to carry out work depending on the seasons of the year cycle for a determined period in the Republic of Poland receives a national stay visa with work permit for a residence period that corresponds with the period indicated in the work permit issuance promise, but no longer than 6 months within 12 months of the day of the first entrance.

If you plan to carry out work in the Republic of Poland for a period longer than 3 months, and you receive a work permit issuance promise, you may apply via a consul if you are abroad, or directly to a voivode for a residence permit for a fixed period.

Even if there arise circumstances on the basis of which a foreigner should be refused visa, s/he may receive a stay visa in the course of Article 33 (1) of the Act on Aliens, if:

provisions of the Polish law require that a foreigner should appear in person before a Polish body of a public authority;
his/her entry into the territory of the Republic of Poland is indispensable because of the necessity to undergo medical treatment to rescue directly his/her life, which h/she cannot undergo in another country;
there is an extraordinary personal situation requiring his/her presence in the Republic of Poland;
it is required by the interest of the Republic of Poland;
there is a justified assumption that a foreigner is a victim of trafficking in human beings within the meaning of Council Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings (OJ L 203, 1.8.2003), confirmed by an authority competent to carry out proceedings concerning combating trafficking in human beings.

In the case of such circumstances you may receive a visa for 3 months at the most.

An application for such a visa should be submitted via a consul or to the voivode competent for the place of your residence.

Staying in the Republic of Poland without required visa, residence permit for a fixed period, settlement permit or residence permit for a long-term EC resident, as well as carrying out work or business activity against provisions in force means the risk of extradition from the Republic of Poland and lack of possibility of entry within the period of 3 to 5 years.

Source: http://www.udsc.gov.pl/index.php?documentName=main