Poland Visa Requirements and Application Process.

Poland, official name Republic of Poland issues different types of short term and long term visas for different purposes of travel like tourist visa, business visa, study visa and work visa etc. Each visa type has specific requirements depending upon applicant’s passport, country, nationality and current country of living. Poland is a member of European Union as well as of Schengen states, so the EU visa issued by Poland is a Schengen visa which gives you right to travel anywhere within Schengen countries as long as your visa is valid. However, if you have Poland visa, you have to land in Poland first and then you can move to any other Schengen state you want to visit. According to latest statistics issued by European commission Poland rejected overall 3.92% visa applications in 2017.

Which countries do not need a visa to visit Poland?

According to the Polish immigration laws, citizens of several countries do not need a visa to Enter the country. Their nationals are allowed to enter the state and stay less than 90 days without any visa but it is only for Tourism purpose, work is not allowed during visa free stay in the country. Here is the list of countries whose nationals don’t need visa for Poland.

Albania

Andorra

Australia

Barbados

Brazil

Canada

Costa Rica

Czech Republic

East Timor

Finland

Germany

Guatemala

Hungary

Israel

Kiribati

Lithuania

Macedonia

Marshall Islands

Mexico

Monaco

New Zealand

Palau

Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis

San Marino

Seychelles

Slovenia

Spain

St. Vincent and Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

USA

Antigua Barbuda

Austria

Belgium

Brunei

Chile

Croati

Denmark

El Salvador

France

Greece

Honduras

Iceland

Italy

Latvia

Luxembourg

Malaysia

Micronesia

Montenegro

Nicaragua

Panama

Portugal

Sao Tome and Principe

Singapore

Solomon Islands

St. Lucia

Taiwan

UAE

Uruguay

Switzerland

Ukraine

Vatican (Holy See)

Venezuela

Argentina

Bahamas

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Colombia

Cyprus

Dominica

Estonia

Georgia

Grenada

Hong Kong

Ireland

Japan

Liechtenstein

Macao

Malta

Mauritius

Moldova

Netherlands

Norway

Paraguay

Romania

Samoa

Serbia

Slovakia

South Korea

St. Pierre and Miquelon

Sweden

Tonga

Tuvalu

UK

Vanuatu

Poland short term Type “C” Visa:

If you want to visit Poland for touristic or business type activities and want to stay there for up to 90 days, this visa is right for you. It is called visit visa too. It allows you to stay in the country for 90 days. Your visa duration starts from the first day you enter Poland. However, this visa can be used within 180 days. This visa doesn’t grant the right to work in the country. You can search for a job, go for job interview but still work is not allowed. On this visit visa, you can find job offer and job contract in Poland and then you have to leave the country to apply for Poland work visa. Generally, Polish embassy/consulate issue visit visa for tourist purpose, visit visa for business purpose and visit visa for private visit purpose.

Poland Visa Requirements (general):

Here is the list of documents required for all visit visa types. You have to meet these requirements whatever visit visa type you want to apply for. These documents are common for all visa type. Other documents are specified according to the visitor occupation and purpose of travel. You can find documents as per your status and purpose.

• Dully filled and signed visa application form. It can be downloaded from the official website of embassy of Poland. Normally applicants have to fill this visa application form online at E-consulate link at Poland embassy. Applicant can make appointment at embassy while filling this form online. After completion of this form, you can take a print of filled application form and sign. You have to bring this form with you while going embassy for documents submission.

• Fresh Photographs 2 with white background.
• Passport must be valid minimum 3 months with 2 blank pages.
• Previous passport if have.
• National identity Card’s copy.
• Any visa refusal in past, must be mentioned with refusal reason.
• Family Registration certificate issued by government.
• If any child travelling with one parent, a letter of permission must be needed from other parent who is not travelling.
• 6 months Bank statement in original must be signed by the bank officer. How much amount should be in your bank account? It depends upon the visa duration you are going to apply for. However, your bank account must have minimum 100 Polish Zloty per day. It means if you are applying visa for 30 days, you should have 30X100=30,00 Polish zloty minimum in your bank account. The more amount you have, the more chances of approval will be.
• Hotel reservation/other proof of accommodation in Poland. Hotel booking can be made online. Several websites are there which offer free hotel reservation. You can pay when you reach there. However, your hotel reservation duration should be matched the dates of your stay in Poland which you mention in online form filling and with flight reservation. Any mismatching may lead to visa refusal.
• Flight reservation copy must be round trip.
• Travel medical insurance for Schengen visa with medical coverage of 30000 euro.
• A covering letter explaining all details of your tour, your occupation, tour purpose, duration of tour, accommodation, departure and arrival date, your trip plan etc. How to Write a Cover Letter
• Proof of marital status, if married. (it needs to be attested from Ministry of foreign affairs)
• Some countries citizens may need Police clearance certificate which must be attested by the Ministry of foreign of applicant’s country.
• Strong Tie to your country if available. You can show that you own some high value real estate/property etc. it helps to satisfy visa officer that you are already well settled in your country and must be back within visa duration. Bank deposit is also good. But if you don’t have any real estate/property, no need to worry, you still can apply.
• Travel history; it is not a requirement but if you have good travel history it will make you case strong. It shows that you never overstay in any country. It helps to satisfy visa officer.

Poland Visa for Students:

If you are a student and want to apply for Poland visit visa, you have to arrange all documents listed above. But as you are a student so You may need some extra documents too.

• A letter from your current educational institute as a proof that you are a student of that institute.
• NOC (no objection certificate) from your institute.
• A covering letter from your educational institute describing your purpose of visit and other details to satisfy embassy that you will not overstay in Poland and must be back to continue your study.
• Leave certificate from your Institute.

If you are a business man:

If you are self-employed and have some registered business, you need some additional documents besides general documents.

• Business Registration certificate.
• Bank account statement of last 6 months.
• Income Tax Return(ITR) of last two years.
• National Tax Number.

If you are employed:

If you are doing job in your country and want to apply for Poland visit visa, you need some extra documents apart from general documents listed above.

• NOC from your employer/department.
• Last three months’ salary slips.
• Leave certificate.
• A Covering letter from your company or employer describing your name, job position, date of joining, salary, contact number of company, address, your tour details to satisfy the embassy you must be back to join your job and won’t overstay in Poland.

Poland Tourist Visa Requirements:

To apply for Poland visa for Tourism purpose you need to arrange the following documents in extra.

• An invitation letter from your friend or relative who lives in Poland. If you don’t have any friend or relative in Poland, hotel booking is enough for you as invitation letter is not required for tourist visa normally. But if you are applying visa first time, it is advised to arrange an invitation letter because it increases chances of visa approval.
• You have to arrange general documents mentioned above and other documents according to your occupation listed above.

Poland Business Visa Requirements:

• An invitation letter from a Business organization of Poland. One copy of invitation letter needs to be send to embassy/consulate directly. This invitation letter should contain information of visitor as well as tour details too.
• If there exist any trade relation with Polish companies, it should be presented.
• Applicant needs to arrange business documents mentioned above for business persons as well general documents for visa.
• If you don’t own a business and doing job, you can also apply for business visa but you have present business invitation letter and letters from your company about you and your tour details.
• There are many organizations which conduct fares, seminars and expo in Poland. You can find about them online and request them to send you invitation letter to join them. Sometimes their organizer sends you invitation letter free of cost. You can search about them on google.

Poland Visa for Medical Treatment:

Poland visit visa can be obtained for medical treatment purpose too. Apart from documents we have already mentioned, you have to arrange some extra documents too which are required for Medical treatment visa.

• A medical report from local doctor recommending for treatment abroad.
• Documents from hospital/doctors from Poland, accepting the patient for treatment.
• Some initial paid fee to Poland hospital/doctors.

Invitation letter from Private person:

Formal invitation called “ZAPROSZENIE” which is issued by the local authorities in Poland (Urząd Wojewódzki) on the request of inviting person. If inviting person is responsible for visitor’s accommodation and expenses of travel, he/she should write a letter for it and submit following documents to the department.

• Bank statement of 3 months.
• Salary slips of last 3 years.
• Paid Tax details.
• Passport or Polish id according to status.

Poland Visa Application Process:

To apply for Poland visa, normally you cannot submit visa application directly to embassy. First you need completer your documents specified to visa type you want to apply for, than you need to fill a visa application form online at http://www.e-konsulat.gov.pl which is the official website of Poland government. While applying online, you can make your appointment at Poland embassy for documents submission and for interview.

Poland visa application process is almost same for Pakistani and Indian citizen. Visa fee is 60 Euro and can be paid in local currency at current exchange rate. Embassy may take 15 days to make a decision on your visa application. People who are living outside country especially Pakistani, Indians, Bangladeshi and Nepali who mostly live and work in UAE, Malaysia and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia etc., they can apply Poland visa there but they must have legal status there. It means if you want to apply Poland visa in UAE, you must have UAE work visa. On UAE visit visa, you cannot apply Poland visa. You need to get NOC letter from your current employer, salary statement, bank account statement belongs to your salary etc.

There may be some difference in Poland visa application requirements and application process according to country where you are going to apply. You should visit the official website of Poland embassy for accurate visa requirements and application.

Poland Embassy Websites:

Poland embassy in Pakistan:

https://islamabad.msz.gov.pl/en/consular/islamabad_pk_a_40/

Poland embassy in India:

https://newdelhi.mfa.gov.pl/en/consular_information/visa_information/

Poland Visa In Ukraine:

Poland Visa Ukraine Can be applied through VFS global. Requirements and visa fee are almost same explained above. Poland embassy in Ukraine  accepts visa applications through VFS global. Applicants need to schedule an advance appointment to submit visa application and documents. More information to apply visa can be found at VFS globale website at following link:

http://www.vfsglobal.com/poland/ukraine/English/Tourist.html