Poland Visa Information

Learn4good provides general information on study, travel, work visa and business visa requirements and the addresses of embassies worldwide. You should contact your local embassy or consulate for the most up-to-date information or visa forms.

Who requires a visa?
All countries and territories that are members of the Schengen acquis, of the EU or of EFTA. Positive visa list of countries (also known as White Schengen List) from whose citizens no visa is required to enter the territory of the EU member states for a period of maximum 90 days.

Albania*****, Andorra***, Antigua and Barbuda , Argentina, Austria*, Australia (including the Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island)**, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium*, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina*****, Brazil***, Brunei, Bulgaria*, Canada**, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus*, Czech Republic*, Denmark*, El Salvador, Estonia*, Finland*, France*(including French Guyane, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, Réunion, St Pierre and Miquelon), Germany, Greece*, Guatemala, Honduras***, Hungary*, Iceland**, Ireland*, Israel**, Italy*, Japan**, Korea (South)**, Latvia*, Liechtenstein**, Lithuania*, Luxembourg*, Macao, Macedonia*****, Malaysia, Malta*, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco***, Montenegro*****, Netherlands*, New Zealand (including the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau)**, Nicaragua, Norway*, Panama, Paraguay, Poland*, Portugal*, Romania*, Saint Christopher and Nevis, San Marino***, Serbia******, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic*, Slovenia*, Spain* (including Spanish territories in North Africa with Ceuta and Melilla), Sweden*, Switzerland**, Taiwan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (including the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Bermuda)*****, United States of America (including Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico)**, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela. Without a visa, however, citizens of the above countries may not stay longer than three months every half-year or take up gainful employment requiring a work permit. Excepted are the following.

• * Citizens of European Union member states.
• ** If required, citizens of member states of the European Economic Area and some other countries may obtain a residence and/or work permit after entry.
• *** Provided that they do not intend to enter into employment, citizens of Honduras, Monaco, San Marino may obtain any residence permit required after entry.
• ***** British Nationals (Overseas) with corresponding BN(O) passports are also exempt from the visa requirement.
• ***** The visa waiver applies only to holders of biometric passports.
• ****** The visa waiver applies only to holders of biometric passports (excluding holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (in Serbian: Koordinaciona uprava)

Visa is not required also for: holders of United Nations “laissez-passer”;

Citizens of all other countries must obtain a visa in order to enter and stay in Poland legally.

Visa approval to access Poland gives right of stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland only.

Schengen uniform visa does not give the right to enter Poland, with exception for transit of citizens of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine according to conditions indicated in bilateral agreements.

Holders of travel documents issued based on Geneva Convention of 28th of July 1951 on status of refugees and New York Convention of 28th of September 1951 on status of stateless persons are not entitled to enter Poland without a visa. Exceptions below:

Since Poland is a member of the Schengen Agreement there are no border controls between countries that belong to the Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Schengen C-type visa
The unified Schengen visa (C-type visa valid in Schengen states) entitles the holder to stay in the territory of all Schengen states.

The Schengen visa with limited territorial validity (C-type visa valid only in Poland or with validity excluded for a specified Schengen state/states) only entitles the holder to stay in the territory of the state/states for which it is valid.

National D-type visa
If you intend to stay in the territory of Poland for a total of more than 90 days (at least 91 days) during one or more visits within a half-year period calculated from the date of first entry, you need to apply for a national D-type visa.

The national D-type visa entitles the holder to:
- stay in the territory of Poland throughout the period of its validity;
- additionally move within the territory of other Schengen states for up to three months within a half-year period.

Transit airport visa
If you intend to travel by air from a third state to another third state with a stopover at an airport in the Schengen area (in the territory of the Republic of Poland) and also:
(1) you do not intend to leave the international transit area of the airport and
(2) you hold the citizenship of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan or Sri Lanka,
- you need to apply for an A-type airport transit visa.

When planning transit through an airport situated in a Schengen state other than Poland, we advise you to directly contact a consulate of the country concerned for visa information.

The A-type airport transit visa only entitles the holder to stay in the international transit area of the airport (it does not entitle the holder to enter Schengen territory or leave the transit area of the airport).

Documents required for a C-type Schengen visa application
1. Travel document:
- valid at least three months after your planned departure from Poland/Schengen territory;
- with at least 2 blank pages;
- issued within the last ten years.
2. Completed and signed visa application form.
3. Biometric photo.
4. Visa fee.
5. Health insurance of at least EUR 30000, valid in the entire Schengen territory.
6. Supplementary documents, confirming:
- the purpose of the visit,
- possession of accommodation;
- possession of sufficient funds to cover the cost of entry, stay and departure from the Schengen territory or Poland;
- willingness to leave Schengen territory after expiry of the visa.
The types and number of supplementary documents may differ depending on the consular office. In this connection we advise you to contact the relevant consulate to obtain full information concerning the documents needed when submitting a visa application.

Documents required for a D-type Schengen visa application
1. Travel document:
2. Completed and signed visa application form.
3. Biometric photo.
4. Visa fee.
5. Health insurance.
6. Supplementary documents confirming:
- the purpose of the visit,
- possession of sufficient funds to cover the cost of entry, stay and departure from the territory of Poland;
- the necessity of staying in the territory of Poland for more than 90 days within a half-year period.
The types and number of supplementary documents may differ depending on the consular office. In this connection we advise you to contact the relevant consulate to obtain full information concerning the documents needed when submitting a visa application.

Time required to issue a visa:
Visa processing can take up to 15 days. In the individual cases visa processing can be extend up to 30 days.

Please note that there are additional Entry requirements that apply to all travelers regardless whether they travel to Poland with or without a visa.
Express visas can be processed within 24 hours. Postal applications may take up to 2 weeks (no express service available).

NOTICE:
Visas for Moldavian Citizens and Ukrainian Citizens are free of charge
In some cases we are able to expedite our processing (next business day service). Additional charge in the amount of $ 39 will apply. For more information, please contact the Polish Consulate serving the state of your residence.

Contact Consulate (or Consular section at Embassy) for further details.

How long is the visa valid for?
Airport transit visa (A) – valid only for airport transit, does not entitle the holder to leave the transit zone of the airport
Short-stay visa (C) – valid for stays of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days. Extensions can be arranged in Poland through the district passport office.
Work visas are valid for a maximum of 1 year.
Apart from uniform visas, Schengen States issue national long-stay visas (D) and residence permits. Holders of residence permits and national long-stay visas (D) issued by one of the Schengen States are allowed to travel within the Schengen area during a maximum three months in any half year.

Other information:
Temporary residence: Apply to Consulate.

Embassy contact information:
Please contact the nearest Polish embassy for information on what documentation you may require to enter Poland.

Disclaimer: The contents of these pages are provided as an information guide only, in good faith. The use of this website is at the viewer/user's sole risk. While every effort is made in presenting up-to-date and accurate information, no responsibility or liability is accepted by the owners to this website for any errors, omissions, outdated or misleading information on these pages or any site to which these pages connect or are linked.

Source & Copyright: The source of the above visa and immigration information and copyright owner/s is the:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland - URL: www.mfa.gov.pl
- The Embassy of Poland in Washington, D.C. - URL: www.washington.polemb.net

The viewer/user of this web page should use the above information as a guideline only, and should always contact the above sources or the user's own government representatives for the most up-to-date information at that moment in time, before making a final decision to travel to that country or destination.