Whether you would like to buy a piece of land or any premises in Poland, you should check if you need to get a permit for that. It’s called “zezwolenie na nabycie nieruchomości przez cudzoziemca” (permission to buy real property by foreigners). There are a number of rules to determine if you need one. Let me share them with you:
First off, permits may be required only if you want to a own real property. So if you want just want to rent or lease someone else’s real property without getting an ownership, then you don’t need a permit.
Second, if you have EU citizenship (or citizenship of any country inside European Economic Area, i.e.: UE, Iceland, Liechteinstain and Norway) then you don’t need any permit.
In case you are a foreigner from outside EU and want to get an ownership of real property, you may need to apply for a permit from Minister Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji (Minister of Interior Affairs and Administration).
Still, there are some exceptions to that – permits are not required if you want to buy:
- an apartment for the purpose of living in it,
- any premise for use as a garage,
- any real property if you lived in Poland for at least 5 years based on permanent residence permit or long term UE resident permit (other residence permit periods does not count),
- any real property for both you and your Polish wife/husband if you lived in Poland for at least 2 years based on permanent residence permit or long term UE resident permit,
- any real property from your close family, if are a future heir after that person; your family member has to be the owner of this real property for at least 5 years.
However, even in cases indicated above, if you buy agricultural lands of more than 1 hectare (10 000 m2), you will need a permit.
When is this permit granted?
Permission to acquire real property will be granted if you guarantee that it won’t be harmful to country security and defense or disrupt public order.
It i salso helpful (but not necessary) if you prove to have any bonds with Poland. For example you can prove that:
- you have Polish nationality or Polish origin,
- you have Polish wife or husband,
- you have temporary residence permit, permament residence permit or you are long-term EU resident,
- you run a business in Poland (etc.)
If you are interested in getting any help with any issues related to your stay in Poland, feel free to contact us and take advantage of our services.