Legal Eye: Staying and working legally

In the 21st century, this wall no longer protects against invasion by hordes of infidels, but serves, among others purposes, to deter illegal immigrants to the European Union. Poland offers several options for living and working legally in Poland, but only citizenship gives you the full benefit of Poland's accession into the EU.

Visitors to Poland from EU member states, the US, or other countries for which Poland has waived visa requirements can stay in Poland for up to three months.

Temporary residency

If you are considering staying for more than three months or working in Poland, you must apply for a temporary residency permit. For non-EU citizens, temporary residency cards are granted for two years; for EU citizens, the period depends on the purpose of their stay. Common purposes for longer stays are economic (job or business), family ties (spouse and/or children), and cultural (study or performance).

One typical problem in the temporary residency application process is procrastination. You should assume it will take 45 days from the filing of your application until the issuance of the decision. The immigration authorities do not look kindly on people over-staying their visit, and they will check the date of your last entrance stamp. For this reason, you should insist upon receiving a stamp when you cross the Polish border to document when your stay began.

The application is lengthy and requires you to provide quite a bit of paperwork. Although the 45-day decision clock does not start running officially until your application is complete, immigration officials have been known to start processing applications despite a few missing documents.

Unless you hail from an EU member state that allows Polish citizens to work without work permits, you will need to file separately for a work permit.

Permanent residency

If you've decided to stay in Poland for more than a couple of years, you can either keep renewing your temporary residency card or file for permanent residency. To receive permanent residency, you must demonstrate three factors: (i) family or economic ties, (ii) home and means of support, and (iii) that you've already been in Poland for a while. The required length of stay in Poland differs, depending on the reason for filing and whether you are a citizen of an EU member state. US citizens, for example, need to have been in Poland for three years.

Permanent residents may work in Poland, but not in other EU states.

Citizenship

As a basic rule, you must have been a permanent resident of Poland for five years before you may consider citizenship. A number of exceptions exist that allow for shorter periods. For example, if you are married to a Pole, you only need three years. Certain footballers have been known to receive citizenship essentially overnight.

As a citizen, you can take full advantage of EU rights, including using the shorter EU passport holders' line at airports. Unfortunately, until Poland joins the Schengen Convention (currently proposed for late 2007), Polish citizens still need to have their passports checked at the borders of other EU countries.

For practical tips on application procedures, the author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Maria Plesiewicz.

Judith Gliniecki is the managing partner of Rymar and Partners