Oh, give me a home...

Paul Fogo is a senior attorney at the Warsaw office of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone.

"The acquisition of real property by a foreigner requires a permit." - Art. 1, The Act on the Acquisition of Real Property by Foreigners.

At first glance the meaning of this requirement seems clear enough. A foreigner must obtain a permit from the interior ministry in order to purchase real property in Poland.

Who is a foreigner? Well, me for one. I am a U.S. citizen. What about a French national working at Auchan? For the moment she too is a foreigner. Following accession, however, a French national, and for that matter all other EU nationals, will no longer be defined as foreigners for the purpose of this law. Specifically, Art. 18 of the Treaty Establishing the European Union states that "every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states..." As such, once Poland joins the union (and I hope the vote is Yes), nationals from other EU member states will not be subject to this permit requirement. Non-EU citizens, such as myself, will remain subject to this law.

But what about my primary residence? I thought a foreigner did not need a permit to buy his own home? True. Under the current law a foreigner, regardless of nationality, does not need a permit to purchase his primary residence - with one exception. If your dream home happens to lie within 15 kilometers of the border, you will need a permit. Following accession, however, EU nationals will not be subject to this requirement.

What about a vacation home? A permit is required for all foreigners. Following accession, this requirement will continue to apply for a period of five years with respect to EU nationals. An EU national who has lived in Poland for at least four years, however, will be exempt from this requirement. But the requirement will continue to apply to non-EU nationals indefinitely.

What if I am a rich entrepreneur and I want to buy a company that owns real property? Do I need a permit to purchase this company? Yes, if I am a non-EU citizen. Specifically, "the acquisition of shares by a foreigner in a commercial company being the owner or perpetual usufructuary of real property shall require a permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs" (Art 3(e) of the Act on the Acquisition of Real Property by Foreigners). This requirement will not apply to EU nationals or EU companies following accession.

But what if I am married to a Polish citizen? Do these rules still apply? Yes and no. First, congratulations on marrying a Pole. With marriage comes your Polish mother-in-law. As long as she doesn't speak English and you pretend not to understand Polish, you will have a happy marriage. A non-EU national who is married to a Polish citizen may purchase real property in addition to his primary residence without the need to obtain a permit after only two years of residency here, as long as the purchase becomes part of the marital estate. If you don't want to have a Polish mother-in-law, you will need to establish permanent residency after living five years in the country in order to be exempt from these permit requirements.

And now we come to the thorny issue of farmland. In general, EU citizens will not be able to purchase farmland in the country for a period of 12 years following accession. Under the terms of the Treaty of Accession negotiated by the Polish government, "Notwithstanding the obligations under the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, Poland may maintain in force for twelve years from the date of accession the rules laid down in the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners regarding the acquisition of agricultural land and forests."

Non-EU nationals will remain subject to this limitation indefinitely. EU citizens who have continuously operated a farm here for at least three years may be exempt from this requirement. EU citizens who have operated a farm in certain specified regions of the country, in particular along the German border and Pomerania, will be exempt from this requirement only after seven years. In addition to being required to obtain a permit from the interior ministry, a would-be farmer will need to obtain an additional permit from the ministry of agriculture and rural development.

If I haven't totally confused you yet, and you would still like to apply for a permit to buy your dream home on the Baltic, you may pick up the permit application from the department of permits and licenses of the ministry of internal affairs and administration. The office is located at ul. Domaniewska 36/38, 02-672 Warsaw. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Information may also be obtained from the ministry's website www.mswia.gov.pl.