r/poland Nov 25 '25

A comprehensive guide for EU foreigners moving to Poland - START HERE.

55 Upvotes

Hello, I have seen many folks coming to Poland from the EU and being completely lost on what kind of legal procedures they have to do in order to start their residence in Poland. Be that you come here to study, work or live with your spouse there are several things I hope this guide will be able to cover.

!PLEASE NOTE!
This guide is meant only for citizens of the European Union and citizens of countries that are members of the European Economic Area. Some of the parts of this guide will be similar for non-EU foreigners but some will not. In general, the info posted here is only fully up to date if you are a citizen of the EU/EEA
!PLEASE NOTE!

0. Introduction and general info

Poland is divided into 16 voivodeships which are further subdivided into powiats, which means something like 'county' and these are further made out of municipalities - pol. gmina, or cities - pol. miasto. Large cities however are both powiat and miasto so in case of Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków etc. city office (pol. urząd miasta) will also perform duties of powiat office (pol. starostwo powiatowe). In case of Warsaw - urząd dzielnicy meaning district office will serve as city office.

All of the below information covers only EU/EEA citizens. If you are non-EU, majority of the below information will not be correct for your case.

I strongly recommend reading all of the parts linked below apart from car stuff, if id does not concern your case.

I. Registering your residence and making your stay in Poland legal.
II. Obtaining health insurance
III. Using healthcare
IV. Taxes
V. Digital log-in and services
VI. Cars and licenses
VII. Banks and mobile phones
VIII. What to do when I leave Poland?
IX. Pets

If you have any additional questions or remarks, please do not hesitate to comment, I will be happy to help for as long as I'm going to visit this platform and expand this post. I hope you all have a great day and life in general. Thanks for reading, stay safe.


r/poland 11h ago

Content like this makes me xenofobic towards western Europeans

Post image
1.0k Upvotes

The last thing we need is approval from some Brits (which 10 years ago had 180-degree opposite opinion about us) or other foreigners because we have "don't have doctors and engineers". Promotion of Poland as a safeheaven can cause only more tourism from abroad, encourage digital nomads and other people will excess money to buy out our properties and paradoxically cause more immigration cause Poland is very safe, isn't it? All of these things will rise real estate prices. I started to miss times where Poland was underestimated and we didn't have weirdos like this coming to our country.


r/poland 4h ago

Germany deploys soldiers to Poland to help reinforce eastern borders

Thumbnail
notesfrompoland.com
188 Upvotes

r/poland 7h ago

A city bus driver in Częstochowa has been accused of causing a disaster in land traffic and failing to assist the injured. He allegedly pressured the driver of a passenger car just before the crossing. The 19-year-old capitulated, driving straight under the wheels of an oncoming train.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

195 Upvotes

r/poland 9h ago

Poland set to smash rail records with Europe’s fastest trains

Thumbnail
tvpworld.com
139 Upvotes

r/poland 11h ago

Polish language textbook.

Post image
130 Upvotes

r/poland 13h ago

Deepfake Polish soldiers become Kremlin's latest weapon against Ukraine

Thumbnail
tvpworld.com
178 Upvotes

Videos circulating online that purport to show Polish soldiers criticizing Ukraine are AI-generated deepfakes likely planted as part of a Kremlin-orchestrated disinformation campaign, according to internet researchers.


r/poland 6h ago

Huge Polish open-pit mine to become giant artificial lake

Thumbnail
tvpworld.com
36 Upvotes

Europe’s largest open-pit coal mine could be transformed into Poland’s deepest lake after it shuts down, as part of long-term efforts to regenerate the area and restore it for public use.


r/poland 10h ago

Three reasons why Polish men should vote for Lewica - Anna Maria Żukowska explains. Did she convince you?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

75 Upvotes

r/poland 9h ago

Poland launches first of 11 planned "community forests" around major cities

Thumbnail
notesfrompoland.com
62 Upvotes

r/poland 6h ago

Polish migrant smuggler caught after high-speed chase

Thumbnail
tvpworld.com
27 Upvotes

r/poland 2h ago

Railroad Park - new green zone under active railroad viaduct in Kraków.

Thumbnail gallery
11 Upvotes

r/poland 23h ago

Two detained for beating 67-year-old man who defended Ukrainian teen

Thumbnail
tvpworld.com
403 Upvotes

r/poland 1d ago

If this isn’t a Poland moment, then Idk what it is.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

685 Upvotes

Mario just a few dozens of meters away from an anti-LGBT organization 😂

This post was NOT made to promote anti-LGBT rhetoric, in fact, I very much hate anti-LGBT movements, it’s just a moment I found hilarious while walking through Wrocław.


r/poland 1d ago

Reenactment of the Battle of Grunwald 2026

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

403 Upvotes

r/poland 22h ago

Dear Polish who ask foreigner if they like living in Poland: do you actually want to know the answer or looking for validations?

115 Upvotes

Genuine question.

I'm an Asian from far east who have lived in Europe for more than a decades (3 years UK, 10 years Germany) and recently, Poland.

I have noticed people in Poland constantly ask me if I liked living in Poland. I haven't been asked the same question in same caliber when I was living in other countries.

Often, I would just say the things I like and kept the things I do not.. so I that I don't offend them. I mean, you can't have it all rosy after all.

But the 10-Years-German side of me really want to air out all my laundry, clean and dirty.

So... what would Polish people react if I became honest for once. Because, overall, I'm not that ecstatic.. I'm just OK.


r/poland 1d ago

Poland joins EU satellite project developing European alternative to Starlink

Thumbnail
notesfrompoland.com
239 Upvotes

r/poland 20h ago

I’m sure many know about this American trailer park LARap. But a YouTuber just uploaded this great video about it

Thumbnail
youtu.be
20 Upvotes

r/poland 1d ago

Russia is preparing a new provocation against NATO to blame Ukraine – Polish Ministry of Defense

Thumbnail
prm.ua
161 Upvotes

r/poland 1d ago

Polish and Korean family cultures seem really different.

Post image
786 Upvotes

Here, it’s quite common to introduce your partner to your family for the first time only at the formal meeting when you’re already planning to get married. But when I went to Poland to visit my girlfriend, I had meals with her family almost every day from the very first day. I found that cultural difference really fascinating.


r/poland 20h ago

A family in a box that fits in the palm of your hand. European Parliament contemporary art collection.

Thumbnail
gallery
14 Upvotes

r/poland 1d ago

Poland's math champs bring home six medals

Thumbnail
tvpworld.com
115 Upvotes

Poland's young mathematicians have swept the board at the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad, with all six members of its team reaching the podium and two winning gold in Shanghai.


r/poland 1d ago

A new report by Statistics Poland indicates that Poland's population actually exceeds 38.8 million

Post image
124 Upvotes

>Let’s start with what Statistics Poland (GUS) defines as the aforementioned "traces of life." Simply put: if you appear in at least two different databases simultaneously—for instance, by visiting a public healthcare provider while also paying social security contributions or taxes—GUS considers you to be "living and active" in a given location. If someone does not show up in any records, they are excluded from these statistics. This method was used, among other things, to determine actual places of residence.

>According to this experimental analysis by Statistics Poland (GUS), approximately 38.8 million people were present in Poland at the end of 2025 (an increase of nearly 40,000 compared to the previous year), including around 2.3 million foreigners (an increase of nearly 215,000). It should be noted that official population data cited a figure of 37.3 million inhabitants. However, a caveat was added stating that these results "do not constitute official statistics regarding the population of Poland." Yet, when comparing them with the official figures, several very interesting observations can be made.


r/poland 1d ago

Why doesn’t the RCB Alert include polish diacritics?

Thumbnail
gallery
170 Upvotes

I’m just wondering. I saw the word gololedz and I know it’s „gołoledź” but it looks weird. Is there a reason behind this? Sometimes I get a sms from bank or T-Mobile and it’s messed up, but when I type to anyone it lets me use them. Why is it happening?


r/poland 1d ago

Poland uncovers 38 more victims of WWII massacre in Ukraine

Thumbnail
tvpworld.com
154 Upvotes

Polish investigators have uncovered the remains of at least 38 more people believed to have been killed in a World War II-era massacre in western Ukraine amid a recent spike in tensions over an atrocity that has long divided Warsaw and Kyiv.