Customs Regulations and Visa Requirements of Poland

jibin123 May 16, 2022

Obtaining a visa

Poland has been a full member of the Schengen Agreement since 2007. Therefore, to visit this country you will need to apply for a Schengen visa. When applying for a Schengen visa of the national Polish sample, certain requirements should be taken into account at the time of submission of documents. For Russian citizens, these requirements have been repeatedly tightened. Check a2zdirectory for history of Poland.

In accordance with the Schengen regulations, a visa to Poland can be of several types.

Type A and B – transit visa to Poland;
Type C – short-term visa to Poland;
Type D- national visa to Poland.

For 2015, in order to obtain a standard tourist visa (Type C) to Poland, you will need:

Application form on a special form. Forms are issued free of charge, it can also be downloaded from the official website of the Polish Consulate General in Russia. For Russian tourists, questions are often translated into Russian, but the answers must be in Polish or English. The application form must be completed in block letters with a black ballpoint pen.
Passport and copies of its completed pages. The document must have at least 3 blank sheets and be valid for 3 months at the time of return to Russia. Former passports will also need to be presented along with copies.
Russian passport and copies of all pages.
Two color photographs 3.5×4.5 cm. The requirements for the photo at the Polish Consulate are as follows:
The picture must be taken on a light background (white, gray, cream);
The face should occupy 70-80% of the entire picture, the size of the head from the top of the head to the chin should be at least 35 mm;
A photo with glasses is allowed, but in a thin frame, without glare and “chameleon” lenses;
National hats are allowed, including women’s, but the face must be completely open;
The photo must be printed on matte paper.
Insurance policy with a coverage amount of 30,000 euros. The document must be valid on the territory of Poland and the European Union, and also have a validity period for the entire period of the trip.
Certificate from work, where you need to indicate all the details of the company, the position of the applicant and his salary for the last year.
Bank account statement. The document should display the following:
Availability of the necessary funds in the calculation: 50 euros per person per day ;
All transactions with the account made in 6 months.
For underage tourists, you need to have a certificate from the place of study, a birth certificate, as well as permission to leave from one or both parents.
Non-working tourists are required to provide a sponsorship letter with proof of sponsor’s income.
Married tourists – marriage certificate. Divorced – certificate of divorce. Widows and widowers – death certificate of
Original and copy of round-trip air tickets. Booking printouts from online services are not accepted by Polish consuls.
Confirmation of a hotel room reservation for the entire travel period. Only the original sent by the hotel representative by mail to the address of the Polish consulate on demand is accepted. A document from an official tour operator may also be considered.

To obtain a visitor visa to Poland (applies to Type D visas ), Russian citizens must provide the following documents:

An invitation from a private person or organization. It must be drawn up in accordance with the relevant laws and certified by the local voivodship authorities.
Polish passport of the inviting person or any other photo ID.
Income statement of the inviting person for the last six months or bank details of the organization.
If the inviter is a relative, then you need to provide proof of kinship. These can be documents on the change of surname, birth certificates, a Russian passport, and so on.
If the inviting party is a friend or acquaintance, then you need to confirm the fact of a real meeting. These can be joint photographs, provided that both people are recognizable in them.
A receipt that the inviting party assumes or completely waives financial responsibility for the guest.

For citizens of Russia, a visa to Poland is not required in the following cases:

If you have a residence permit;
When traveling with a diplomatic passport;
When traveling through Poland in transit. In this case, the stay in the country should not exceed 5 days from the moment of registration at the airport.

Documents for obtaining a Polish visa can be submitted both to the Consulate itself and through visa centers. Depending on the method of submission, the deadline for processing the document will be different.

Terms of obtaining a visa to Poland

If documents for obtaining a Polish visa are submitted personally directly to the Consulate General, then the visa itself, regardless of its type, is prepared from 7 working days. The so-called express visa can be issued in 3 days, but the possibility of obtaining it has become less and less in recent years.

If you use the services of official visa centers, then an application for a Type C tourist visa will be considered from 16 to 20 working days. Multiple entry visa Type D is issued within 14-18 working days.

The Polish Consulate may refuse to issue a visa for the following reasons:

Debts on loans / alimony / fines;
outstanding conviction;
Errors or deliberately false information in the submitted documents;
Personal ban on entry into the territory of the European Union (relevant for media workers and government agencies).

Consular fee

The consular fee for obtaining a Polish visa is standard for the European Union 35 euros. An express visa will cost a tourist 70 euros.

Service fees are different from the types of filing documents. If documents are submitted directly to the Consulate, then the service fee will be about 60 euros for all services.

If documents are submitted through visa centers, then the amount of service fees will depend on the type of visa and the number of documents prepared:

Standard tourist visa Type C without an invitation and a pre-confirmed hotel reservation – from 14,000 rubles ;
Standard tourist visa Type C (with booking confirmation) – from 5,600 rubles ;
Tourist / visitor visa Type Dwith a period of stay in Poland up to 20 days – from 17,500 rubles ;
Double-entry visa Type Dwith a period of stay in Poland from 20 to 90 days – from 20,500 rubles.

The following are exempted from paying the consular fee:

Persons holding a residence permit in Poland;
Children under 6 years old;
Persons who have an official invitation from a relative and proof of kinship.