Visas – general information

Before applying for a visa, you need to decide what type of visa you will apply for:

Schengen visa (type C)

Visa for people who intend to stay in Poland or other countries of the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days in each 180-day period. This means that you can stay there legally only if your stay in the countries of the zone did not exceed 90 days during the last 180 days. On the website of the European Commission, you can find a special calculator that allows you to calculate how long you can stay in Schengen countries.

You can apply for a Schengen visa at a Polish diplomatic mission if:

• Poland is the only purpose of your visit to the Schengen area;
• if you are visiting more than one country of the zone, but Poland is the main place of visit;
• if you are unable to determine which of the Schengen countries is your main destination, but this is the first time you cross the border of the zone in Poland.

In exceptional cases, it is also possible to issue the so-called Schengen LTV visa valid only on the territory of selected countries of the zone.

National visa (type D)

Apply for this visa if you want to stay in Poland for more than 90 days. However, the validity period of this visa may not exceed 1 year. You must select an application for a national visa, if you are applying for asylum, repatriation or using the rights given to you by the Pole’s Card.

Airport Transit Visa (Type A)

Choose this type of visa if you plan only transit through the international zone of the airport located in the Schengen zone and you travel on the basis of a passport of one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka.

Who can use the procedure?

REMEMBER: The procedure applies only to family members of EU citizens who do not have Polish citizenship or do not live permanently in Poland.

EU citizens include:

• nationals of EU Member States,
• nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

A family member of an EU citizen is considered to be:

• a spouse of an EU citizen,
• direct descendant of the EU citizen or his spouse, aged up to 21 or dependent on the EU citizen or his spouse,
• direct ascendant of the EU citizen or his spouse, dependent on the EU citizen or his spouse.

What does the simplified procedure entitle you to:

• The visa application is free of charge.
• Your application will be accepted at the diplomatic mission without having to make an appointment in advance.

Required documents:

• a printed and signed visa application form (filled in on the e-konsulat website );
• a current, color photograph, 3.5 x 4.5 cm
• valid passport;
• a document confirming the existence of family relations with the EU citizen (e.g. marriage certificate, birth certificate);
• a document confirming the fact of accompanying the EU citizen on the journey or joining him at the place of residence.

Refusal to issue a visa

The basis for issuing a negative decision may only be:

• entry into the list of people whose stay in Poland is undesirable;
• negative opinion of the visa authorities, which believe that your stay may pose a threat to the defense or security of the state or the protection of safety, order and public health.

Refusal to issue a visa by a consul is made by means of a decision. The decision to refuse this type of visa may be appealed against to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

When submitting your visa application, your biometric data will be collected: a photo in the case of a national visa and a photo and fingerprints for Schengen visa applications.

If you have applied for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months and your fingerprints have been collected, you will not have to submit them again – the system will automatically transfer your data.

The following persons are exempted from collecting fingerprints:

• children under the age of 12;
• persons for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible (e.g. due to the lack of fingers or their temporary trauma);
• heads of state or government, members of national governments with accompanying spouses, and the members of their official delegation when invited for official purposes;
• monarchs and important members of the royal family when invited for official purposes.

The authority responsible for the processing of data in the visa information system (VIS) is the Central Technical Authority of KSI, Police Headquarters, ul. Puławska 148/150, 02-624 Warsaw.

Complaints regarding the protection of personal data are considered by the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection, ul. Stawki 2, 00-193 Warsaw.