Buying property in Poland as a foreigner: When do you need a permit? – By Mateusz Radomyski

Buying property in Poland as a foreigner is often easier than it may seem when you first encounter Polish regulations. If a foreign buyer has the funds available, the transaction itself can be relatively straightforward. In a typical case, all that may be required is a single visit to a notary office, signing the sale agreement and transferring the purchase amount to the seller.

Whether it is really that simple, however, depends primarily on the buyer’s nationality and the type of property being purchased.

Citizens of the European Union and European Economic Area countries, as well as Switzerland, are in a much easier position. As a general rule, they can purchase property in Poland without obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Interior and Administration.

The situation is different for citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Ukraine or Belarus. In their case, it is necessary to check whether the particular transaction requires a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.

Buying an apartment in Poland as a foreigner? In most cases, you will not require a permit

The good news is that when a foreigner from outside the EU/EEA buys an apartment in Poland, a permit will not usually be required. As a general rule, a foreigner may purchase an independent residential unit located outside a “Polish border zone” without a permit, together with the share in the land and common parts of the building that are legally attached to the ownership of that apartment. A “border zone” is a legally defined area comprising municipalities adjoining Poland’s state border or coastline and, in certain cases, neighbouring municipalities included in order to ensure that the zone extends at least 15 kilometres inland Poland. 

In practice, this means that a citizen of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or India who wants to buy a residential apartment in, for instance, Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław or Poznań will usually not need to apply to the Ministry, and the purchase itself should be relatively straightforward.

When might you need a permit even when buying an apartment?

In some cases, a foreigner from outside the EU/EEA may still need a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration even when purchasing an apartment in a multi-unit residential building. This issue most commonly arises in new, gated developments built by property developers.

It sometimes happens that, in addition to the apartment itself, the developer also sells the buyer a share in a separate property, for example a plot of land used as an internal road, recreational area, playground, green area or another part of the development’s infrastructure.

In such a case, the apartment itself may qualify for an exemption, but the acquisition of a share in the separate plot will, as a general rule, require a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration unless the buyer qualifies for another exemption.

Buying a house with land

Many foreigners considering purchasing property in Poland are not interested in an apartment, but in a detached house. In this case, the situation is different from the purchase of a typical residential unit.

When buying a house, the buyer will usually also acquire the plot of land on which the building is located. From a legal perspective, this is therefore not a purchase of an independent residential unit covered by the straightforward exemption from the requirement to secure a permit.

As a result, a foreigner from outside the EEA who wants to buy a house together with land in Poland will generally need a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, unless one of the other statutory exemptions applies.

This applies both to purchasing an existing house on the secondary market and to situations where the buyer acquires a plot from a developer together with a house that has already been built or is yet to be constructed.

Other important exemptions from the requirement to obtain a Ministry permit

Polish law provides for a number of additional exemptions from the requirement to obtain a permit.

One of them applies to persons who hold a permanent residence permit or long-term EU resident status, and have lived in Poland for a sufficiently long period. As a general rule, this means five years from the date on which the relevant residence permit was granted.

Special rules also apply to foreigners who are married to Polish citizens. Under certain conditions, the relevant period is two years, provided that the property is to become part of the spouses’ joint marital property.

These exemptions must, however, be carefully analysed, as each of them has its own specific statutory requirements.

A Polish spouse and a residence card – are they enough?

This is one of the most common misunderstandings when it comes to buying property in Poland as a foreigner.

Simply being married to a Polish citizen does not automatically mean that a foreigner can purchase a property in Poland without a permit. Relevant factors include, among other things, the type of residence status, how long the foreigner has held it and whether the property is to be acquired as spouses’ joint marital property.

Similarly, a residence card is not a “permit to buy property”. It may be relevant to a particular exemption or may help demonstrate ties with Poland, but it does not replace a permit. This is something worth checking before paying a deposit.

What about British citizens after Brexit?

There is still a considerable amount of confusion around this issue.

For British citizens, the position after Brexit is more complex and each case should be assessed individually. Relevant factors include whether the person lived in Poland before 1 January 2021, whether they continue to reside in Poland and whether they are a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement. The UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement is the international treaty that set the terms for the United Kingdom’s structured EU exit.

Depending on those circumstances, a British citizen may be treated in the same way as a third-country national or may qualify for an exemption from the requirement to obtain a permit.

What does the Ministry permit procedure look like?

The procedure for obtaining a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration is complex and should be factored into the transaction timetable well in advance. In my experience, a properly prepared procedure takes approximately two to four months, although it may take longer, particularly if the Ministry requests additional documents or explanations concerning, for example, the source of financing, the purchaser’s legal status in Poland, or the circumstances and structure of the proposed transaction. 

The proceedings are conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration. The buyer must identify the specific property they intend to purchase, provide information about their personal situation, demonstrate how the purchase will be financed and establish strong ties with Poland. Documents relating to the property and the planned transaction are also required.

In practice, an application may need to be accompanied by dozens of documents and supporting attachments relating to the buyer, the property, the source of financing and the planned transaction. The Ministry examines the submitted material in detail and frequently requests further documents or explanations during the proceedings.

What happens if you buy property in Poland without the required permit?

Polish law is very clear on this point. If a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration was required and a foreigner nevertheless acquires the property without obtaining it, the acquisition is invalid.

This is therefore not merely an administrative issue or a missing document that can simply be supplied after the purchase. If a permit was required, ownership of the property cannot be validly transferred without it.

In practice, this can lead to serious problems between the buyer and the seller concerning, among other things, ownership of the property, registration in the land and mortgage register and the repayment of funds that have already been transferred.

For this reason, the legal right to acquire a permit should be checked as early as possible, before signing binding documents and transferring significant amounts of money, and not at the final stage of the transaction.

Be careful with the preliminary agreement and deposit

This is a practical issue that buyers often start thinking about only once a problem has already arisen.

If a Ministry permit is required for the purchase, this should already be addressed when negotiating the preliminary property sale agreement.

The agreement should allow sufficient time to obtain a decision and specify the repercussions if the permit is not granted. An incorrectly prepared application or failure to demonstrate the statutory requirements may result in precisely this situation.

Particular attention should be paid to the deposit. A buyer should not automatically assume that the deposit will always be refunded simply because the Ministry has not issued the permit in time. In practice, it is much better to deal with this issue clearly in the preliminary agreement than to end up in a dispute with the seller over repayment of the money.

The most common mistakes I see foreigners make when it comes to buying property in Poland 

First, checking whether a permit is required only shortly before the appointment with the notary. If it turns out that a permit is necessary, this can disrupt the timetable for the purchase, financing and handover of the property.

Second, assuming that every foreigner needs a permit. That is not the case. Many apartment purchases by non-EEA nationals can be completed without one. However, it is important to check in advance whether the particular property actually meets the conditions for an exemption.

The third assumption is the opposite: if you can buy an apartment without a permit, you can also buy a house without one. This is not correct. From the perspective of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, these are two very different types of transaction.

Fourth, confusing the right to reside in Poland with the right to acquire property. The fact that a foreigner can legally live in Poland does not automatically mean that they can purchase a particular property without a permit.

Fifth, assuming that having a Polish spouse automatically solves the problem. Marriage may be relevant when demonstrating ties with Poland, but it does not automatically exempt a foreigner from the requirement to obtain a permit.

Sixth, British citizens sometimes assume that their position remains the same as that of an EU/EEA citizen. Since 2021, this is no longer necessarily the case.