Registration of residence of an EU citizen

Introduction

The foreigner has a citizenship of the European Union, provided that they have a citizenship of one of the following EU member states:

• Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Italy.

Within the meaning of the migration regulations, an EU national is also any citizen from:

• Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

EU citizens can stay in Poland for up to 3 months without having to meet any conditions other than having a valid travel document or other document confirming their identity and EU citizenship, unless they entered Poland to look for a job. Then they are entitled to stay in Poland for up to 6 months or more, if they show that they are actively looking for a job and have a real chance of finding it.

In order to stay in Poland longer, EU citizens must meet the conditions of stay specified in the regulations. They are also obliged to complete the formalities related to the registration of residence in Poland.

Registration of residence is an administrative procedure for determining whether an EU citizen is exercising their right to freedom of movement, as required by Directive 2004/38/EC. Its initiation requires an EU citizen to submit an application to the voivode, competent for the place of their residence in Poland. This application is submitted in person on a special form.

Following this procedure, EU, citizens are issued with a certificate confirming the fact of registration of residence or a decision refusing to register a stay which can be appealed to the Head of the Office for Foreigners. The certificate is issued after 30 days.

Remember!

• The right of residence for more than 3 months is granted to EU citizens if the conditions of stay are met and is not dependent on the completion of formalities related to the registration of residence. However, if an EU citizen fails to comply with the registration obligations, they may be fined. Regardless of the applicability of this sanction, such a certificate is usually useful/ required in banking, by employers and in a number of other situations of everyday life.

• Do not confuse registration formalities with residence registration formalities – these are two different procedures (more in the stage: Registration and check-in).