The European Union is one of the main directions of the tourist flow from the CIS countries. A high standard of living and service, an abundance of historical and architectural monuments, Christian values close to us - all this and not only attracts tourists and migrants from the former USSR. At the same time, Ukrainians, Georgians and Moldovans have the opportunity to enter the Schengen area without obtaining a special permit, called a visa, while residents of other CIS countries still need such a permit. Let's talk about how a tourist visa to Poland is issued.
Types of Polish visas
For a long-term uninterrupted stay in Poland for the purpose of work, study or just residence, a national visa of category D is required. However, in this case, we are interested in another type of entry permits - category C visas, which allow us to stay in the EU countries for no more than 90 days within six months. These visas are of the following types:
- tourist visa. It is intended specifically for tourism. Typically, such a permit is one-time, issued for a fixed period of travel, rarely exceeding 30 days. The purpose of the trip is confirmed by the presence of a tour or by booking a hotel room;
- business visa. If you are a businessman and travel to Poland to resolve business issues, this type of visa is especially for you. Conducting business negotiations is a sufficient argument for obtaining such a visa. However, you will also need an invitation from a Polish business partner. A single or multiple entry permit is issued;
- visitor visa. If you have friends or relatives among the residents of Poland, you can apply for this type of visa. For its registration you will need an invitation from the host. This permission is exclusively one-time. It should be borne in mind that it is often much easier to issue another type of entry permit;
- Work Visa. Allows not only sightseeing, but also work. Short-term work visas are usually issued for seasonal workers or specialists who come to perform a certain amount of work under a contract. Issued on the basis of an employer's application.
All these types of short-term entry permits can be used both for acquaintance with the monuments of history and culture of the country, and in order to look at Poland from the point of view of a potential migrant.
In addition, you can visit other Schengen states with a Polish visa. At the same time, according to widespread opinion, it is often much easier to obtain a visa in the Republic of Poland than in other countries of the agreement.
In some cases, a multivisa is issued to enter Poland. This is a multiple entry permit for Schengen. The number of trips themselves is not limited, but the total time spent in the Schengen area should not exceed 90 days within six months.
What documents will be needed
All states of the world, considering the issue of admitting foreigners to their territory, require that the real purpose of entering the country be consistent with the declared one. In addition, they carefully monitor that the state does not have to financially take care of the foreigner during his stay in the country. It will be necessary to document the absence of grounds for these fears.
When applying for a visa, you need to provide:
- a completed visa application form with a photo pasted into it;
- photographs taken no earlier than 6 months before 3.5 x 4.5 cm - 2 pcs.;
- a foreign passport, valid for at least three months after the expected end date of the trip, and a photocopy of its main page;
- internal passport and photocopies of the main page and registration mark;
- medical insurance, valid throughout the Schengen area during the entire period of stay, in the amount of at least 30 thousand euros;
- documents confirming that the applicant has funds at the rate of at least 50 euros for one day of the trip. These can be bank statements, sponsorship letters and other documents;
- documents confirming the payment of the consular fee;
- documents confirming the availability of a place to stay. Usually a hotel reservation is used.
If a minor is traveling
For persons under the age of majority, the following documents are additionally required:
- original and copy of birth certificate;
- notarized consent of one or both parents, if the child leaves alone or with only one of them. If it is not possible to obtain such permission, it is necessary to provide documents confirming this fact;
- copies of the main page of the passport and Schengen visas, if they were not received at the same time.
Biometric data for a Polish visa
From June 2021, in order to obtain an entry permit, the application for a visa to Poland must be made in person. The reason for this is the mandatory collection of biometric data of persons entering the Schengen area.
Visa specialists will take a digital photo and take your fingerprints. The procedure itself is neither complicated nor cumbersome.
Once you have submitted your biometric data for the first time, it is valid and stored for 5 years. During this time, when receiving new visas to the Schengen area, it is not required to go through the procedure again.
Applying for a visa to Poland
Currently, not all citizens of the CIS are required to pre-apply for a permit to enter Poland. So, for example, for Ukrainians and Moldovans, this procedure is not needed, since these countries have an agreement on a visa-free regime with the countries of the Schengen zone.
But for Belarusians, Russians, Kazakhs and residents of other CIS countries, it is necessary, since agreements on the abolition of visas have not yet been reached.
Formally, the Polish diplomatic department requires an application to enter the country at least 3 months before the date of the intended trip.
However, the decision to grant a visa is made faster, so you have the chances of visiting Poland on an unexpectedly offered inexpensive tour. It is only advisable to make an appointment in advance for an appointment at a diplomatic institution, otherwise you will have to pay for the urgency of obtaining a visa. The cost of this "acceleration" is 35 euros.
Registration for applying for a Polish visa
The simplest registration option is to use the e-konsulat electronic registration system. Having entered the site, you will need to select the country of your stay and the consular office convenient for you from the list provided.
Then proceed according to simple and understandable instructions.
The list of free dates and times for admission appears in the system on weekdays from 9 am to 11 am. Free time is indicated one month in advance - you should choose the most convenient for you and reserve it for yourself. After that, you will need to arrive at the appointed time at the representative office of Poland of your choice and personally submit all the necessary papers there.
Diplomatic institutions of Poland in the CIS countries
Poland has long-standing friendly ties with the countries of the former USSR and an extensive network of diplomatic missions in them. In addition to embassies, in a number of states there are also consulates.
For example, in Russia, consulates are located in Irkutsk, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg.
You can apply for a tourist visa not only in the country of which you are a citizen, but also abroad.In this case, it is necessary to add papers to the above list of documents confirming the legality of your stay in the country in which you applied for a Polish visa.
Registration of an entry permit through visa centers
Despite the relatively large number of diplomatic missions of the Republic of Poland, contacting them directly may be associated with certain difficulties. Many states, especially Russia, have a large territory, and repeated trips related to the registration and filing of documents will require time, effort and money.
For this reason, in many CIS countries there is a wide network of visa centers, which are designed to assist citizens in obtaining entry permits. For example, in addition to the embassy and three Consulates General of Poland, there are also 23 visa centers in Russia located in large Russian cities.
Poland, like a number of other European states, in particular Germany, works through the VFS Global network of visa centers.
Applying to a visa center is often much more convenient than a direct appeal to diplomatic missions, but there is a significant drawback: you will have to pay for the services of the center.
Depending on the city you have chosen for submitting documents, the amount will be from 19.5 to 23 euros.
How long does it take to apply for a visa and how much will it cost?
The standard processing time for a visa application is 6 days. However, it may be longer. When accepting documents, diplomats check their availability, but do not check the content. Accordingly, during the consideration, questions may arise, it may be necessary to provide additional papers.
The list of documents presented by us is basic, but not comprehensive, and in some cases diplomats can expand it.
For those who are interested in how much a Polish tourist visa costs, we would like to inform you that:
- consular fee to the Schengen countries is 35 euros. If an expedited consideration of the issue is required, you will have to pay the same amount;
- if you applied to the visa center, you will have to pay additionally from 19.5 to 23 euros for its services;
- some amount will be needed for photography, making photocopies and other overhead costs;
- a significant amount will have to be spent on travel for those who need to travel to another city to submit documents.
Adding all these costs together, you can arrive at the final cost of a tourist visa to Poland.
Tour to Poland with a free visa is one of the widespread myths. If this is stated in the travel advertisement, it should be borne in mind that the visa is included in the price of the tour itself.
Sometimes employers who attract foreigners for illegal work in Poland issue tourist visas for them and pay for them themselves - this is the second source of rumors about the existence of free visas.
Remember that only residents of visa-free countries can enter Poland free of charge for tourism purposes.
How to check the readiness of the visa
Those who have already applied for an entry permit are interested to know at what stage their case is being considered: people are afraid of refusal or other complications that could disrupt a long-planned trip.
The most convenient way is to check the readiness of the visa on the website of the visa centers. To check, you need to enter in the only window the registration number from the receipt issued to you at the center, and your date of birth.
After that, by activating the "confirm" button, you will instantly find out at what stage your visa is being processed.
Visits to Poland by residents of Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad region
Residents of Kaliningrad and the region had the right to enter the Polish border territories and stay there for up to 30 days within the framework of local border traffic (LBT).
Entries and exits could also be multiple, provided that they were in Poland for no more than 90 days in half a year, counting from the day of the first entry. Entry in accordance with the MPP procedure did not give the right to work in Poland.
On June 30, 2021, the movement of Russian citizens to Poland within the framework of the LBT was terminated on a note from the Polish side until further notice.
This was due to two events held in Poland in 2021. However, no special order was received, and currently residents of Kaliningrad and the region must obtain a visa to Poland on a general basis. Perhaps someday the MPP will be restored.
Possibility of visa refusal
Currently, Poland is experiencing rapid economic growth, however, due to the departure of a large number of local residents to work in Western Europe, the state is experiencing a labor shortage. The country is also interested in the money that tourists leave in it.
For these reasons, the approach of diplomats of the Republic of Poland to issuing visas is one of the softest in the European Union. Nevertheless, a visa may be refused.
No country likes to accept illegal migrants, criminals, extremists, as well as persons with no means of subsistence. And Poland is no exception in this regard.
In addition, not so long ago in Poland, a law "On the Institute of National Remembrance" was adopted, which makes it possible to prohibit entry into the country to persons who have made public statements that are currently considered anti-Polish. It is not completely clear which statements and where they need to be made, perhaps a comment on the Internet is quite enough.
After receiving a refusal for a Polish visa, immediately find out the reason why this happened. If the reason is a lack of documents or errors in their execution, eliminate these shortcomings as soon as possible.
When the reasons are more serious, try to get a visa to another Schengen country.
Conclusion
Among the representations of the Schengen countries, the diplomatic institutions of Poland are known for their comparative softness in deciding the issue of issuing visas, including tourist visas. Such a visa does not allow you to stay in Poland and the Schengen zone for more than 90 days within six months, and usually is generally issued strictly for the duration of the trip and is one-time.
You cannot work and do business on the basis of such an entry permit. However, it will allow you to get to know the country better, and possibly to look at it with an eye to subsequent migration. Only after making this decision will you need to apply for a different type of visa.
