A visa to Poland for Belarusians is issued in the largest cities of the Republic of Belarus. A Polish visa can be obtained at the Embassy or Consulate General of Poland, as well as at visa centers. Belarusians can obtain both a short-term Schengen visa and a long-term national one, but in each of these cases, it is necessary to take into account some of the nuances of registration.
Types of Polish visas
The types of permits to enter the country differ in purpose and duration of stay. There are four main categories of visas:
- airport transit visa A - entitles travelers to stay at the airport during a transfer in Poland to a flight to another country;
- transit visa B - allows you to stay in Poland for up to 5 days in case of travel to a third country by land transport;
- short-term Schengen visa C - gives the right to stay in the country (as well as other Schengen countries) for up to three months in half a year for tourism purposes, visiting relatives, business meetings or medical treatment;
- long-term national visa D - gives the right to stay in Poland for more than three months, if the purpose is employment, study or family reunification with the subsequent receipt of a residence permit.
Depending on the number of entries, a single, double or multiple Schengen visa (multivisa) can be issued. Single and double entry visas give the right to enter the Schengen area only once and twice, respectively.
A multivisa gives the right to enter the Schengen area an unlimited number of times, while an important condition is to stay in the Schengen area for no more than 90 out of 180 days.
A long-term visa gives the right to stay on the territory of Poland for up to one year, and on the territory of other countries of the Schengen zone - up to 90 days within 6 months.
Visa application procedure
In order to apply for a visa yourself through the consular office of Poland, you must:
- register in the e-konsulat system;
- during registration, select the day of submission of documents;
- come to the embassy / consulate (at the address of the institution selected during registration) with pre-prepared documents;
- those who receive a Schengen visa for the first time must submit their biometric data;
- pay the consular fee;
- come on the day appointed by the consul for a passport with a ready-made visa.
You can also apply for a visa at the VFS Global Visa Application Center. For this you need:
- determine the purpose of the trip;
- fill out a questionnaire, stick a photo to it;
- make an appointment in advance on the day of submission of documents;
- come on the appointed day to submit an application along with the rest of the documents;
- submit biometric data (fingerprints) if a Schengen visa is issued for the first time;
- pay consular and service fees;
- track the stages of your visa readiness on the center's website;
- pick up your passport at the center or receive it by delivery.
For an additional fee, the visa application center can also order services to assist in filling out the application form and preparing other documents.
Find out more about how a visa to Poland is processed.
What documents are required
The list of papers required for applying for a Polish visa depends on its type, but in any case, the following documents will be required:
- completed visa application form (must be printed out from the e-konsulat system);
- international passport; at the time of contacting the consulate, the passport must be valid for no more than 10 years, while it must end no earlier than three months after the planned return from Poland and have at least two blank pages;
- a copy of the pages of the passport containing personal information;
- color clear photo (the size of a photo for a Polish visa is 35 x 45 mm);
- medical insurance policy with a coverage amount of at least 30,000 euros, valid throughout the Schengen area. The insurance must cover the entire duration of the trip in the case of a single or double entry visa, in the case of obtaining a multiple entry visa, it is possible for the insurance to cover only the period of the first visit;
- a document confirming the availability of a sufficient amount of financial resources for the period of the trip (bank statement, certificate from the place of employment, for pensioners - a pension certificate or a certificate confirming the amount of pension);
- for foreigners staying in Belarus, a permit is required confirming the legal presence in the country of filing;
- other documents related to the purpose of the trip and confirming the conditions of stay in Poland.
Various types of visas to Poland for Belarusians also require the preparation of some additional documents - they are indicated in the table below:
| Purpose of the trip | Additional documents |
|---|---|
| Tourist, pilgrimage or cultural and entertainment | ● a travel voucher or ticket for a cultural event; ● round trip tickets |
| Business trip (including for drivers of international flights), business activities (for individual entrepreneurs), journalistic activities | ● an invitation from an enterprise / organization / company in Poland and / or any document confirming the implementation of the activities specified in the application; ● drivers additionally provide: ○ a letter from the Belarusian Association of International Road Carriers (BAMAP), ○ transport permit and driver's license; ● non-BAMAP truck drivers additionally provide: a permit to drive a freight vehicle; ○ certificate of registration of transport and trailer (copies); confirmation of the registration of the company for which the driver works; ○ permission to carry cargo or passengers over a long distance; ○ agreement between companies in Poland and Belarus |
| Sports activities | an official letter from the organizer in Poland or a letter from a party in Belarus confirming the applicant's participation in the delegation |
| Cultural activities | invitation from the Polish organizer |
| A visit to relatives or friends who are studying at an educational institution, have Polish citizenship or a residence permit | ● official invitation; ● in the case of student children - a document confirming their studies in Poland |
| Treatment | ● a document from a medical institution confirming the need for treatment; ● financial resources |
| Getting an education | document confirming admission to the university |
| Business trip | ● invitation from Polish government agencies; ● a note from the state authorities of Belarus confirming that the applicant is participating in the delegation |
| Transit | original + copy of a visa to a third country; if a visa to a third country is not needed - any other document confirming the purpose of the trip |
| Other purposes (accompanying a patient, visiting burial places, obtaining a residence permit, interviewing consulates of other states in order to obtain a visa) | documents confirming the purpose of the trip (documents related to the trip of a sick person; telegram about the death of a relative or documents confirming the existence of a grave; documents confirming the appointment of an interview at the consulate; decision to issue a residence permit) |
A short-term visa for shopping in Poland (viza na zakupy) is also in great demand among the citizens of Belarus. For this, for the first time, a single-entry visa is issued for a period of 7 days. For the second and subsequent times, a shopping tourist will be issued a multiple-entry visa. Find out more about how to get a visa to Poland for shopping.
To apply for a long-term visa, the following basic documents are required:
- visa application form (printed with e-konsulat);
- color clear photo 35 x 45 mm;
- international passport;
- a copy of the pages of the passport containing the applicant's personal data;
- insurance with a reimbursement amount of 30,000 euros or a document confirming the availability of compulsory health insurance;
- a document confirming the availability of financial resources (bank statement, certificate from the place of work, certificate of the amount of pension);
- documents confirming the purpose of the planned stay in Poland;
- for foreigners staying in the Republic of Belarus - a permit to stay in the country.
Depending on what kind of visa you need - work, business or student visa, you need to prepare additional documents indicated in the table below:
| Purpose of obtaining a visa | Additional documents |
|---|---|
| Employment for up to 6 out of 12 months in total | application from an employer registered in one of the Polish voivodeships (original and copy); insurance for at least 15 days |
| Employment for up to 6 out of 12 subsequent months | an application from the employer for entry into the register of a foreign worker; insurance for at least 15 days |
| Seasonal work for up to 9 of 12 months | a document confirming the entry of the application into the register of seasonal work; insurance for at least 15 days |
| Other work not specified in Art. 60 clause 1, paragraphs 5 and 5a of the Law of December 12, 2013 "On Foreigners" | work permit (original and copy) or other documents confirming that a foreigner has the right to work in Poland (if a work permit is not required) |
| Business activities | certificate of registration of a legal entity in the State Court Register (copy) |
| Getting an education | a document confirming that the applicant is a student of an educational institution in Poland or a document confirming his enrollment; in the case of courses - a document from the educational institution confirming the entry of the applicant into the list of students, with a detailed description of the program; insurance valid until the day of obtaining the right to compulsory insurance |
| For holders of the Pole Card | Pole's card (original and copy) |
Find out more about how a national visa to Poland is processed.
Where should the documents be submitted
In order to obtain a Polish visa, you must contact the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the Republic of Belarus or a visa center. The Polish Embassy is located in the city of Minsk.
You can also submit documents to the Consulates General of Poland in the cities of Brest and Grodno. In addition, residents of the Vitebsk region have the opportunity to apply for a Polish visa to the Latvian mission, since there is an agreement on mutual representation in the issuance of visas between these countries.
Another option is to contact the Visa Application Center. The visa service center VFS Global deals with the issues of obtaining Polish visas in Belarus. VFS Global offices can be found in cities such as Minsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Brest, Pinsk, Baranovichi, Grodno and Lida.
Cost and terms of visa processing
The cost of applying for a Polish visa in Belarus may differ depending on the type of visa. In addition, a different amount of the consular fee has been established for Belarusians than for citizens of other countries.
It should be borne in mind that visa processing through the Visa Application Center will be more expensive; you will also have to pay more if you order additional services for the preparation of documents at the center. The cost of obtaining a Polish visa in 2021 in the Republic of Belarus is shown in the table below:
| Type of visa | Registration cost |
|---|---|
| Consular fee for visa category C | 60 euros |
| Consular fee for children 6-12 years old | is free |
| Consular fee for visa category D | is free |
| Re-applying for a Category D visa (appeal) | 60 euros |
| Service fee (only when applying through a visa center) | 15 euros |
| Additional services of the visa center (filling out an application form, arranging insurance, delivery of a passport, etc.) | 0.25-26 Belarusian rubles, depending on the choice of service |
In the usual way, a visa is issued up to 15 days. An urgent visa can be issued in 3 working days, but in order for you to get such a visa, you must have good reasons. For example, the reason for an urgent visa application may be the need for medical treatment abroad or the death / serious illness of a relative in Poland. In any case, you must have official documents confirming the urgency.
Readiness check
In the case of submitting documents through the consular department, there is no need to check the readiness of the visa - the consul informs the applicant about the date of the readiness of the permit document when submitting the application.
If you apply for a visa through a visa center, then you can check the status of visa readiness by calling the information desk (+375 17 388 02 46). Checking the readiness of the Polish visa is also carried out via the link on the website of the VFS Global Visa Application Center. To do this, you just need to enter the code from the check issued to you when submitting documents, and your date of birth.
What to do in case of refusal
If the consular officers have found it necessary to reject your visa request, you will receive a sheet explaining the reason for such a decision. In most cases, these are:
- incomplete package of documents;
- the consul considered some of the data in your documents not convincing enough, there is no compelling evidence of the purpose of the trip;
- violations of the visa regime during a previous trip to the Schengen area;
- outstanding administrative penalties in the home country.
After receiving a refusal, you have the right to re-submit documents within two weeks from the date of receipt of a negative response. When resubmitting, it is advisable to supplement the package of papers with evidence of the stated purposes of the trip as much as possible.
Finally
Poland is part of the Schengen countries, so for short-term trips (no more than 90 out of 180 days) for tourism, shopping, medical treatment or business meetings, you need to apply for a Schengen visa category C. If the applicant needs a longer stay in the country, moreover its main purpose is official employment, entrepreneurial activity, study or immigration in connection with family reunification, you should apply for a long-term national visa D. In each of these cases, you must prepare a complete package of documents containing all possible confirmation of the stated purpose of the trip.
