A great opportunity to visit Poland is to go there for shopping. For this purpose, a shopping visa is issued. This type of entry permit requires the preparation of a minimum package of documents and is issued to everyone, including students and retirees. At the same time, a visa to Poland for shopping is Schengen and is issued for a long period of time.
Features of the Polish shopping visa and who is it issued to
The main difference between a shopping visa issued to visit Poland is that there is no need to provide a hotel reservation or a tourist voucher replacing it. The visa is targeted and is issued for the purchase of goods on the territory of the Republic of Poland. According to the statements, there are practically no refusals, which is also a huge plus. But not all foreign citizens can apply for such a permit.
The visa itself is a Schengen visa and is issued according to the same principle as other entry documents of this type. It gives the right to visit other EU countries, but it is recommended to spend most of the time directly in Poland.
Unfortunately, the Polish visa for purchases is issued only to residents of border regions of the states. In Ukraine, these are Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Rivne, Transcarpathian, Volyn, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil regions.
In Belarus - Brest, Grodno and Minsk regions. As for the citizens of the Russian Federation, only residents of the Kaliningrad region can apply for such a visa.
An application for opening a shopping visa is submitted on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. Moreover, the applicant must not only live in the territory included in the list of permissible, but be officially registered there.
The first shopping visa is always a one-time Schengen visa, the subsequent ones are multiple Schengen visa valid for 6 or 12 months. By applying for a shopping visa for the third time, you can apply for a multiple-entry Schengen visa valid for 2 years.
Registration procedure
A shopping visa to Poland is issued in two ways: at the consulate / visa center or through an intermediary firm. To get your hands on the coveted entry permit, you will need to take the following steps:
- pay a preliminary service fee and receive a receipt for payment;
- go through online registration on the consulate website by filling out a form and including the check number. Or provide your data to the employees of the visa center / intermediary firm. Registration of applications for opening a shopping visa is carried out for a limited time after the publication of the relevant announcement on the website of the Polish consulate;
- provide on the appointed day the required package of documents to the employee of the service center or the official Polish department;
- check the status of the application;
- on the appointed day, get your passport with a ready-made visa in your hands.
The main disadvantage of applying to a visa center is the need to pay extra for its services. However, at the same time you save time and insure yourself against almost any mistakes during the collection and submission of documents.
Package of documents
Both during the initial and repeated application, you will need to provide the following documents and data:
- an online questionnaire;
- statement of intent to purchase goods on Polish territory (includes a list of goods);
- consent to the processing of personal data;
- an invitation from a Polish trade company, if available;
- copies of the pages of the national passport indicating the place of permanent registration and the personal data of the applicant;
- biometric data (included in the list of documents for any Schengen visa);
- bank statement or other document confirming the presence of an amount equivalent to $ 200;
- a passport not older than 10 years, with at least two blank pages;
- photocopies of Schengen visas issued in the last 3 years;
- 2 photos of the established sample (biometric);
- health insurance valid in the EU with coverage from € 30,000;
- a receipt for payment of the consular fee.
When applying for a shopping visa for the second time, papers confirming previous purchases in Poland are provided as additional documents: receipts, Tax Free refund documents, invitations from shops, invoices.
It is very important that all documents are properly prepared. Special attention should be paid to the questionnaire, in which the purpose of the trip must be indicated as “other” and further “for shopping”. Read more about the rules for filling out the document in the article "Application for a Polish visa".
The cost of a shopping visa, the timing of its issuance and validity
The cost of a document consists of many cost items, including the production of photographs, copies of the required pages of documents, as well as travel costs for a personal visit to the Polish consular services.
The service fee may be 19-23 €, depending on the visa application center fees. The consular fee for the consideration of documents for issuing a Schengen visa is:
- 35 € - short-term;
- 60 € - long-term;
- 70 € - a visa that is issued urgently.
Children under 6 years of age, persons with disabilities and their guardians are exempted from paying the consular fee.
The official period for consideration of documents may vary depending on the situation:
- 3 days or less - when considering documents urgently;
- 10 days maximum - in a simplified manner, if there are no questions to the applicant and his documents;
- 15 days maximum on a standard basis;
- 30-60 days maximum if a more thorough examination of the application is required.
An initial shopping visa is always a single entry short-term visa, which is issued for up to 7 days from the date of entry.
In the future, you can apply for a visa for 1-2 years, multiple entries, with the right to stay in the country for 90 days in half a year. The maximum validity period for such a visa is 5 years.
More details can be found in the article "Schengen visa validity period".
When opening a visa for the first time, it is very important to confirm the purpose of your trip by spending maximum time on Polish territory and purchasing the previously declared goods. At the same time, the quantity / volume of goods does not play a decisive role.
In the future, the registration process will be greatly simplified due to the already received biometric data and the availability of checks confirming the implementation of your intentions when you first open a visa. Thus, you can gradually increase the period of stay in the country and after that you can afford to travel to other European countries on this shopping visa.
Please be aware that when you apply for a visa for purchases through an intermediary firm, the costs will increase.
Checking the readiness of a shopping visa to Poland
If you were engaged in visa processing on your own, then it makes no sense to call / come to obtain a visa earlier than the deadline assigned to you. When calculating the date of the expected completion of the document, take into account Polish holidays and weekends. Apply for the finished document on the date assigned to you or after the specified period.
Visa processing through a tourist operator usually takes a little longer, so add 2-3 more days to the standard 10 days. The check and confirmation of the readiness of the visa is carried out by calling the help desk of the intermediary company.
When processing documents at the visa center, you can check the status of your application online through your personal account.
In any case, earlier than in 3 days with an urgent examination of documents and 10 days with a standard one, it will not be possible to get a ready-made visa. Read more about this in the article "Checking visa readiness".
Possible reasons for refusal to issue a shopping visa to Poland
The reasons for refusal in this case are similar to those for which Schengen visas of any type are refused:
- incomplete package of documents;
- inaccuracies in filling out the questionnaire and questionable data in the documents;
- knowingly false information (fake documents and checks);
- the applicant belongs to the category of persons who are prohibited from entering the Schengen territory.
The refusal can be challenged within 7 days after the decision is made. Read more about this in the article "Refusal of a Schengen visa".
Recommendations for purchasing goods in Poland
Choose the most favorable periods of the year for your trip, when in most retail outlets there are big discounts - up to 70% or more. This happens at the beginning of each season, namely September, November, January, June.
If you can't make it to the start of the sales, head to Bialystok. This city is famous for a wide range of inexpensive goods in such large supermarkets as Galeria Biala, Auchan, Alfa. The local market on Kavaleriyskaya Street pleases shoppers.
What are the most attractive goods for Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians in Poland? First of all, these are:
- toilet paper, as well as washing powders, gels, bleaches, shampoos and other household chemicals;
- small household appliances;
- dishes and various household goods;
- footwear, clothing, accessories;
- certain foods such as coffee, biscuits, tea, yoghurts;
- alcohol;
- building materials and goods for repair.
If you purchased goods for more than 70-80 euros, be sure to apply for VAT (Tax Free), which allows you to return the VAT included in the cost of goods when leaving the country. When crossing customs, goods must not be unpacked. All goods must be accompanied by receipts.
Conclusions
To purchase goods in Poland in 2021, a Schengen visa can be issued. Initially, the applicant is granted a short-term single entry visa. In this case, the purpose of the trip in the questionnaire must be indicated as “other” and specified “for shopping”. An important point when considering the applicant's documents is his residence permit: it must be exclusively the border area of the neighboring country of the Republic of Poland. During the first trip, it is undesirable to leave the borders of the Polish state and you need to keep receipts for all purchased goods.
In the future, the applicant, as a rule, is already issued a multiple-entry visa “for purchases” to Poland for 2 years. The owners of such a multivisa have much more opportunities to travel around the country and visit neighboring countries.
