When moving to Poland you’ll need to apply for a few documents and permissions. These documents are residence permit, temporary residence address, health insurance, PESEL number. Below you’ll find our instructions and guidelines on how to fill out all these documents in Polish.

What exactly should you do before and right after coming to Poland? We were talking about in this and this posts. By now you probably already know that the documents must be filled out in Polish. Thankfully, most of them are described in both Polish and English, sometimes also in Russian and French.  As always, there are some exceptions, like the voluntary health insurance for the NFZ that is only in Polish. 

To fill out the documents you’ll always need some basic information – name and surname (must correspond to your passport), PESEL number or passport number. All the forms must be filled out in capital letters. 

The most important information that you must always put are:

• name – imię
• surname – nazwisko
• nationality – narodowość
• PESEL number – numer PESEL
• ID or passport number – numer dowodu lub paszportu

Usually, at the top of the document, there is a small instruction on how to fill out the documents. 

Important: in Poland, we write the date in the following way: day-month-year [DD-MM-YYYY].

1. Temporary Residence Permit

In the temporary residence permit application you will need:

• country of birth – państwo urodzenia
• nationality – narodowość
• citizenship – obywatelstwo

You can easily check how it’s in Polish in a translator or on Wikipedia. 

In this document you’ll also need the following information:

• marital status – stan cywilny:
  • single (female) – panna 
  • single (male) – kawaler
  • married (female) – zamężna
  • married (male) – żonaty
  • divorced (female) – rozwiedziona 
  • divorced (male) – rozwiedziony 
  • widowed (female) – wdowa
  • widowed (male) – wdowiec 
• education – wykształcenie:
  • primary education (if you have finished elementary school) – podstawowe 
  • secondary education (if you have finished highschool) – średnie
  • higher education (if you have at least Bachelor diploma) – wyższe 
• kolor oczu – color of eyes:
  • blue – niebieski
  • green – zielony 
  • grey – szary 
  • brown – brązowy

If you have any special marks, you also have to write it:

• mole – znamię 
• tattoo – tatuaż
• scar – blizna
• none – brak 

Don’t forget to add the country code when writing your phone number.

You can also declare members of your family and you’ll have to put the degree of kinship:

• father – ojciec
• mother – matka
• brother – brat
• sister – siostra
• daughter – córka
• son – syn
• grandmother – babka
• grandfather – dziadek
• grandson – wnuk
• granddaughter – wnuczka
• husband – mąż
• wife – żona
• step mother – macocha
• stepfather – ojczym
• step son – pasierb
• step daughter – pasierbica

If you have ever been to Poland, write the correct date and reason – you may copy and paste that data from the previous point of the application form. Dates must be exactly the same as you have in your passport and flight tickets.

When applying for a temporary residence permit you’ll have to prove that you have enough funds to cover your cost of living during your stay in Poland. These may be proved by:

• a job contract – umowy o pracę 
• scholarship – stypendium
• current bank statement from a bank situated in Poland – signed and stamped by a bank representative – potwierdzenia z banku o posiadanych środkach na koncie w polskim banku 
• certificate from a bank with the information about the limit on your credit card – potwierdzenia posiadania odpowiedniego limitu na karcie kredytowej
  • certificates must be in both original language and in Polish

You’ll also need a confirmation of the health insurance:

• insurance policy (if you have a private insurance) – numer polisy 
• ZUS certificate (if you have public insurance; ZUS is Social Insurance Institution) – zaświadczenie ZUS 

Remember to have a copy of your zameldowanie (residence address) application or the lease agreement.

Required additional documents:

• 4 pictures 
• a copy of your travel document
• a confirmation of stamp duty and issuing card payment 
• a confirmation of health insurance 
• a confirmation of a stable and regular income
• a confirmation of having enough funds to cover cost of living in Poland and going back to the country of origin
• confirmation of the residence address in Poland

The temporary residence permit application must be submitted at least on the last day of your legal stay in Poland. It must be done in person because they will take your fingerprints. The application must be filled out in two copies. Bring it to the Voivodeship Office of the voivodeship you live in. Depending on the place, you may be required to set up a meeting. 

Documents confirming important information that are in a foreign language must be translated into Polish by a certified translator.

If you plan to start or continue working in Poland, don’t forget about attachment no 1 which must be filled out by your employer.

2. Voluntary Health Insurance In NFZ App

In this document, you’ll have to put your PESEL number, so if you don’t have it, add your ID or passport number. In case you have your own company, add the NIP – tax identification number.

You’ll also need to write:

• series and number of Identity Card or Passport – seria i numer dowodu osobistego lub paszportu 
• issued by – wydany przez
• full name and citizenship – imię i nazwisko, obywatelstwo 
• date of birth – data urodzenia 
• street, house number and flat number – ulica, nr domu, nr mieszkania
• postal code and town/city – kod pocztowy, miejscowość
• contact telephone number, e-mail address – telefon kontaktowy, adres poczty elektronicznej

If you want to add your family members, write them down in the next point, adding their PESEL, name and surname, and the degree of kinship (above you’ll find the most common ones with the translation).

Additional information to declare:

I kindly request that you include me in the voluntary health insurance scheme in the National Health Fund from …………………………………………………………………………………………

Zwracam się z prośbą o objęcie mnie dobrowolnym ubezpieczeniem zdrowotnym w Narodowym Funduszu Zdrowia od dnia ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

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I hereby declare that:
1) I am not included in any compulsory health insurance scheme;
2) the period in which I have not been included in any health insurance scheme has been less than 3 months/ has been …………….. months.

Oświadczam, że:
1) nie podlegam obowiązkowemu ubezpieczeniu zdrowotnemu;
2) okres, w którym nie podlegałem/łam ubezpieczeniu zdrowotnemu wynosi mniej niż 3 miesiące/wynosi …………. miesiące;
3) zamieszkuję na terytorium RP.

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I hereby declare that my monthly income is PLN …………………………………, 
in words: ……………………………………………………………………………………

Deklaruję miesięczny dochód w kwocie …………………………………………………………………………zł,
słownie:……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………zł.

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I further declare that the family members to be covered by the insurance
1) are not included in any compulsory health insurance scheme
2) are eligible because they are
a)my own child, child of the other spouse, adopted child, grandchild or an unrelated child over whom I have custody, or a foster child,
− aged less than 18
− aged less than 26 (if they are students at schools, teacher training institutions, universities, or research units in which doctoral studies are run
− to whom no age restrictions apply because they have been issued a certificate confirming a significant degree of disability, or other equivalent certificates,
b)my spouse,
c) my ascendant living together with me in the same household.

Ponadto oświadczam, że zgłoszony przeze mnie członek rodziny:
1) nie podlega obowiązkowemu ubezpieczeniu zdrowotnemu;
2) jest uprawniony do zgłoszenia z tytułu:
a) dziecko własne, dziecko małżonka, dziecko przysposobione, wnuk albo dziecko obce, dla którego ustanowiono opiekę, albo dziecko obce w ramach rodziny zastępczej lub rodzinnego domu dziecka,
– do ukończenia przez nie 18 lat,
– do ukończenia przez nie 26 lat, jeżeli uczy się dalej w szkole lub zakładzie kształcenia nauczycieli lub odbywa kształcenie w uczelni lub szkole doktorskiej,
– bez ograniczenia wieku, jeżeli posiada orzeczenie o znacznym stopniu niepełnosprawności lub inne traktowane na równi,
b) małżonek,
c)  wstępny pozostający ze mną we wspólnym gospodarstwie domowym.

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I hereby declare that the information contained above is consistent with the legal status and accurately reflects the actual situation. I also undertake to immediately notify the Fund of any change in the provided information which occurs during the insurance period. Furthermore, I declare that I have been informed that my personal details collected by the Regional Branch of the National Health Fund with its registered office at [city and address of the branch] may be processed for the purposes arising from art. 188 of the Act of 27 August 2004 on healthcare services financed from public funds (Dz. U. [Journal of Laws] of 2017, item 1938, as amended), as well as about the legal duty to provide such details, about the right to access and correct them and that these details will be made available for parties that are authorised to receive them under applicable law.

Oświadczam, że wszystkie dane zawarte w formularzu są zgodne ze stanem prawnym i faktycznym. Jednocześnie zobowiązuję się do niezwłocznego informowania Narodowego Funduszu Zdrowia o zmianach jakie nastąpią w trakcie trwania ubezpieczenia. Jednocześnie oświadczam, że zostałem/am poinformowany/a o tym, iż moje dane osobowe zbierane przez Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia reprezentowany przez Prezesa Narodowego Funduszu Zdrowia, w imieniu którego działa Dyrektor……………….Oddziału Wojewódzkiego NFZ z siedzibą w……………………………………… przy ul. …………………………………………………………., są przetwarzane w celach wynikających z art. 188 ustawy z dnia 27 sierpnia 2004 r. o świadczeniach opieki zdrowotnej finansowanych ze środków publicznych (Dz. U. z 2020 r. poz. 1398, z późn. zm.), a także o obowiązku ich podania, prawie wglądu do tych danych i wnoszenia poprawek oraz o tym, że dane te będą udostępniane podmiotom uprawnionym do ich otrzymania na mocy przepisów prawa.

Below you’ll need to sign and write the city and date. 

The application must be done in the voivodeship branch of the NFZ.

3. Temporary Residence Address (Zameldowanie)

In the first part of this document you have to put the data of the applicant and the contact details. One of them is the PESEL number. If you don’t have it, the office worker will give you one automatically when applying. 

In the next part of the document you have to indicate the address you want to be registered at. The unit number must be written only if you are living in a residential unit. If you don’t know which gmina (commune) you live in, just check it on the Internet. 

You also have to put the length of your stay, exactly the same as is in your lease agreement. 

If you have already registered your address before, you can confirm that you don’t want to be registered there anymore. 

Point 5 is the name and surname of the attorney – fill it out only if you’re not going to the office in person.

In the end, you have to sign the application. 

When going to the office, take a copy of the lease agreement with you. 

Don’t forget: you have to register your stay if you plan to live in Poland for over 3 months (as an EU citizen) or over 1 month (if you’re non-EU citizen). You have 30 days (as an EU citizen) or 4 days (if you’re not from the EU) to apply.

4. PESEL Number Application

If you don’t have to register your address, but for some reason you need a PESEL number, you can apply for it separately.

The application form is only in Polish and must be filled out in Polish too.

Step 1 nad 2

In the first part, you have to give basic information.
These are: name, surname, address for the correspondence, sex, date of birth, country of birth, and country of residence. 

You’ll also need to write down your citizenship and series and the number of ID/passport and its expiry date.

Step 3

If your passport provide the following information, you have to add it too:

• family name – nazwisko rodowe
• place of birth – miejsce urodzenia
• designation of the birth certificate – oznaczenie aktu urodzenia 
• name/number of the register office that have issued the birth certificate  – oznaczenie urzędu stanu cywilnego, w którym został sporządzony akt urodzenia
• first name and family name of father and mother – imię i nazwisko rodowe ojca i matki

Step 4

You have to mark your marital status:

• single – kawaler/panna
• married – żonaty/zamężna
• divorced – rozwiedziony/rozwiedziona
• widowed – wdowiec/wdowa 

If you are married, you have to write down your wife/husband’s name and family surname, and the PESEL number, if he or she has it.

Step 5

If you have ever been married, you must mark one of these:

• got married – zawarcie związku małżeńskiego
• divorced – rozwiązanie związku małżeńskiego
• annulation – unieważnienie związku małżeńskiego
• death of husband/wife (if you know the day of death) – zgon małżonka (zaznacz, jeśli znasz datę zgonu)  
• death of husband/wife (if you only know when the body was found) – zgon małżonka – znalezienie zwłok (zaznacz, jeśli małżonek zmarł, ale znasz jedynie datę znalezienia ciała) 

Then add the date, number of the document, and the name of the office or court that issued the document.

Step 6

In the end, choose if you want to receive the number via post or in an electronic form (in this case you have to write your email address).

Step 7

Last, but the most important thing: explain why you need the PESEL. If any office told you to get it (for example ZUS – the Social Insurance Institution), they should have given you the legal basis which you can write into the application form.

Step 8

Sign the document and bring it to the nearest City Hall.

5. Main offices in Katowice

Silesian Voivodeship Office
[Śląski Urząd Wojewódzki]
ul. Jagiellońska 25
40-032 Katowice

Katowice City Hall
[Urząd Miasta Katowice]
ul. Młyńska 4
40-098 Katowice

The National Health Fund 
Silesian Voivodeship Branch in Katowice 
[Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia (NFZ)
Śląski Oddział Wojewódzki w Katowicach]
ul. Stanisława Kossutha 13 
40-844 Katowice