Office for Foreigners

The principles and a mode of purchasing properties by foreigners are specified in the Act of 24 March 1920 on purchasing properties by foreigners (Dz. U. – Journal of Laws – of 2017 item 2278) and in the regulation of the Minister of the Interior of 20 June 2012 regarding the detailed information and documents which a foreigner is obliged to submit, applying for a permit to purchase a property (Dz. U. – Journal of Laws – 2012 item 729).

Pursuant to the general principle expressed in art. 1 section 1 of the above Act a purchase of a property by a foreigner requires a permit.

It should be assumed that as of today Great Britain is a third state in relation to the EU.  So far, the EU membership of Great Britain had translated also into the EEA membership, whereas Great Britain had not had and still does not have any additional or separate relationships with the EEA. Therefore, along with the loss of the EU membership, Great Britain also lost the EEA membership (incidentally it must be pointed out that the EEA includes the EU and EFTA states with an exception of Switzerland, however, Great Britain currently does not meet any of the above conditions). Also, it should be mentioned that the EEA is based on four basic freedoms which in the relationships between the EU (the EU member states) and Great Britain currently do not apply. Therefore, it also refers to the free flow of capital, encompassing purchase of properties.

Therefore, in connection with the above, it should be stated that art. 8 section 2 of the above Act, commencing from 1 January 2021 does not apply to citizens and entrepreneurs from Great Britain, so therefore those entities (if specific prerequisites are not met, concerning exemptions from an obligation to obtain a permit, listed in art. 8 section 1 or 2 in conjunction with art. 8 section 3 of the Act on purchasing properties by foreigners), in case of their intention to purchase properties or shares, should apply for an applicable permit pursuant to general principles laid down in the Act on purchasing properties by foreigners.  

Therefore, an application containing required information should be sent to the Minister of the Interior and Administration and necessary documents referred to in the above Act or in the above regulation should be attached. At the same time, I wish to advise that no ready-made form of this application has been made available yet. Here it should be also stated that pursuant to the contents of art. 1a section 1 item 2 of the above Act an applicant is obliged to prove that the circumstances exist which attest to his/her bonds with the Republic of Poland.

Sufficient information regarding purchasing properties by foreigners in the territory of the Republic of Poland as well as the texts of the Acts of law can be obtained from the website of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration: https://www.gov.pl/web/mswia/ uzyskaj-zezwolenie-na-nabycie-nieruchomosci-akcji-udzialow-przez-cudzoziemcow.