Property purchase

Purchase of real estate by foreigners

Starting a business often requires to purchase of real estate by foreign investors. The rules regarding a property purchase by a foreigner are regulated by the following acts:

Since May 1st, 2004 the permission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand Administration topurchese a real estarte by the citizens or entrepreneurs of the European Economic Area (the EEA – the EU plus Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein) has not been required, with the exception of:

Purchasing agricultural and forest land - for 12 years after Poland joined the EU (i.e. until 2 May 2016).
Buying a second home for a period of five years from the date of Poland’s accession to the European Union unless the purchaser has been residing in Poland for at least five years or purchasing estate in order to run business activities in the form of tourist services.

Generally, any foreigner willing to acquire real estate in Poland (directly or by taking up the shares of a company that has a registered office in the Republic of Poland) must obtain a prior permission from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. The acquisition of real estate or shares in a Polish company that owns real estate without such permit is invalid. There is no fixed models of the application for permit.

The application must be made in accordance with the following acts:

Detailed information concerning the acquisition of real estate and shares, together with the specification of required documentation, can be found on the Ministry of Internal Affairs website:

www.msw.gov.pl/portal/en/20/60/Acquisition_of_real_estate.html