An increasing number of people for abroad are entering the Polish market, who are interested in buying real estate in Poland.

Most of hem see such a purchase as an  investment, but there are also those, who are buying apartments because of family ties.
For a foreigner to be able to buy in conformity with the law, it is necessary to acquire a permit from the minister of internal affairs and administration. The permit is issued on approval by the defense minister, and in the case of farm property also by the minister of agriculture and rural development. Such a permit however, is only needed for persons who are not citizens of member states of the European Economic Area. An exception is the purchase of forest or farm property (over a period of 12 years after Poland’s accession to the EU) and buying a second home (over a period of 5 years after Poland’s accession to the EU).
Due to the growing interest in real estate there are also more and more foreigners on the credit market, who are interested in getting a loan to buy property in our country. This is mostly due to the fact that credit in Poland is often cheaper than in the home country of the client.

Polish banks are increasingly keener to take citizens of other countries into the ranks of their customers. Some banks also have credit forms in English to facilitate access for foreigners. To apply for such a loan in Poland, one must take into consideration the fact, that it will be given according to the procedures of the bank. Looking at the number of banks on the market, we will see that the number of such procedures is huge.
When looking for a good loan, we must bare in mind that not every bank will give us credit for 100% of the value of the real estate. We may run into limits of the credit amount, even to 60% of the value of the property. The documents supplied with the credit application should include, together with the documents of the property, also financial documents of the debtor. The list of documents depends on where the debtor works and lives. If the person applying for credit lives and works abroad, he or she should also supply with the paperwork: a work contract or an earnings statement from the employee, a tax return form similar in form to the Polish PIT form (for instance: P60, Tax Return), a history from their personal bank account for the past 3 months and an information about loan credibility. All of the documents should be translated into Polish by a sworn translator. In some situations the bank may allow the documents to be presented in English or in German.
On the other hand, a person who doesn’t have Polish citizenship but works and lives in Poland is obliged to present a statement from his or her employee regarding their employment and earnings on a bank form and should also have a card of permanent or temporary residency. However, due to the coming into force of the Law of July 14th 2006  - regarding entry onto the territory of the Republic of Poland, stay and departure from this territory of citizens of EU member states and their families – some banks waive the requirement of a residency card (permanent or temporary) in the case of EU citizens applying for a loan. Instead they require a certification of registered stay (instead of a temporary residency card) or a certification of legal permanent residency (instead of a temporary residency card).


Author: Monika Wójcik – Financial Advisor Money Expert SA