The citizens of many outside EU countries are required to obtain a Polish visa in order to enter and remain in Poland for the specified in visa time. Visas are issued by Polish consulates, after applying for a visa in appropriate Polish Consulate. You can apply for various types of visas:
- Air Transit Visa (type A) – which allows a foreigner to pass through the airport of one or more Schengen Area countries;
- Schengen Visa (type C) – which allows a foreigner to remain in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days within a period of six months. The period is calculated from the first entry;
- Country Visa (type D) – which visa allows a foreigner to enter a single country and stay within its borders for up to one year.
The most popular purposes of visa issuance:
- purpose of tourism;
- visiting family or friends;
- performance of business activity;
- performance of research and development activity;
- participation in sports events;
- performance of work;
- arrival in the Polish territory as a member of immediate family of a repatriate;
- obtaining temporary protection.
Different consular offices may require different complementary documents to the visa application, so I suggest to contact appropriate person when gathering information about those documents. If your visa application have been denied, you have the right to obtain a written explanation of the decision. They may appeal against the decision within seven days of receipt of the written decision. They must submit the appeal to the consular office which issued the negative decision.
If you intend to stay in Poland for a longer time, than specified in the visa, you should apply for a temporary residence permit.