Permission for the acquisition of real estate in Poland by foreigners
Recently, we have noticed an increasing interest among our law firm’s clients in the topic of real estate acquisition by foreigners in Poland. While the matter is relatively straightforward when it comes to foreigners (citizens) from the European Union — since, in principle, there are no restrictions imposed on them regarding the purchase of real estate — it becomes more complex in the case of citizens from outside the EU.
However, if the person interested in purchasing real estate in Poland is a foreigner from outside the European Economic Area (i.e. the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) or Switzerland, then such an acquisition will require obtaining a permit. This permit is issued, by way of an administrative decision, by the Minister of the Interior, provided that the Minister of National Defence does not object. In the case of agricultural properties, the Minister responsible for rural development must also not object.
Such objections are expressed by way of a ruling within 14 days from the date the request from the Minister of the Interior is delivered. In particularly justified cases, the Minister of the Interior — at the request of the authority entitled to object — may extend the deadline for submitting an objection to up to two months from the date the request was delivered.
The principal legal act governing the rules for the acquisition of real estate by foreigners is the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners. According to this Act, the acquisition of real estate means the acquisition of ownership rights to a property or the acquisition of perpetual usufruct rights, based on any legal event.
Under the provisions of the Act, a foreigner is defined as:
- a natural person who does not hold Polish citizenship;
- a legal person with its registered office abroad;
- a partnership without legal personality, composed of persons mentioned in points 1 or 2, with its registered office abroad, established under the laws of a foreign country;
- a legal person or a commercial company without legal personality, having its registered office within the territory of the Republic of Poland, directly or indirectly controlled by persons or companies mentioned in points 1, 2, and 3.
The Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners also provides that, in the case of a commercial company, a company is considered controlled — within the meaning of the Act — if a foreigner or foreigners hold, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the votes at the shareholders’ meeting or general meeting, including as a pledgee, usufructuary, or on the basis of agreements with other persons, or if they hold a dominant position within the meaning of Article 4 § 1 point 4 letters b, c, or e of the Commercial Companies Code.
ACQUISITION OF REAL ESTATE BY FOREIGNERS – CONDITIONS
The process of obtaining a permit is fairly complex, as it requires meeting specific conditions and submitting appropriate documentation. In the case of such permits, it is essential to note that the permit is issued upon the foreigner’s request, provided that:
- the acquisition of real estate by the foreigner does not pose a threat to national defence, state security, or public order, and there are no objections arising from social policy or public health considerations;
- the foreigner demonstrates circumstances confirming their ties with the Republic of Poland.
Among the circumstances confirming a foreigner’s ties with the Republic of Poland, the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners lists, among others:
- possession of Polish nationality or Polish origin;
- marriage to a citizen of the Republic of Poland;
- possession of a residence permit:
a) temporary (subject to certain restrictions), or
b) permanent, or
c) long-term EU resident status; - membership in the management body of a company referred to in Article 1(2)(4) of the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners;
- engagement in business or agricultural activity within the territory of the Republic of Poland in accordance with Polish law.
APPLICATION FOR A PERMIT TO ACQUIRE REAL ESTATE
The application for a permit must include:
- identification of the applicant and their legal status;
- identification of the real estate to be acquired;
- identification of the seller;
- specification of the legal form of acquisition of the property;
- information regarding the purpose and justification for acquiring the property.
It is important to remember that the application must be accompanied by the appropriate attachments — in particular, a foreigner applying for a permit is required to include documents confirming the circumstances stated in the application, documents confirming their ties to Poland, as well as any other documents necessary to determine the legality of the real estate acquisition.
As a result, under the applicable regulations, there is no closed list of required attachments — the scope of documentation will depend on the specific circumstances of each individual case.
PROMISE OF ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT – ACQUISITION OF REAL ESTATE BY A FOREIGNER
A promise of issuance of a permit (known as a promesa) is essentially a formal assurance that a permit will be granted in the future. However, it is important to note that the promesa itself does not authorize or entitle a person to acquire real estate.
So why apply for a promesa?
Let’s imagine a situation where a foreigner, for various reasons, cannot yet apply for an actual permit to acquire real estate — for example, because the legal status of the property is not yet settled.
A promesa is valid for one year from the date of issuance, and — most importantly — during its validity period, the authority cannot refuse to issue a permit, unless the factual circumstances relevant to the case have changed.
The promesa will specify the conditions that the foreigner must meet in order to obtain the final permit.
Therefore, if a foreigner applies for a permit to acquire real estate while the promesa is still valid and all conditions stated in the promesa are met, the permit must be issued.
When submitting an application for a promesa, it is essential to meet the same basic conditions as for the actual permit. Accordingly, the application for a promesa should generally comply with the same requirements as the application for a permit to acquire real estate by a foreigner. This also includes attaching the relevant supporting documents that confirm the foreigner’s right to acquire real estate in Poland.
WHEN IS A PERMIT NOT REQUIRED FOR A FOREIGNER TO PURCHASE REAL ESTATE IN POLAND?
According to the laws currently in force in Poland, obtaining a permit is not required in the following cases:
- acquisition of a self-contained residential unit;
- acquisition of a self-contained commercial unit intended for garage use, or a share in such a unit, if it is connected with satisfying the housing needs of the purchaser or the owner of the property or self-contained residential unit;
- acquisition of real estate by a foreigner residing in the Republic of Poland for at least 5 years from the date of obtaining a permanent residence permit or long-term EU resident permit;
- acquisition by a foreigner who is the spouse of a Polish citizen and has been residing in Poland for at least 2 years from the date of obtaining a permanent residence or long-term EU resident permit, provided that the property will become joint marital property as a result of the purchase;
- acquisition by a foreigner of real estate if, on the date of acquisition, they are entitled to statutory inheritance rights under Polish law from the seller of the property, and the seller has been the owner or perpetual usufructuary of the property for at least 5 years;
- acquisition by an entity referred to in Article 1(2)(4) of the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners (i.e. a legal person or commercial company without legal personality, having its registered office in Poland and directly or indirectly controlled by a foreigner), for its statutory purposes, of undeveloped land with a total area not exceeding 4 ha within city limits;
- acquisition of real estate by a foreigner who is a bank and a mortgage creditor, through taking ownership of the property following an unsuccessful auction in enforcement proceedings;
- acquisition or subscription by a bank, being a legal person referred to in Article 1(2)(4), of shares or stock in a company referred to in Article 3e (i.e. a commercial company with its registered office in Poland that owns or holds perpetual usufruct rights to property in Poland) in connection with pursuing claims resulting from banking activities.
Additionally, it is important to remember that if you are a citizen or entrepreneur with a registered office in a member state of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland (regardless of the origin of your capital), you do not need a permit to acquire real estate in Poland.
However, even in the above situations, a permit is always required if you intend to acquire:
- real estate located in a border zone, or
- agricultural land exceeding 1 ha in area.
There is one more important regulation concerning the acquisition of real estate through inheritance.
A permit is not required if the acquisition of real estate occurs by way of inheritance and, additionally, the heir is a person entitled to statutory inheritance under the laws of their home country.
This rule applies to both statutory inheritance and testamentary inheritance. However, in the latter case, it applies only if the persons designated as heirs in the will also belong to the circle of statutory heirs.
Consequently, obtaining a permit will be necessary if the heir acquires the property under a will but does not belong to the group of statutory heirs.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO OBTAIN A PERMIT TO ACQUIRE REAL ESTATE?
Proceedings concerning the acquisition of real estate by foreigners are classified as particularly complex administrative proceedings.
According to the provisions of the Polish Code of Administrative Procedure (Article 35 of the KPA), a case that requires explanatory proceedings should be resolved no later than within one month, while a particularly complex case should be resolved no later than within two months from the initiation of proceedings. In appeal proceedings, the case should be resolved within one month from the date the appeal is received.
In practice, however, such proceedings usually take longer and are always dependent on the specific circumstances of the case. It may therefore happen that the procedure lasts 2 to 6 months, or even longer in some cases.
In every instance, it is crucial that the application submitted is complete and does not raise any doubts as to whether the foreigner meets all the conditions required to obtain the permit.
If you need assistance in obtaining a permit to acquire real estate,
contact with our Law Firm.
We will be happy to help you prepare all the necessary documents.
As a qualified Law Firm, we also provide legal services in English.
You can contact us HERE
r.pr. dr Alicja Olszar-Lucca
