Visa types

Before you apply, you must decide which visa you need:

Airport transit Schengen visa (A-Type)
choose this visa type if you plan to pass through an international transit area of a Schengen airport travelling with a passport of one of these states:  Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka.

Schengen visa (C-Type)
Choose this visa if you plan to stay in Poland or other Schengen countries for a maximum of 90 days in each 180-day period of time. This means that you are allowed to stay in the Schengen zone legally only if your stay in Schengen countries did not exceed 90 days over the last 180 days. A special calculator on the European Commission’s website will help you count how long you can stay in Schengen countries.

You can apply for a Schengen visa in a Polish diplomatic mission if:

• Poland is the only destination country of your visit to the Schengen zone;
• you visit more than one Schengen country, but Poland is your main destination;
• you do not know which Schengen country will be your main destination, but you cross the Schengen border for the first time in Poland.

In exceptional cases, it is possible to issue a Schengen LTV visa which is valid only in the territory of selected Schengen states.

National visa (D-Type)
Choose this visa if you want to stay in Poland for more than 90 days. The validity of a national visa cannot exceed one year. You also need to apply for a national visa if you seek asylum, repatriation, or if you use Polish Card privileges.

Simplified Visa procedure for family members of EU citizens

Who is eligible:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This procedure applies only to family members of EU nationals who do not have Polish citizenship or do not have permanent residence in Poland.

EU nationals include:

• nationals of EU member states,
• nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

A family member of an EU national is:

• a spouse,
• a partner with whom an EU national formed a partnership under the law of a given EU state, provided that this country’s law recognizes a formal partnership as equal to marriage,
• a child under 21 who is dependent on an EU national, his/her spouse or partner.

Under the procedure you are eligible to submit your visa application:

• free of charge,
• without prior appointment.

Required documents:

• A printed and signed visa application (filled in online)
• A recent photo in colour 35 x 45 mm size,
• A valid passport,
• A document confirming marriage or partnership with an EU national,
• A document confirming that you accompany an EU national in his/her journey or join him/her in their place of residence.

Visa refusal:
You can have your visa application refused only if:

• your data are in the register of foreigners whose stay on the Polish territory is undesirable,
• visa authorities have considered that your stay might pose a threat to national defence or national security or to the protection of public safety, order and health.

A consul refuses a visa in the form of a decision. You can appeal against the refusal to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Biometric data

When you apply for a visa, you have to provide your biometric data: a photo in the case of a national visa and a photo and fingerprints in the case of a Schengen visa.

If you have already applied for a Schengen visa in the recent 59 months and if you have given your fingerprints, you do not have to give them again – the system will automatically transfer your data.

The following applicants do not have to give their fingerprints:

• children under 12;
• persons who are physically unable to give their fingerprints (because they do not have fingers or they suffer from a temporary finger trauma); 
• heads of states or governments, members of national governments and their accompanying spouses and members of official delegations if they are invited for official purposes;
• monarchs and high-ranking members of royal families, if they are invited for official purposes.

Personal data

The authority responsible for the processing of personal data that are in the Visa Information System (VIS) is the Central Technical Authority of the National Information System at the National Police Headquarters, address: ul. Puławska 148/150, 02-624 Warszawa.

Complaints concerning personal data protection are handled by the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection, address: ul. Stawki 2, 00-193 Warszawa.

Where to apply?

You can apply at the consular office at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tirana, Rruga e Durresit 123, 1001 Tirana, every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 to 12:00.

Do I have to apply in person?

Visa application form must be submitted in person. The diplomatic mission does not accept application forms sent via fax, regular mail, or e-mail.

How to book an appointment?

You can book your appointment to apply for a visa via the e-konsulat system.

What documents do I need to submit?

1. A visa application form was filled out via the e-konsulat system printed and signed.
2. A 3.5 x 4.5 cm color photo. The photo must be:
   • sharp, taken against the white background and printed on a quality paper,
   • newer than 6 months,
   • taken en face, clearly showing the eyes and face from both sides from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders with the face-covering 70-80% of the photo. The photo must be taken without any headwear.
3. Passport issued within last ten years, valid for at least three months from the expected return date, with at least two blank pages for visas. If you have another valid passport, you should attach it to the visa application form.
4. A copy of the passport page with personal data and a photo. 
5. Healthcare insurance is valid across all countries of the Schengen area for the amount not lower than EUR 30,000. If you apply for a multiple-entry visa, it should cover the date of the first entry.
6. Copy of an ID document to confirm residence within the consular district of your application.
7. Proof that you have enough means of subsistence in the form decided by the mission:
   • A valid bank account statement issued by your bank,
   • A valid income certificate from your employer for the last three months,
8. Proof of accommodation (for example, an official invitation or a hotel booking or reservation).
9. A document to confirm the purpose and the conditions of your planned stay in Poland.

Additionally, when applying for a visa for a minor you should present:

• Written consent of the child’s parent(s) to apply for a visa, confirmed by a notary. If there is only one guardian, it should be proved by a birth certificate, a court decision on exclusive parental custody, or a death certificate of the other parent.
• Originals and copies of parents' passports.
• Original and a copy of a birth certificate.

If a child is entered in their parent's or a legal guardian’s passport, please submit a separate visa application. The visa will be pasted into the parent's or the legal guardian's passport.

Please note:

• You must apply for a visa in a consular office or the embassy’s consular department in the consular district of your place of residence.
• Usually, the above documents are enough to receive a visa, however, the consul may require additional documents.
• Apply for a visa not earlier than three months before your planned journey.
• The consul may, but does not have to, invite the applicant for an interview.
• You may be banned from entering any of the Schengen States if you present forged documents or provide false information.
• Receiving the visa does not guarantee that you will enter the Schengen area - the final decision is always made by the authorities of the country where you intend to cross the Schengen area border.

How much does it cost?

80 EUR

A possible form of payment: cash.

The visa application fee is non-returnable, whatever the consul's decision. 

What is the waiting time?

The consul will make the decision on the visa within 15 calendar days. Exceptionally, the time to make the decision can be extended up to 30 or 60 days.  

How do collect the documents?

In-person, every Tuesday and Thursday between 10:00 - 12:00

How to appeal?

If you do not agree with the consul's decision, you have the right to apply for a re-examination of your visa application. You must submit it at the same office that issued the visa decision within 14 days after receiving it.

The fee for submitting such an application is 80 EUR.

The applications can be submitted every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 to12:00

Revocation or annulment of Schengen visa

If you have received a decision to revoke or annul your Schengen visa that you do not agree with, you have the right to ask for a reconsideration. However, if you have applied yourself for your Schengen visa to be revoked and the consul has agreed, you are not entitled to appeal.

You should apply for reconsideration within 14 days of receiving the decision to annul or revoke your Schengen visa at the consular post that issued the decision.

If you apply for reconsideration after your Schengen visa was revoked or annulled, you do not have to pay the consular fee.

Complaint about the refusal to issue Schengen visa, decision to revoke or annul Schengen visa, and the consul's activities in this respect.

If the consul who examines your reconsideration request, issues a new decision to refuse, annul or revoke your visa, which you do not agree with, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw. The complaint should be forwarded through the consul who made the decision, within 30 days of receiving the decision taken as a result of the re-examination.

You do not pay a consular fee for submitting a complaint to the consul, but you have to pay fees for proceedings before administrative courts. Therefore, you have to note that the court will ask you to pay the court fee. More information on the number of court fees when appealing with the administrative court, the possibility to apply for an exemption from the costs, and the language of the procedure, is available at:

http://bip.warszawa.wsa.gov.pl/133/wpis-sadowy-zasady-dokonywania-wpisu.html
 

Where to apply?

You can apply at the consular office at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tirana, Rruga e Durresit 123, 1001 Tirana, every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 to 12:00.

Do I have to apply in person?

Visa application form must be submitted in person. The diplomatic mission does not accept application forms sent via fax, regular mail, or e-mail.

How to book an appointment?

In order to apply for a visa, please book your appointment via the e-konsulat system.
Remember to apply for a visa no later than two weeks before the planned departure.

What documents do I need to submit? 

1. A visa application form filled via the e-konsulat system printed and signed;
2. A 3.5 x 4.5 cm color photo. The photo must be:
   • sharp, taken against the white background and printed on a quality paper,
   • newer than 6 months,
   • taken en face, clearly showing the eyes and face on both sides from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders with the face-covering 70-80% of the photo. The photo must be taken without any headwear.
3. Passport issued within last ten years, valid for at least three months from the expected return date, with at least two blank pages for visas.
4. A copy of the passport page with personal data and the photo. 
5. Healthcare insurance is valid across the European Union for the amount not lower than  EUR 30,000.
6. A copy of an ID document to confirm legal residence within the consular district of your application.
7. Proof that you have enough means of subsistence in the form decided by the mission.
8. Proof of accommodation (for example, an official invitation or a hotel booking or reservation).
9. Documents confirming the purpose of your stay Poland.

Additionally, when applying for a visa for a minor you should present:

• Written consent of the child’s/minor’s parent(s) to apply for a visa, confirmed by a notary. If there is only one guardian, it should be proved by a birth certificate, a court decision on exclusive parental custody or a death certificate of the other parent.
• Originals and copies of parents' passports.
• An original and a copy of a birth certificate.

If the child is entered in the parent's or legal guardian’s passport, please submit a separate visa application.  The visa will be pasted into the parent's or the legal guardian's passport.

Please note:

• You must apply for a visa in a consular office or the embassy’s consular department in the consular district of your place of residence 
• Usually, the above documents are enough to receive a visa, however, the consul may require additional documents.
• The consul may, but does not have to, invite the applicant for an interview.
• The D-type visas allow to stay in other Schengen states for 90 days of any 180-day period. It means that you can legally stay in the Schengen Area only if your stay was shorter than 90 days over the past 180 days.  
• The D-type visa is valid for a maximum of one year.
• Please note, that receiving the visa does not guarantee that you will enter Poland - the final decision is always made by the Border Guard.

How much does it cost? 

In cash, 80 EUR

The visa application fee is non-returnable, whatever the consul's decision.

What is the waiting time?

The decision on the issue of a visa is made within 15 working days from the payment date of the application fee. If the documents need to be examined in more detail, the consideration period may be extended to 30 days. In urgent and justified cases, the decision can be made in three working days.

How do collect the documents?

In-person, every Tuesday and Thursday between 10:00 - 12:00

How to appeal?

If you do not agree with the consul's decision, you may ask to have your visa application re-considered. You must apply for the reconsideration in the office that issued the decision within 14 days of its delivery.

The application fee, in this case, is 80 EUR

Every Tuesday and Thursday, from 10:00 to 12:00.