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I am a foreigner and I would like to acquire a real estate in Poland. Does it require any special permits?

The acquisition of real estate in Poland by a foreigner requires a permit. A permit is issued through an administrative decision by a minister competent in internal affairs (at present Minister of Interior and Administration), with the consent of the Minister of National Defense, and in the case of agricultural real estate, also with the consent of a minister competent in the country development.

A refusal to issue a permit provided for above shall be expressed, though a decision, within 14 days of providing an interpellation by a minister competent in internal affairs. In particularly justified cases, a minister competent in internal affairs, upon the motion of a body entitled to objection, extends the period of lodging thereof to two months within the day of providing an interpellation by a minister competent in internal affairs.

A permit for acquisition of real estate is issued upon the motion by a foreigner if:

1) acquisition of real estate by a foreigner does not pose threat to the defensiveness, national security or public order, and is not in opposition with social policy and public health considerations,

2) the foreigner proves that there arise circumstances confirming the bonds whereof with the Republic of Poland.

In case of acquisition of real estate without the required permit, such acquisition is not valid.

There are following cases , where obtaining permission by foreigner is not required :

acquisition of a separate living accommodation
acquisition of separate business premises destined for garages or share in such premises, if it relates to providing for the living needs of the purchaser or owner of the real estate or separate living accommodation.
acquisition of real estate by a foreigner residing in the Republic of Poland for at least 5 years following the granting of a permit to settle thereto
acquisition by a foreigner, being the spouse of a Polish citizen and residing in the Republic of Poland for least 2 years following the granting of a permit to settle thereto, of real estate that as a result of acquisition shall constitute marital estate of the spouses
acquisition of real estate by a foreigner, if on the day of acquisition they are entitled to statutory succession from real estate transferor, and the real estate transferor has been the owner or perpetual usufructuary thereof for at least 5 years
acquisition by legal person and a commercial partnership not being a legal person for their statutory purposes, of undeveloped real estate that the total area whereof in the whole of the country does not exceed 0.4 ha within cities
acquisition of real estate by a foreigner, being a bank and simultaneously mortgagee, through the seizure of real estate for ownership due to unsuccessful auction in execution proceedings,
acquisition or seizure by a bank, being a legal person, shares or stocks in a company due to the bank's claims resulting from performed banking actions

Permits is not obligatory required by foreigners being citizens or entrepreneurs of Member States of the European Economic Area, except for the acquisition of:

1) agricultural and forest real estate, during the period of 12 years of the Republic of Poland Accession to the European Union

2) second house, during the period of 5 years of the Republic of Poland Accession to the European Union

More detailed information on criteria of acquisition of real estate by foreigners is described in Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners dated on the 24^th of March 1920 with later amendments.

My company is applying for a credit. Bank requires a certification confirming that we do not have any outstanding liabilities in ZUS. How can we get such certification and how long does it take?

On 25 March ZUS launched a new service - Electronic Information Service. This service enables submission of applications in electronic version. All applications filled in properly will be automatically registered in ZUS. The confirmation of receiving the application will be sent to the company via e-mail. Such confirmation will contain an individual electronic code which will give an access to the website on which you can check the progress of your case.

No additional software is not needed to submit such applications. However, an electronic signature with cryptographic card and its scanner is needed.

The answer from ZUS will be submitted in a form chosen by the company. It can take written or electronic form (except for the certification of outstanding liabilities). The proceeding time path is the same as in the traditional form of submissions.

I represent a Dutch company that is going to set up a business in Poland. How can I register our trade mark in Poland?

To answer this question first it should be checked if your company has the Community Trade Mark (CTM). If so, you do not have to register your trade mark in Poland. The CTM has a unitary character and is valid in the European Union as a whole. The application and the ensuing registration extend automatically to all the 27 individual member states of the European Union. It is not possible to limit the geographic scope of protection to certain member country.

If your company does not have the CTM, it is possible to register a trade mark in The Patent Office of the Republic of Poland (www.uprp.pl). In that case you should follow the registration procedures which involves: Polish Patent Office databases, completing an application form (Polish version only!), indicating the respective class/classes of goods according to the International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification) and paying an application fee.

In case you need advice or consultation, you may contact a patent attorney. After the positive registration your trade mark will be protected in Poland. Of course it is entirely up to the strategy of the your company whether you want to rely only on national trade mark rights or on the CTM protection.

My company is now under registration and has applied for necessary statistical and tax numbers. What sort of information should be presented on company paper? Is it necessary and obligatory to present all company data?

According to amendments to the act of National Trade Register (KRS) valid from 1^st January 2007 and necessary amendments to Polish commercial code, it is obligatory for companies to present all company data in correspondence.

Art. 5 of the act on National Trade Register with amendments specify what sort of information must be presented in business correspondence, orders in electronic versions as well as on web sites.

All capital companies are obligated to present the following data:

1) business name, company seat and address,

2) name and division of regional commercial court where the company is registered as well as number of file (KRS number),

3) tax number (NIP),

4) amount of share capital (as well as capital in deposit of limited joint-stock partnership).

Moreover, if obligatory duty is not comply with formalities Management Board as a representative body of the company may be punished an administrative fee of 10000 PLN.

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