Poland visa and entry requirements

Poland's Foreign Ministry says a C-type visa applicant's travel document must be valid for at least three months after the planned date of leaving the Schengen Area, contain at least two blank pages and have been issued during the last ten years. Under the Schengen Borders Code, a third-country national's travel document must be valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure and have been issued within the previous 10 years.

At least 2 blank pages required. Compare every country

No official source we read lists a vaccination certificate required for entry.

Poland's Foreign Ministry lists, for a C-type visa, medical travel insurance with coverage of not less than EUR 30,000, valid throughout the Schengen Area and covering the entire intended stay (for a multiple-entry visa, the first intended visit). The Visa Code requires applicants for a uniform visa to prove they hold adequate and valid travel medical insurance.

No official source we could read states that a return or onward ticket is required to enter. The Schengen Borders Code lists a return or round-trip ticket among the supporting documents as regards return, and the UK government tells British travellers they may need to show a return or onward ticket at Polish border control.

The European Commission's table of reference amounts gives Poland's as PLN 300 for a stay not exceeding 4 days and PLN 75 per day for a stay exceeding 4 days.

• EES — Entry/Exit System (biometric registration) — The EU's Travel to Europe site says that the first time you arrive at a border crossing point since the EES started, passport control officers will take a photo of your face and/or scan your fingerprints, and your passport will not be stamped; this can be quicker if you register some of your data in advance using a self-service system or a mobile application, where available. The UK government's travel advice says there is no cost for EES registration. (at the border on first entry) travel-europe.europa.eu ↗(opens in a new tab)
• ETIAS — European Travel Information and Authorization System — ETIAS is the new travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers to enter 30 European countries, Poland among them. It is currently not in operation and no applications are being collected; the EU will announce the start date several months before launch. (before travel, once etias starts) travel-europe.europa.eu ↗(opens in a new tab)

A return decision is issued to a foreigner who stays in Poland without a required valid visa or other document, or who has not left Poland after using up the permitted visa-free stay in the Schengen area, or the stay allowed by a Schengen visa, in any 180-day period, or the stay allowed by a national visa. The return decision imposes a ban on re-entering Poland and the other Schengen states; in these cases the ban is from 6 months to 3 years. Anyone staying in Poland without a legal basis is liable to a fine.

Done by the traveller.

Foreigners are exempt from the registration duty if their stay in Poland does not exceed 30 days. A foreigner not listed in paragraphs 1 to 2a of the article must register at their place of permanent or temporary stay no later than the fourth day after arriving there. A foreigner who is not a citizen of an EU member state, of an EFTA state party to the EEA Agreement or of Switzerland, and who does not register, is liable to a fine.

If not done: A foreigner who is not a citizen of an EU member state, of an EFTA state party to the EEA Agreement or of Switzerland, and who does not fulfil the registration duty, is liable to a fine.

• Local visitor fee (opłata miejscowa) — Each municipal council that introduces the fee sets the rate, up to a cap announced for each tax year. 2026 caps: PLN 3.46 a day in the localities referred to in art. 17(1)(1) (art. 19(1)(b)) and PLN 4.89 a day in localities with spa-protection-area status (art. 19(1)(c)). Paid at the accommodation.

  A municipal council may introduce a local fee, charged to natural persons staying more than a day for tourist, holiday or training purposes in qualifying localities, for each started day of stay. The cap on the rate is announced for each tax year. For 2026 the caps are PLN 3.46 a day (localities referred to in art. 17(1)(1)) and PLN 4.89 a day (localities with spa-protection-area status).

  Exemptions: Not charged (on reciprocity) to staff of diplomatic missions and consular offices and persons treated as equal to them, if they are not Polish citizens and do not live permanently in Poland; to people staying in hospitals; to blind people and their guides; to people paying property tax on summer houses in the locality; and to organised groups of children and school youth.

• Spa fee (opłata uzdrowiskowa) — Each municipal council that introduces the fee sets the rate, up to a cap announced for each tax year. 2026 cap: PLN 6.67 a day (art. 19(1)(d)). Paid at the accommodation.

  A municipal council may introduce a spa fee, charged to natural persons staying more than a day for health, tourist, holiday or training purposes in localities in areas with spa status, for each started day of stay. For 2026 the cap is PLN 6.67 a day.

  Exemptions: The same exemptions as for the local fee: diplomatic and consular staff (on reciprocity), people staying in hospitals, blind people and their guides, people paying property tax on summer houses in the locality, and organised groups of children and school youth.

  Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: isap.sejm.gov.pl (opens in a new tab) · Ustawa o podatkach i opłatach lokalnych art. 17 ust. 1a

If you enter or leave the EU with €10,000 in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies), you must declare it to the customs authorities in the EU country you are entering or leaving, using the EU cash declaration form.

• Entering the EU from a non-EU country, the EU's Your Europe portal lists duty-free allowances of 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer, plus 1 litre of spirits over 22% vol. or 2 litres of fortified or sparkling wine, and other goods up to €300 per traveller or €430 for travellers by air and sea. For tobacco it lists Poland among the countries that apply the lower limit to land and sea travellers: 40 cigarettes or 20 cigarillos or 10 cigars or 50 g tobacco (the higher limit is 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g tobacco).
• Travelling between EU countries, the EU's Your Europe portal says no further payments are due on alcohol and tobacco bought for your own use and not for resale, as taxes are included in the price in the country where you bought them. Each EU country can set guideline values, which may not be lower than, for example, 800 cigarettes or 10 litres of spirits.
• The UK government says certain checkpoints on the Poland-Belarus border are closed and that access to parts of the Polish border with Belarus is restricted, and that access to within 15m of the Poland-Ukraine border is restricted except at designated crossing points. Canada says Polish authorities have shut down certain border crossings with Belarus and Russia (Kaliningrad).