Acquisition of real estate by a foreigner in Poland – permanent ties of a foreigner with Poland

The acquisition of real estate by a foreigner in Poland requires the foreigner to meet a number of conditions, including demonstrating that they meet the conditions confirming their ties with Poland.

The Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners contains an illustrative list of circumstances confirming the foreigner’s ties with Poland, but this list is not exhaustive.  The fact that the circumstances listed in the Act are only examples is indicated by the legislator’s use of the phrase “in particular,” which signals an open list of conditions. What are a foreigner’s permanent ties to Poland when purchasing real estate? Circumstances confirming ties with Poland may therefore include, for example (in particular):

1) having Polish nationality or Polish origin;

2) marriage to a Polish citizen;

3) holding a residence permit in Poland: 

a) temporary, excluding the permit referred to in Article 176 and Article 181(1) of the Act of December 12, 2013, on foreigners, or 

b) permanent, or 

c) long-term resident of the European Union; 

4) membership in the management body of entrepreneurs referred to in Article 1(2)(4) of the Act, i.e. a legal person and a commercial company without legal personality having its registered office in the territory of the Republic of Poland, controlled directly or indirectly,

5) carrying out economic or agricultural activity in the territory of the Republic of Poland, in accordance with Polish law.

However, as indicated above, this list is not exhaustive, which means that the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, when analyzing an application for the purchase of real estate by a foreigner, also allows and recognizes other circumstances not listed above that confirm the foreigner’s ties with Poland. 

Of course, these ties must be properly documented and demonstrated in the application for the acquisition of real estate by a foreigner. Our experience shows that these circumstances must be objective in nature, which means that they cannot be based solely on the foreigner’s declarations or statements, but should result from specific, verifiable facts, documents, and other evidence. Therefore, each application for the purchase of real estate by a foreigner submitted to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration should be carefully prepared, contain a justification supported by documentation, and logically demonstrate the existence of the foreigner’s actual ties with Poland.

Circumstances confirming the foreigner’s ties with Poland – examples of circumstances

Examples of circumstances confirming the foreigner’s ties with Poland may include, for example:

• adoption of children with Polish citizenship, in a situation where the purchase of real estate was intended to maintain the ties of adolescent children with their country of origin,
• raising children attending Polish schools, which demonstrates the intention to permanently tie the family’s future to Poland,
• long-term charitable activity for the benefit of the local Polish community, carried out in a systematic manner, resulting in the establishment of lasting friendships and almost family-like relationships with members of that community,
• participation in scientific, cultural, or artistic life in Poland, for example through many years of work at a Polish university, publications in Polish scientific journals, membership in Polish creative or scientific associations,
• integration with the local community, e.g. activity in social organizations, participation in parish life, local civic initiatives, etc.

The above are only examples of permanent ties between a foreigner and Poland required by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.

It is also important that in exceptional situations, the authority may also accept that a foreigner’s permanent ties with Poland result from the fact that the foreigner owns other real estate located in the territory of the Republic of Poland. However, these circumstances must be of a special nature and go beyond the mere possession of property. In such situations, an application for the purchase of real estate by a foreigner should document in detail the foreigner’s connection with the property in question and present additional circumstances that indicate strong, real, and lasting ties with Poland. 

These may include, among others:

• long-term residence in the property in Poland,
• conducting business activity within the real estate in Poland,
• investments of significant economic or social importance in Poland,
• family ties or personal connection to a specific location in Poland.

A practical example from case law:

In its judgment of February 22, 2023, the Polish Supreme Administrative Court ruled that undertaking studies in Poland and purchasing residential premises, the acquisition of which did not require a permit, constituted the establishment of ties between the foreigner and Poland and, on this basis, allowed the authority to issue a permit for the acquisition of shares in the perpetual usufruct right to the real estate constituting the access road to the premises and garage owned by the foreigner (judgment of the Polish Supreme Administrative Court of February 22, 2023, ref. no. II OSK 1745/22).

•  Is a relationship with a Polish citizen a sufficient connection when purchasing real estate in Poland?

Is a relationship with a Polish citizen a sufficient bond for the purchase of real estate? Long-term cohabitation with a Polish citizen, including emotional, physical, and economic ties, may lead to the formation of bonds between a foreigner and Poland, even if they have not been formalized by marriage. The key is to determine whether the foreigner identifies with the culture, tradition, and society of their partner’s country of origin. Such a bond, although not legal in nature, may be relevant to the assessment of the foreigner’s ties to Poland, regardless of the gender of the partners. 

A practical example from case law:

“Living together for many years, the existence of emotional, physical, and economic ties, not legalized by marriage, may lead to the formation of ties with the partner’s country of origin. This bond is not of a legal nature, but it creates a certain factual situation that may be relevant to the assessment of ties with Poland. It should be noted that in the Polish legal system there are cases where rights are granted to persons who are not married but are cohabiting, i.e. in a personal relationship based on emotional ties and running a joint household, living together in a manner similar to a marriage. This also applies to same-sex relationships (judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of September 14, 2016, ref. no. II OSK 2982/14).

Circumstances confirming a foreigner’s ties with Poland – insufficient ties with Poland

The Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration may consider a foreigner’s subjective feelings, unsupported by evidence, to be insufficient ties with Poland, for example, a statement that “he feels good in Poland when he is here,” “appreciates the hospitality of the inhabitants,” “his intention is to own an apartment on the Baltic Sea,” as well as circumstances that do not constitute a permanent connection with Poland, such as regularly spending holidays in Poland. 

Practical example from case law:

Frequent stays in Poland, fondness for Poland, and numerous friendships with Poles cannot be considered circumstances confirming ties with Poland, as they do not have the value of objective factors (judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw of October 5, 2007, file ref. no. V SA/Wa 1385/07).

The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw stated that Article 1a(2) of the NierCudzU contains an open list of prerequisites, and therefore the authority conducting the proceedings has the possibility, within the limits of administrative discretion, to accept other circumstances confirming the foreigner’s ties with Poland. However, the court emphasized that the list of examples, which serves as a reference point in such cases, contains grounds of a specific weight, indicating serious, lasting and real ties with our country of a personal or economic nature (judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw of February 9, 2007, ref. no. V SA/Wa 1930/06).

The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw ruled that circumstances such as having acquaintances and friends in Poland do not constitute sufficiently permanent ties between a foreigner and Poland. Nor is it a sufficient prerequisite to have a residence visa or to undertake studies in Poland (judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw of January 27, 2017, ref. no. IV SA/Wa 1929/16).

The above rulings of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw clearly indicate that a foreigner’s ties with Poland, justifying the issuance of a permit, should be permanent, real, and significant. 

A foreigner’s lasting ties with Poland – appeal against the decision of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration to the administrative court

With regard to demonstrating a foreigner’s ties with Poland, an application for a permit to purchase real estate in Poland is part of a discretionary procedure conducted by the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. The law does not contain a closed list of circumstances that must be met in order to obtain a positive decision, which means that the assessment of the foreigner’s situation is at the discretion of the administrative authority. However, while the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration has broad discretion, it is not unlimited—the Minister’s decisions may be appealed to an administrative court, which verifies whether the limits of that discretion have been exceeded. In other words, although the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration has the right to assess the foreigner’s ties with Poland at his discretion, his decision cannot be arbitrary – it must be based on the specific circumstances of the case and is subject to judicial and administrative review if a complaint is lodged.

Case law indicates that Article 1a(1) of the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners does not contain substantive criteria for issuing such a permit, which means that the decision on this matter is left to the discretion of the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. 

Practical example from case law:

“Although administrative discretion is not excluded from the control of the administrative court, this control is limited and essentially boils down to examining whether the rules of procedure have been violated in a way that could have a significant impact on the outcome of the case, and whether the decision falls within the limits of discretion set by law and is not a manifestation of arbitrariness on the part of the administrative authorities” (judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 28 April 1999, ref. no. V SA 1982/98). 

“Decisions issued on the basis of Article 1a(1) of the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners do not constitute decisions based on administrative discretion.” (judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw of January 27, 2017, ref. no. IV SA/Wa 1929/16).

This means that if an appeal is lodged against a negative decision of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, the administrative court will verify whether the decision issued by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration was arbitrary or grossly unreasonable. This is primarily the case when:

– the authority has not collected or assessed the evidence in an exhaustive manner, e.g. it has omitted important documents or testimonies proving the foreigner’s deep integration into Polish society,

• the justification for the decision is vague, laconic, or internally contradictory, which may indicate a lack of real analysis of the foreigner’s individual situation,

• the authority exceeded the limits of administrative discretion by basing its decision on irrelevant grounds or by relying on stereotypes instead of specific factual circumstances,

• the decision is arbitrary, i.e., it was issued in an arbitrary manner, without a thorough analysis of the foreigner’s life situation, e.g., the fact that they have a family in Poland, a job, education obtained in Poland, or many years of legal residence was ignored,

• there has been a violation of administrative procedure rules which could have had a significant impact on the content of the decision, e.g. the foreigner was not properly notified of the possibility to comment on the evidence gathered by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration in the case.

Can a court overturn a decision of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration regarding the purchase of real estate by a foreigner? Yes. In practice, however, this means that an appeal against a decision of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration to a provincial administrative court requires meticulous demonstration of procedural errors or incorrect application of substantive law by the authority, as well as solid documentation of the foreigner’s ties to Poland.

Our experience shows that although administrative courts often uphold decisions of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration issued under administrative discretion, there are cases in which such decisions are overturned, especially when the decisions are arbitrary, grossly unreasonable, or have been issued in significant violation of administrative procedure rules. This means that it is possible to successfully challenge the Minister’s decision, but it requires solid evidence of irregularities in the manner in which it was made.

Permission to buy a real estate in Poland – foreigners’ ties with Poland – summary

The acquisition of real estate by a foreigner in Poland requires proof of permanent ties with Poland, although the law contains only an illustrative and open list of circumstances, indicated by the phrase “in particular.” 

The case law of the Polish Supreme Administrative Court and the Provincial Administrative Court confirms the possibility of taking into account other objectively documented ties and indicates examples of insufficient circumstances, such as subjective feelings or sporadic visits to Poland.

In the event of a negative decision, the foreigner may appeal to the administrative court, which verifies compliance with the procedure, respect for the limits of administrative discretion, and the absence of arbitrariness and gross irrationality in the decision.

The procedure for obtaining consent from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration for the purchase of real estate by a foreigner is complicated. If you need assistance in the process of purchasing real estate by a foreigner or would like to consult the legal situation before submitting an application, please contact our law firm. We will help you safely navigate all stages of the administrative procedure and obtain permission for the purchase of real estate by a foreigner.