In many cases, the purchase of real estate by a foreigner in Poland requires a special permit from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. This obligation stems from the provisions of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, which introduces specific restrictions on the ownership of real estate by persons who do not have Polish citizenship. In practice, this means that in order to legally purchase real estate in Poland, a foreigner is required to initiate administrative proceedings culminating in a decision by the minister responsible for internal affairs. Only a properly obtained permit for the purchase of real estate by a foreigner enables the effective transfer of ownership of the property.
On the other hand, failure to comply with the requirements of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, i.e. the acquisition of real estate by a foreigner without the required permit, has significant legal and practical consequences. The owner of the sold property remains formally its owner, and the foreigner does not acquire any rights to the property, despite the concluded agreement and the price paid.
In the rest of this publication, we will explain in detail who exactly is a foreigner within the meaning of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners and what risks a foreigner faces when acquiring real estate without the consent of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.
Who is a foreigner within the meaning of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate?
The Polish Act defines the concept of a foreigner in Article 1(2), according to which foreigners are natural persons who do not hold Polish citizenship, i.e. citizens of a foreign country who do not have Polish citizenship. In order to determine the status of a foreigner in the case of natural persons, the so-called domicile, i.e. permanent place of residence, is irrelevant. A foreigner may reside permanently both in Poland and outside its borders; the only key factor is whether or not they have citizenship. Of course, as discussed in more detail in this publication, a foreigner is also required to demonstrate the so-called circumstances confirming their ties to Poland.
Under the current legal framework, foreigners within the meaning of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, who most often purchase real estate in Poland, are primarily citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, the United Kingdom, Turkey, the United States, India and Russia.
The legal definition of a foreigner within the meaning of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners is more complicated in the case of legal persons. A foreigner – a legal person within the meaning of the Polish Act – includes the following categories of persons:
a legal person with its registered office abroad
This means any legal entity whose registered office (registered address) is located outside the territory of the Republic of Poland. Therefore, in practice:
– it is irrelevant who is a shareholder or stockholder of such a company,
– it is irrelevant whether the company operates in Poland or has a branch here,
– the only decisive factor is that its formal registered office (place of registration) is located outside Poland.
Of course, foreigners who are entrepreneurs from countries that are parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation are not required to obtain a permit. Consequently, a legal person based abroad, whose registered office is located in one of the EEA countries or in Switzerland, may purchase real estate in Poland without obtaining a permit, except in specific cases specified in the Polish Act (e.g. real estate located in a border zone). However, the acquisition of real estate by a company based, for example, in the United Kingdom or the United States will require a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.
a foreign company without legal personality, based abroad, established in accordance with the legislation of foreign countries
In practice, this means a foreign partnership without legal personality, for example, the equivalent of a Polish limited partnership, general partnership or professional partnership. Exceptions to the obligation to obtain a permit remain the same as in the case of legal persons based abroad.
a legal person and a commercial company without legal personality having its registered office in the Republic of Poland, controlled directly or indirectly by foreigners
This means that in some situations, a Polish partnership or capital company (a company established in Poland) may be treated as a ‘foreign entity’ under the Polish Act if it is controlled by foreign nationals. A company is considered to be controlled by foreigners if a foreigner/foreigners directly or indirectly hold more than 50% of the votes in the shareholders’ meeting or general meeting of shareholders.
Control of a company by foreigners may result from:
– control of shares (directly),
– pledge, usufruct or agreement with other persons (indirectly),
– dominant position pursuant to Article 4 § 1(4)(b), (c) and (e) of the Commercial Companies Code – i.e. influence on the company’s strategic decisions, the ability to appoint members of governing bodies, etc.
Therefore, each assessment of whether a Polish company should be treated as a ‘foreigner’ within the meaning of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners requires an analysis of the ownership structure and actual control over the company. Only on this basis can it be determined whether, in a given case, a permit from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration will be required to purchase real estate.
Purchase of real estate by a foreigner without a permit – what are the legal consequences?
The Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners precisely defines the legal consequences of a situation where a contract for the acquisition of real estate by a foreigner in Poland is concluded without obtaining the required consent from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. Pursuant to Article 6(1) of the Polish Act, the acquisition of real estate by a foreigner contrary to the provisions of the Polish Act is invalid. Importantly, the acquisition is invalid by operation of law, and therefore no additional court proceedings or administrative decisions are necessary to declare the contract invalid.
In practice, this means that despite the conclusion of a contract for the sale of real estate, ownership of the real estate has not been transferred to the foreigner as the purchaser of the real estate, the sale has no legal effect, and the foreigner consequently has no valid legal title to the real estate. The seller of the property therefore remains the owner of the property, despite the fact that the contract for the sale of the property has been concluded and the foreigner has paid the price of the property. The issue of handing over the property to the foreigner and paying the price for the property is therefore irrelevant to the validity of the contract.
Consequently, the acquisition of real estate by a foreigner without obtaining consent from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration has a number of serious practical consequences for the foreigner, in particular:
1. the foreigner cannot exercise legal title to the real estate and therefore cannot be recognised as the owner,
2. the foreigner resides in the property without legal basis, and therefore de facto occupies premises that still belong to the seller (despite the conclusion of a property sale agreement),
3. the foreigner has paid the price but, as indicated above, has not acquired ownership of the property. The foreigner should therefore seek reimbursement of the undue payment from the seller, while the seller may not be willing to voluntarily refund the amount,
4. the seller may have claims against the foreigner, primarily for the surrender of the property (return of the property), but also for non-contractual use of the property.
A practical example from Polish case law:
“The lack of a permit to purchase real estate means that the right to real estate is not acquired” (judgment of the Supreme Court – Civil Chamber of 17 April 2019, file ref. no. II CSK 135/18).
“The acquisition of real estate by a foreigner contrary to the provisions of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners is ineffective” (resolution of the Supreme Court of 20 November 2015, file ref. no. III CZP 80/15, OSNC 2016, No. 12, item 141).
“If a foreigner within the meaning of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners does not have a permit prior to the occurrence of a legal event resulting in the acquisition of ownership or perpetual usufruct of real estate, such acquisition is ineffective due to the failure to meet the necessary condition contained in the Polish Act which is a prerequisite for the expected effect to occur” (judgment of the Supreme Court of 1 June 2017, ref. no. I CSK 585/16).
Control of the acquisition of real estate by foreigners
The Ministry of the Interior and Administration conducts audits of real estate acquired by foreigners. This control is carried out on the basis of extracts from notarial deeds sent by notaries to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in accordance with Article 8a(1) of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners. The Ministry verifies not only the fact of the acquisition itself, but also the circumstances related to the transaction, such as the status of the purchaser, their nationality, the manner of acquisition of the real estate and compliance with the conditions set out in the Polish Act.
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, in 2024 alone, 1,513 real estate acquisition transactions were found to be in violation of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners. However, if the Ministry of the Interior and Administration detects irregularities, foreigners have the opportunity to bring the situation into compliance with the law.
In practice, this means that foreigners:
– The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration may detect the lack of a permit for the purchase of real estate by a foreigner even many months after the conclusion of the contract,
– The Ministry then initiates an investigation, which may result in a formal declaration of invalidity of the purchase,
– Both the foreigner and the seller may be summoned to provide explanations and documents to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration,
– The authorities may request the presentation of the contract, identity documents, the basis for the foreigner’s stay, as well as the purpose of the property purchase,
– The Ministry of the Interior and Administration may declare the purchase of the property without a permit, which results in the contract being invalid by law.
Although notaries are obviously required to verify the statutory conditions for transactions, practice shows that the risk of purchasing real estate without permission still exists for foreigners. This is indicated by the number of real estate purchase transactions contrary to the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, which have been identified by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. It therefore seems that foreigners should very carefully verify the statutory requirements of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners and ensure each time that they meet all the conditions for the legal acquisition of real estate in Poland.
Summary
In many cases, the purchase of real estate by a foreigner in Poland requires a permit from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. A purchase made without a permit is invalid by law and has no legal effect on the foreigner, even if a sales contract has been concluded and the price has been paid. For a foreigner, the risks associated with this type of situation are significant: lack of legal title to the property, obligation to leave the property and potential problems related to a legal dispute with the seller. Therefore, when deciding to purchase real estate in Poland, the first step is to verify whether permission from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration is necessary.
How long does it take to obtain a permit for a foreigner to purchase real estate?
In practice, the waiting time for a permit for a foreigner to purchase real estate is between 2 and 4 months. This is the average time based on our experience in conducting numerous proceedings before the Permits and Concessions Department of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.
Although the Code of Administrative Procedure provides for a period of 1 month for the examination of a case, proceedings concerning the purchase of real estate by foreigners are complex and require, among other things:
– verification of documents concerning the foreigner,
– analysis of the legal status of the property,
– obtaining the opinion of, among others, the Internal Security Agency, the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard, and the Police Headquarters.
This means that these cases are treated as particularly complex, and therefore the one-month deadline is extended.
In our experience, the most common reasons for prolonging the proceedings are additional questions asked by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in situations where the application is incomplete or imprecise. The Regulation of the Minister of the Interior of 20 June 2012 on detailed information and types of documents that a foreigner applying for a permit to purchase real estate is required to submit specifies what documents must be submitted, but depending on the factual and legal circumstances of the case, this list may be extended to include additional information that the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration deems necessary for the proper consideration of the application.
It is therefore essential for a foreigner to submit a complete, correctly prepared application that contains all the required documents and complies with the requirements of the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners and the Regulation on detailed information and types of documents that a foreigner applying for a permit to purchase real estate is required to submit.
Do UK citizens need a permit to purchase real estate after Brexit?
According to the Polish Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, the acquisition of real estate by a third-country national (outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland) requires the consent of the Minister of the Interior.
After Brexit, UK citizens lost their EU/EEA citizenship status, which means that they no longer enjoy many ‘EU freedoms’, including the free movement of capital in the context of real estate acquisition. In many cases, it will be necessary to obtain permission for a UK citizen to acquire real estate.
Can an application for permission be submitted after signing a preliminary agreement?
Yes. An application for a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration can be submitted after signing a preliminary agreement – in practice, this is the most common solution. Under Polish law, a preliminary agreement does not transfer ownership, so a foreigner does not violate the law by concluding it before obtaining a permit. However, it is important that the agreement is properly secured. The preliminary agreement should include a condition that the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration’s permit for the purchase of the property must be obtained.
Both parties should clearly state that the final agreement will be concluded only after the consent has been obtained. It is recommended to specify the date by which the buyer undertakes to submit an application to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration and the consequences of not obtaining consent.
How long is the permit issued by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration valid?
The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration’s permit to purchase real estate is valid for two years from the date of issue.
This means that a foreigner must conclude a contract transferring ownership (notarial deed) within this period. After 2 years, the permit expires, so if the transaction has not been completed, it is necessary to submit a new application and obtain another decision.
