Obtain Poland Tourist Visa
The legislation in Poland does not provide for a visa specifically designed for tourism purposes, but the available categories of visas allow the possibility of being issued for the purpose of traveling to Poland or to other Schengen countries, but the applicant must provide a set of documents attesting the fact that the visa will be used for this purpose and not another one.
Currently, Poland migration legislation provides three basic categories of visas and the procedures that must be followed by the nationalities who are legally required to apply for an immigration document of this kind are presented in a list prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
Foreigners moving to Poland for a short period of time or those who simply want to travel here can be required to apply for one of the following: the A-type visa, the C-type visa and the D-type visa.
These documents are designed to accommodate the traveling needs of foreigners, based on the time spent on the Polish territory, but also on the nationality of the applicant. The Poland tourist visa is not required in the case of the citizens of the European Union (EU), as they benefit from the right of free movement at the level of the entire EU. However, other categories of persons may be required to apply for this document and our immigration lawyers in Poland can present the main categories of foreigners that must have this traveling document.
What is the most suitable document for a Poland tourist visa?
The most suitable document will depend on the duration of stay and the nationality of the holder. For example, the A-type visa represents a document that only allows the holder to stay in the international transit area of an airport in Poland, provided that the traveler must get to another country through a Polish airport. This is, however, required in the case of the citizens included in the Annex IV of the Community Code of Visas, which can be detailed by our immigration lawyers in Poland.
As a general rule, the most suitable document available for a person who wants to visit Poland is the C-type visa, which provides the right of traveling here for a period of up to 90 days during a 180 days period. Considering that the purpose of the stay is for traveling only, this is the most recommended type of document, as stays longer than 90 days in this country create additional obligations, such as applying for a short-term residence permit (the D-type visa is issued for stays with a period longer than 90 days).
The C-type visa is divided into two main categories – the Poland migration law gives the right of applying for a Uniform Schengen Visa, a document that can be used for traveling in all the Schengen member states, Poland included. In order to have the right of traveling in all the Schengen states, one must specifically apply for this particular type of visa.
The other C-type visa is the Schengen Visa with limited territoriality. Thus, persons who are only interested in obtaining a Poland tourist visa can apply for this document. Still, the applicants must know that the C-type visa with limited territoriality allows the selection of more than one Schengen country. When applying for a Poland tourist visa, the document can be used only for this purpose.
The legislation stipulates that a person can apply for an extension of the document, but the extension can be granted for the same purpose for which the document was issued in the first place. Thus, when arriving here for traveling purposes, the document cannot be used as a way of moving to Poland.
What is the current situation of the tourism industry in Poland?
The tourism industry in Poland developed in the last few years, and the number of foreign visitors also expanded, regardless if they have arrived here with a Poland tourist visa or without a required travel document. Foreign tourists arriving in Poland usually prefer to book their accommodation at various types of establishments that operate in the hotel system (hotels, motels). In 2018, the tourism industry had the following characteristics:
• in 2018, Poland had 11,076 tourist accommodation units, accounting for 798,700 beds;
• the country accounted for a total number of 33,9 million tourists and 88,9 million overnight stays;
• the number of foreign tourists accounted for 7,1 million in 2018;
• compared to 2017, this number represented a slight increase, as in that year, there were 6,8 million foreign visitors;
• the highest rate of foreigners visiting Poland was represented by German citizens, accounting for 34,2% of the foreign visits.
The Poland migration numbers reported by the Polish Border Guard show that the nationalities that are most interested in arriving here for various purposes, such as travel, work or relocation are Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians and British persons. Persons who want to apply for a travel visa in this country are invited to contact our immigration lawyer in Poland. Our attorney can represent foreigners regardless of their nationality and can also help them moving to Poland on a long-term basis.
