When does a foreigner need permission to purchase real estate in Poland?

The border zone is the most important point

❗ In the border zone permission It is always necessary if you own land

If the property is located in border zone of Poland, the strictest rules apply.

🔴 Permission required:

• for an apartment,
• to the house,
• to a plot of land,

if the object is designed as pełna własność (full ownership).

📌 In the border zone doesn't matter, is it an apartment or a house?
the key is the ownership of the land.

🟢 When permission is NOT required in the border zone

Permission not required, If:

• the property is registered as spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu,
• object does not give ownership of the land.

➡️
Spółdzielcze — no permission needed,
Pełna własność — permission is required.

❗ Permanent residence and 5 years of residence do NOT exempt you from entry into the border zone

Even if a foreigner:

• lives in Poland for more than 5 years,
• has Permanent residence (stały pobyt),

👉 in the border zone, permission is still required, if the object:

• designed as pełna własność,
• associated with the land (house, plot, udział w gruncie).

Twins (bliźniaki) and Sheregovtsy (szeregowiec) — an important nuance

When purchasing twin or row houses (szeregowiec) Foreigners often mistakenly believe that a permit is not needed «like for an apartment.».
In practice, everything depends on legal form of real estate registration.

🟢 Permission is NOT required if:

• the object is designed as lokal mieszkalny,
• it applies to him udział w częściach wspólnych,
• the land is in joint ownership, and not as a separate area.

📌 In recent years, Poland has increasingly been building exactly these types of buildings -
formally it is residential local, not a separate house.

🔴 Permission is REQUIRED if:

• the object is designed as działka zabudowana (built-up land plot),
• the house stands on separate plot of land,
• the buyer receives direct ownership of land.

➡️ In that case, it's already classic house with a plot, and for a foreigner permission is required, including outside the border zone.

Non-border area (e.g. Warsaw)

Even if the property is located not in the border zone, there are situations where permission will still be required.

⚠️ Apartment + udział w gruncie or w drodze

Sometimes an apartment may refer to:

• udział w gruncie (share in a land plot),
• udział w drodze dojazdowej (share in the road).

📌 And a share in a road or land is already right to a land plot.

➡️ In such cases permission is required specifically for this area, even if:

• the apartment itself can be purchased without restrictions,
• the object is located, for example, in Warsaw.

❗ This happens not very often, But It happens, especially in new buildings,
That's why Contracts with the developer must be checked before signing..

Official legal information

All rules regarding the purchase of real estate by foreigners, including:

• border zones,
• houses, plots and shares in land,
• the need to obtain permission,

are regulated by Polish law and published on official government resources.

👉 Up-to-date information is available on the Polish government portal:
Official information on purchasing real estate by foreigners in Poland
https://www.biznes.gov.pl/pl/portal/ou209

Result

A foreigner needs permission if:

• real estate in the border zone and this pełna własność,
• a house or a plot of land is purchased (in any region),
• There is udział w gruncie or w drodze,
• twin or szeregowiec is designed as działka zabudowana.

Permission is not required if:

• apartment without land,
• form spółdzielcze,
• lokal mieszkalny with udziałem w częściach wspólnych.

Assistance in obtaining permission to purchase real estate

If in your case you need to buy real estate in Poland permission required, I provide turnkey support for this process..

I help:

• determine whether permission is needed in your particular situation,
• check the form of ownership and documents (księga wieczysta, contract with the developer),
• prepare and submit an application to government agencies,
• Conduct a transaction safely and avoid legal risks.

📌 Thanks to my experience working with foreigners, I identify in advance any nuances that could lead to a transaction being rejected or invalidated.

👉 If you are unsure whether you need a permit, it is best to check before signing the contract.
In that case please contact us for a consultation, and I will suggest the optimal solution for your situation.