MSWiA permit

MSWiA permit: when a foreigner needs one

A foreigner from any country buys a flat (samodzielny lokal mieszkalny) in Poznan without a permit. A house with land, a plot or a commercial unit needs an MSWiA permit if you are not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or the purchase is void. The fee is 1,570 PLN and the permit lasts 2 years. Plan the application before the preliminary agreement.

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In short

Flat, house, plot: do you need a permit

First we look at what you are buying, and only then at your passport. Get that order wrong and it costs you: a purchase without a required permit is void.

The type of property matters more than the country

The permit comes from the interior minister (MSWiA) under the act of 24 March 1920 on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners (consolidated text Dz.U. 2017 poz. 2278). The act opens with the rule "a foreigner needs a permit" (art. 1 ust. 1) and then lists exemptions. The main one is a flat.

What you buy	EU, EEA or Swiss citizen	Everyone else, including Ukraine, Belarus, the UK
Flat (samodzielny lokal mieszkalny with its own KW)	No permit	No permit (art. 8 ust. 1 pkt 1)
Garage unit or a parking space for your own home	No permit	No permit (art. 8 ust. 1 pkt 1a)
House with land, a separate plot	No permit	Permit required
Office, shop, commercial unit other than a garage	No permit	Permit required
Farmland over 1 ha	Separate farmland rules	Permit required, exemptions do not apply (art. 8 ust. 3)

For EEA and Swiss citizens the basis is art. 8 ust. 2. UK citizens have been treated like everyone else since 1 January 2021, as the government portal powroty.gov.pl states (page of 22 June 2026).

Who counts as a foreigner

Anyone without Polish citizenship (art. 1 ust. 2). A residence card, a PESEL or a job in Poland does not change that. Buying a house through your own Polish company does not get round it either: a company where foreigners control more than 50% of the votes is a foreigner too (art. 1 ust. 2 pkt 4 and ust. 3).

Poznan has one advantage. The art. 8 ust. 1 exemptions do not apply in the border zone (strefa nadgraniczna, art. 8 ust. 3), but Wielkopolska does not border any country. So for a flat in Poznan and the surrounding municipalities that caveat never comes into play.

Exemptions

When you can buy a house without a permit

The art. 8 ust. 1 exemptions are narrow, and the notary checks each one against a document. "I have lived here for years" is not enough.

5 years after permanent residence

You have lived in Poland for at least 5 years since you were granted permanent residence or EU long-term resident status (art. 8 ust. 1 pkt 2). Then you can buy a house or a plot too. The five years run from that decision, not from your first arrival or your first temporary card.

Spouse of a Polish citizen

Three conditions at once: marriage to a Polish citizen, at least 2 years living in Poland after permanent residence or EU resident status, and a purchase into the spouses' joint property (art. 8 ust. 1 pkt 3). Marriage alone, without permanent residence, is no exemption, though it is a strong point in an application.

Buying from a relative

If on the day of the deal you are a statutory heir of the seller and the seller has owned the property for at least 5 years, you need no permit (art. 8 ust. 1 pkt 4). Inheriting by law also needs no permit (art. 7 ust. 2).

A "house" that is really a flat

In new estates around Poznan, half of a semi-detached or a terraced unit is sometimes sold as a samodzielny lokal mieszkalny with its own KW for the unit. Then the flat exemption applies. If the KW shows land with a house, that is land property and you need a permit. I check this in the KW and the draft agreement before any reservation.

Karta Polaka and "I have lived here long" are not exemptions

Karta Polaka, Polish descent, a temporary card or a business in Poland do not appear in art. 8. They are the "ties with Poland" from art. 1a ust. 2. They help MSWiA grant the permit, but they do not free you from needing one.

Farmland

For farmland over 1 ha the exemptions do not apply (art. 8 ust. 3). On top of the permit, the farmland act (ustawa o kształtowaniu ustroju rolnego, art. 1a ust. 6) applies, and it binds every buyer, not only foreigners. I only take such plots together with a lawyer.

Applying

Promesa and zezwolenie: how to apply and how long it takes

The figures below come from the MSWiA page on gov.pl (updated 1 October 2026, which I checked on 27 October 2026) and from the act itself.

Choose: promesa or straight to the permit

A promesa is a promise to issue the permit (art. 3d). It is valid for a year, and while it is valid the permit can be refused only if the facts change (art. 3d ust. 4). It helps when the deal is long: the house is still being built or the bank is slow. You still apply for the permit afterwards. If the house is ready and the seller is waiting, people usually apply for the permit straight away.

Show your ties with Poland

The permit is granted if the purchase does not threaten defence, state security or public order and you show ties with Poland (art. 1a ust. 1). The act gives examples: Polish descent, marriage to a Polish citizen, a residence permit (temporary, permanent or EU resident), a seat on the board of a Polish company, a business or farm in Poland (art. 1a ust. 2). The list is open: "w szczególności".

Put the file together

The application names you, the property, the seller, the legal form of the purchase and its purpose (art. 1a ust. 3). MSWiA asks for an identity document (passport and residence card as certified copies only), proof of ties, extracts from the KW and the land register, the seller's statement that they intend to sell, and the source of funds. Documents go in as originals or certified copies. Foreign documents need a sworn translation (tłumacz przysięgły).

Pay the stamp duty

Permit: 1,570 PLN, promesa: 98 PLN (gov.pl/web/mswia, as of 1 October 2026). A married couple can file one application. Unmarried partners and other co-buyers each file their own and each pay the duty. If the case ends without a permit, you can ask for the duty back from Centrum Obsługi Podatnika m.st. Warszawy.

Wait for the decision

The act sets no separate deadline for MSWiA, so the general administrative code applies: up to 2 months from the start for a particularly complex case (art. 35 § 3 kpa). Within that, the defence minister (MON) has 14 days to object, or up to 2 months for special reasons (art. 1 ust. 1a of the act). A request for more documents stops the clock (art. 35 § 5 kpa). That is why I never set the preliminary agreement deadline right at two months.

Go to the notary

The permit is valid for 2 years from issue (art. 3 ust. 2) and covers a specific property and seller. Without it the notary will not sign the deed and the court will not enter you in the KW (art. 5). Land for your own living needs may not exceed 0.5 ha (art. 1a ust. 5); for spouses the MSWiA page gives 1 ha.

How I help with the permit

Property type before reservation

The KW shows whether it is a flat with its own KW, land with a house or a commercial unit. That decides whether MSWiA is needed at all.

The seller's papers

The statement of intent to sell, the KW and land register extracts. The file cannot be built without the seller, so I agree this up front.

Deadlines in the agreement

The permit condition, the deed date and what happens to the deposit on refusal all go into the preliminary agreement, not into verbal promises.

Marina Buguk in her Poznan office preparing documents for a purchase

Found a house near Poznan? I will check the KW and the property type, tell you whether you need a permit, and gather the seller's papers for MSWiA before the preliminary agreement.

The deal

How to build the permit into the preliminary agreement

Waiting for MSWiA takes months, and the seller can change their mind in that time. The agreement has to hold the property for you throughout.

A permit condition

The umowa przedwstępna states plainly that the final agreement is signed after the MSWiA permit is granted. And separately: what happens if there is no permit by a set date. The agreement ends and the deposit (zadatek or zaliczka) is returned.

A deed date with slack

The final agreement date is not "in two months" but after the permit plus time to book the notary. Better to set a generous date once than to sign an annex later.

The seller cannot walk away quietly

MSWiA closes the case if the seller states they will not sell to you (art. 3b). So the seller's duty not to withdraw the statement and to hand over the MSWiA papers also goes into the agreement. A preliminary agreement in notarial form lets you ask a court to compel the final agreement.

The mortgage on the same timeline

The bank will not pay out a house loan before the permit exists. We run the bank decision and the MSWiA decision in parallel. How banks look at a foreign borrower: mortgage for foreigners.

At the notary from 19 November 2026

From 19 November 2026 the notary sends the deed extract for a foreign buyer through the Polish notaries' electronic repository instead of on paper, and the National Notarial Council passes it to MSWiA (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1099). Who needs a permit does not change. One thing is new for you: the notary will charge the parties a small fee for the upload, set by an MSWiA regulation. It applies to a flat bought without a permit too.

FAQ

Questions about the MSWiA permit

No. A foreigner from any country buys a samodzielny lokal mieszkalny with its own KW without a permit (art. 8 ust. 1 pkt 1). The exemption only fails in the border zone, and Poznan is not in it.

Yes, unless you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen or fall under an art. 8 ust. 1 exemption, such as 5 years in Poland after permanent residence. Without the permit the purchase is void (art. 6 ust. 1).

A garage unit or a share in one can be bought without a permit if it serves your housing needs (art. 8 ust. 1 pkt 1a). A parking space with your own flat is the typical case.

No. EEA and Swiss citizens and businesses buy without a permit (art. 8 ust. 2). UK citizens have needed one on the general rules since 1 January 2021.

Stamp duty is 1,570 PLN for the permit and 98 PLN for a promesa (gov.pl, 1 October 2026). For a particularly complex case the administrative code allows up to 2 months from the start, but requests for documents extend that. So the deal is planned through a preliminary agreement with slack.

A promesa is a promise to issue the permit and is valid for a year (art. 3d). While it is valid, a refusal is possible only if the facts change. The zezwolenie is the permit for the deal itself and is valid for 2 years (art. 3 ust. 2).

Yes, that is the usual way: the seller's statement of intent to sell is part of the MSWiA file. The agreement gets a permit condition, a deed date with slack and the return of the deposit if no permit comes.

This is not legal advice

Sources and where to read next

This page is information and does not replace advice from a lawyer or notary. A tricky case, such as mixed ownership, farmland or buying through a company, is best taken to a lawyer before any deposit.

Sources: act on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners, Dz.U. 2017 poz. 2278; amendment Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1099 (in force from 19 November 2026); the MSWiA page on gov.pl (updated 1 October 2026). Checked on 27 October 2026.

Papers for the purchase itself: documents for foreigners. Choosing between a house and a flat? Start with houses in Poznan and flats. A question about a specific property: contact page.

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MSWiA permit: when a foreigner needs one

Flat, house, plot: do you need a permit