It’s never easy to move to another country, especially one so far from home. Of course it’s worth it. You’ll meet new people and see many new places. You’ll be able to share your culture and knowledge, and you’ll make memories that will last forever. But formalities and papers are the worst – they’re complicated and time-absorbing. If you’re in the beginning stages, and you want clear instructions how to apply a visa from India to Poland, this article will save you a lot of time.

How to apply for a visa from India to Poland in 10 steps:

  1. Find your consulate
  2. Choose your trip’s purpose
  3. Check if you need a visa
  4. Read the guidelines from the consulate
  5. Choose visa type
  6. Start collecting documents and money
  7. Fill out a visa application form and make an appointment
  8. Print out visa application and pay the fee
  9. Check visa decision status
  10. Think about temporary residence permit as soon as possible

Visa to Poland in India: find your consulate

If you live in:

  • Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jarkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Sikkim, Asam, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunacal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, or Manipur, please visit the website of Polish Embassy in New Delhi.
  • Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu, Pondichery, Gujrat, Lakshadveep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman or Nicobar Islands, please contact Polish Consulate General in Mumbai.

Choose a purpose for your trip

For this article let’s say that your situation is typical. You have neither relatives in the European Union, nor a residence permit. You just want to come to Poland as a tourist, or you’d like to study here, or work. Maybe you want to run your own business in Poland.

Each case is different. When you want to move to Poland, you need to prove your trip’s purpose. For example, if you want to study, you need to apply to a Polish university first. Your Polish university will send you documents that will entitle you to apply for a student visa. I wrote an article on how to study not only in Poland, but also in Germany.

If you want to work, you need to have a work permit before you apply for a visa. This situation is quite complicated. Here will you find our tips on how to get a job in Poland.

Read more: How much can I earn? Average salaries and costs of living in Poland

And if you want to run a business – well, that will be tough. I’m going to publish an article about that as well. Contact me, if you wish to learn about this situation now.

So what you need to do in this step is to decide what you want to do in Poland. Then you need to look for the information on what to do to be able to prove your trip’s purpose.

Check if you need a visa

Unfortunately, Indian citizens always need a visa to cross Polish border, even for tourist purposes.

But if you’re from another country, you might be allowed to visit Poland without a visa. You should check that on this website of Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Visa to Poland in India: Read the guidelines from the consulate

Go the “Visa information” tab on the website of your consulate. It’s crucial that you carefully read all the information there. The consulate’s website should always be your ultimate source of information. The rules may change over time. Also, a consul is the person who will accept your visa application. Because of that you need to be sure that your understanding of the application process is in line with the instructions published by the consulate.

Example of visa information tab

Visa From India To Poland: visa information tab

Choose visa type

There are two visa types to choose from: Schengen visa (type C), or National visa (type D).

Well, actually the names of these types are rather unfortunate… They only confuse foreign visitors. In fact: both the Schengen, and National type will entitle you to travel within the Schengen area. In both cases you’re allowed to do that for up to 90 days per 180 days.

So what’s the difference? The Schengen type is a short-term visa. After 90 days you must leave. The national type is a long-term visa. You’ll be allowed to stay in Poland for up to a year, and during this period for 90 days out of each 180 days you can travel to other Schengen countries.

To sum it up: a Schengen visa is not better than a national visa. The first one is for short trips, the other one is for long-term visits (for example for work or studies).

Start collecting documents and money

It’s best to print out the list of required documents. You should start collecting them before going on to the next steps because it may take you a long take to obtain some crucial papers. Both the Embassy in New Delhi and the Consulate in Mumbai published a few checklists that will help you a lot. Again, as we assume that your situation is typical, you have no residence permit, no European relatives, nor some extraordinary life situation, I especially recommend to you one of these two lists:

– If you want to spend up to 90 days in Poland (without the possibility to look for a job).

– If you want to spend more than 90 days in Poland

How much money should you prepare? When you apply for a visa from India to Poland, you need to pay a 4 400 INR fee. You will also need to buy insurance. What is more, for many visa types you need to prepare financial means: minimum amount of money for the period of residence in Poland and the return trip.

If you wish to learn more about consular fees, please visit the websites of New Delhi or Mumbai consular posts.

Visa to Poland in India: Fill out a visa application form and make an appointment

Go to the e-Konsulat page. This is an official system for visa submissions. Follow the instructions from there step by step. Remember that you cannot do this earlier than 3 months before your planned departure to Poland.

Visa From India To Poland: e-Konsulat

Visa From India To Poland: e-Konsulat

Visa to Poland in India: Print out visa application and pay the fee

It’s very important to remember that after you fill the form you need to print out both the application form and the confirmation page. You have to take it with you to the meeting in the consulate.

Also, go to the consulate’s page to the “Visa information” tab again and check how they want you to pay the visa fee. It’s highly probable that you should pay it by demand draft before you go to submit the application.

Visa to Poland in India: Check visa decision status

Both consular posts in India use their websites to publish the list of visas ready for collection: click here for Mumbai, and here for New Delhi.

Think about a temporary residence permit as soon as possible

Hopefully everything goes well and you’ll be in Poland soon.

Please keep in mind that when your visa validity period is over, you must leave Poland. When this happens you’ll need to start the whole process again. You have to go to the consulate and apply for the next visa to Poland. What if you don’t want to leave Poland? You need to apply for a temporary residence permit. And, well, that’s not going to be easy or fast either… Be prepared to lose even a few months on that. This is why you should start thinking about your residence permit as soon as possible if you don’t want to be forced to go back.

CHECK OUT MORE CONTENT ON JAP

You will find more useful content in the Visa to Poland category.

Information sources

General Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Mumbai

Embassy of Poland in New Delhi, The Consular Section

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