What an invitation is

An invitation is a document with which a foreigner can confirm that they have the means for a stay in Poland and for returning to their country (Art. 49 para. 1 of the Act on Foreigners). You do not have to have one. An invitation does not give the right to work - the Act requires the application to contain a notice about this (Art. 51 para. 2 point 7).

Who can invite

  • a Polish citizen living in Poland, a citizen of another EU, EFTA-EEA state or Switzerland who lives in Poland and has the right of residence, or a member of their family (Art. 49 para. 2 point 1),
  • a foreigner who, before the invitation is issued, stayed legally and continuously in Poland for at least 5 years or has a permanent residence permit or an EU long-term resident permit (point 2),
  • a legal person or an organisational unit with its seat in Poland (point 3).

Application to the voivode

The inviting person submits an application for entry of the invitation in the register of invitations to the voivode competent for their place of residence or seat (Art. 51 para. 3). They attach to it (Art. 53 para. 1):

  • a completed form,
  • documents confirming the ability to cover the costs of the stay and of the return journey (the invited person's return ticket is also enough - Art. 53 para. 2),
  • a document confirming the legal title to the premises if the invited person is to live with the inviting person, or a document on other accommodation.

The inviting person undertakes to cover the costs of the stay, including accommodation, meals and any medical treatment, and of the return journey (Art. 51 para. 2 point 3). The stamp duty for the entry is 27 PLN. The only party to the proceedings is the inviting person (Art. 55a).

Required funds

The inviting person should have at least 515 PLN for each month of stay for themselves, each family member they support and each invited person (§ 3 para. 1 of the regulation, Journal of Laws 2023, item 637). When you invite your closest family, for example a child, parent, sibling or spouse, it is at least 200 PLN per month of the invited person (§ 4). For the return journey you need the equivalent of a ticket, not less than 200, 500 or 2 500 PLN, depending on the destination country (§ 5).

Validity

The invitation is valid for the period for which the inviting person invited the foreigner, for 1 year at most (Art. 51 para. 1). Collecting the invitation can be entrusted to a proxy with a special power of attorney (Art. 55).

Refusal and invalidation

The voivode refuses the entry by a decision (Art. 52 para. 1), among other reasons when the inviting person does not show the funds, did not fulfil the obligations under an earlier invitation or the purpose of the stay will differ from the declared one (Art. 50 para. 1). The entry is invalidated ex officio or at the request of the inviting person, submitted at least 7 days before the start of validity of the invitation (Art. 52 para. 2).

If the inviting person fails to fulfil the obligations, the State Treasury or other entities can claim reimbursement of the costs from them in court (Art. 56). An invitation does not replace a visa. See: work visa and visa refusal.