Do I have to register my stay if I came for 2 months?

Registering your stay with the voivode applies to stays longer than 3 months (art. 20 sec. 1 of the Act on the entry and stay of EU citizens), so for 2 months you do not do it. Meldunek is a separate duty: if you stay more than 30 days, you must register your address no later than the 30th day after arrival (art. 41 sec. 1 and art. 42 sec. 2 of the Population Register Act). Status as of 7 October 2026.

Do I need a Polish bank account to rent a flat?

No provision requires it. The lease decides: you pay the czynsz to the account named in it, and some owners prefer a Polish number. A transfer from abroad in zloty can carry a fee and a currency conversion (our estimate, it depends on your bank), so check with your bank before the first payment.

Can I get a PESEL before I register my address?

Yes, but it is a separate route: a paper application with a handwritten signature, filed at any municipal office, stating the legal basis (art. 18 sec. 1 and 2 of the Population Register Act). An EU citizen does not have to appear in person, because that rule applies to other foreigners (art. 18 sec. 1a). Ask the institution that wants the number to name the provision. More in our article on PESEL and meldunek.

Do I need a tax number to rent a flat?

We know of no provision that requires a NIP from a tenant. A private person who does not run a business uses the PESEL as the tax identifier (art. 3 sec. 1 pt 1(a) of the Act on the principles of registration and identification of taxpayers). The owner settles the tax on the rent. This is general information, not tax advice.

Can the landlord demand a certificate of registration of stay?

No provision makes it a condition of a lease. In your first 3 months you cannot have one anyway, because registration concerns longer stays. If an owner asks for it, find out what they really need and show your passport or ID card.

How much does your help cost?

You pay 70% of one month's czynsz najmu (not counting czynsz administracyjny and utilities) only after the lease is signed, against a faktura bez VAT. Example: czynsz najmu of 3,500 zł gives a fee of 2,450 zł. Help with PESEL and the office is included.

In which language do you serve EU clients?

In German, Italian, Spanish and English, and also in Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and Turkish. We interpret orally; this is not a sworn translation.

Moving to Warsaw as an EU citizen: what you need to rent a flat, register your stay and get meldunek and PESEL

To rent a flat in Warsaw as an EU citizen you will in practice need only your passport or national ID card; you do not need a visa or a karta pobytu. If you stay longer than 3 months, you must register your stay with the voivode no later than the day after 3 months have passed since entry, and the registration is free. Meldunek is due no later than the 30th day after you arrive at the address (no duty if you stay up to 30 days), and the office requests your PESEL by itself when you register.

Checked on 7 October 2026 against the texts of the acts and the offices’ own pages; sources at the bottom. This is general information, not legal advice, and the office decides your case. The article is written by allproperty, an agency that finds flats for tenants, so the last section describes our own service. “In practice” marks our assessment, not a rule of law.

What documents should I show the owner?

No act lists the documents for a lease. In practice an owner asks for proof of identity and proof of income. An EU citizen can use a passport or the national ID card of their country (art. 15 sec. 2 pt 1 of the Act on the entry and stay of EU citizens). There is no visa, and a residence card (karta pobytowa) exists only for family members who are not EU citizens (art. 20 sec. 1). You do not need a PESEL, a NIP or meldunek to sign an ordinary lease.

Income is most often shown with an employment contract, a letter from the employer or a bank statement. That is practice, not an obligation. How to show your papers without sending copies of everything is covered in our article on documents for renting a flat, so we do not repeat it here.

Do I have to register my stay, and when?

Yes, if you will stay in Poland longer than 3 months (art. 20 sec. 1 of the Act on the entry and stay of EU citizens, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1065). Exception: an EU citizen who came to look for work does not have to register during the 6 months that follow the first 3 (art. 15 sec. 1 pt 2 and art. 20 sec. 2). You file the application in person, no later than the day after 3 months have passed since entry (art. 21 sec. 2); in particularly justified cases, for example because of health, the office can waive the personal appearance (art. 21 sec. 2b). Do not leave it to the last day, because offices work by appointment.

In Warsaw the matter goes to the Foreigners Department (Wydział Spraw Cudzoziemców) of the Mazowiecki Voivodeship Office. The place of stay decides which voivode is competent (art. 39 sec. 1), which is why you need a Warsaw address. Visits are booked through e-uslugi.mazowieckie.pl; the page migrant.wsc.mazowieckie.pl gives the department’s address as ul. Marszałkowska 3/5, but check it before you go. The form is completed in Polish (art. 7 sec. 1), and documents in a foreign language must come with a sworn translation (art. 7 sec. 2).

You usually need an ID document, 4 recent photos and papers showing that you meet one of the conditions of art. 16: an employment contract or proof of self-employment, or, if you do not work, enough funds and health insurance, or proof of studies. On the list we saw on the office’s page there is no lease. Ask about it when you book the visit.

The certificate of registration of stay is free of charge (Ministry of the Interior) and valid for 10 years (art. 27 sec. 3). The Act says it is issued without delay (art. 22), but before registering the office asks the Border Guard, the Police and the ABW, who have 30 days to answer, or 60 in justified cases (art. 23). So we do not promise that you will get it on the spot.

Meldunek and PESEL: what is different for EU citizens?

Here we cover only the differences; the whole procedure, the form and the owner’s signature are in our article on PESEL and meldunek for foreigners.

Deadline. An EU citizen registers no later than the 30th day after arriving at the address (art. 41 sec. 1 of the Population Register Act). For a stay of up to 30 days there is no duty (art. 42 sec. 2). The provision does not mention three months: that is the threshold for registering your stay with the voivode, not for meldunek.
Appearing in person. Since 1 January 2026 it is required of foreigners from outside the EU, EFTA and Switzerland who have no PESEL (art. 18 sec. 1a and art. 40 sec. 3). It does not apply to an EU citizen.
Proxy. Meldunek can be done through a proxy (art. 24 sec. 4 read with art. 40 sec. 2). Online you can register through gov.pl if you have a trusted profile, a qualified signature or an e-ID (Warszawa 19115, 6 July 2026).
PESEL. At meldunek the municipal office applies for the number itself (art. 17 sec. 1 pt 2). The Act describes a separate PESEL application as a paper request with a handwritten signature (art. 18 sec. 1). Whether the office will take it from a proxy, the Act does not say, so ask beforehand.

Can I sign the lease in English, Italian or German?

Yes, a lease in another language is valid. Polish is mandatory only when three conditions are met together: a consumer is involved, you live in Poland when you sign, and the lease is performed in Poland (art. 7 sec. 1 of the Polish Language Act). In that case the lease is drawn up in Polish, but a foreign-language version may be drawn up alongside it (art. 8 sec. 1a), and at your request the lease may be in a foreign language only, if you speak it, are not a Polish citizen and were told of your right to a Polish version (art. 8 sec. 1b).

Whether a newcomer “lives in Poland” at the moment of signing, the Act does not settle. In our reading, signing before you arrive falls outside the rule, and after you have moved the matter is disputed. We cover the details, and the question of translation for the office, in the article on an English or bilingual lease. An office may ask for a Polish version at meldunek, so ask it beforehand.

Do I need a substitute address for najem okazjonalny if I have no family in Poland?

Only if the owner offers najem okazjonalny. This type of lease is available when the owner is a private individual who does not rent out flats as a business (art. 19a sec. 1 of the Tenant Protection Act). It comes with your declaration in the form of a notarial deed, the address of another dwelling where you could live and the consent of its owner (sec. 2); the deposit may not exceed six times the monthly rent (sec. 4).

An EU citizen has no exception here: the relief from naming a substitute address applies only to people with UKR status. The law does not ask for relatives, only for the consent of someone who holds a legal title to that dwelling. If there is no such person, ask for an ordinary lease or najem instytucjonalny. The whole question is in the article on najem okazjonalny without a substitute address.

Can I do everything before I move?

An ordinary lease can be found, viewed by video and signed from abroad on paper, by courier. Meldunek and the registration of stay count from arrival, so you do them in Poland. The road from request to keys is in the article on renting a flat in Warsaw before you arrive.

In which language will the agent speak to you?

Our agents speak German, Italian, Spanish and English, and also Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and Turkish. We pick flats for your brief, talk to the owner and interpret orally (this is not a sworn translation or legal advice). After you arrive, we go with you to the office for meldunek and PESEL and help fill in the forms; the office makes the decision. We do not promise to handle your registration of stay with the voivode.

The search costs 70% of one month’s czynsz najmu (not counting czynsz administracyjny and utilities), payable after the lease (umowa najmu) is signed, against a faktura bez VAT. Example: czynsz najmu of 3,500 zł gives a fee of 2,450 zł. Help with PESEL and the office is included in that amount.

Fill in the form on the tenants page: give the district, number of rooms, budget and move-in date. Phone: +48 666 866 468.

The cover image is an illustration generated by AI and does not show a real place.

Sources (checked on 7 October 2026)

Act on the entry into, stay in and exit from the territory of Poland of EU citizens and their family members, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1065: art. 7, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 39.
Population Register Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 384: art. 17, 18, 24, 40, 41, 42.
Act of 12 September 2025, Dz.U. 2025 item 1301: appearing in person from 1 January 2026.
Polish Language Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 81: art. 7 and 8.
Tenant Protection Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 725: art. 19a.
Act on the principles of registration and identification of taxpayers and remitters, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 151: art. 3 sec. 1.
Ministry of the Interior: registration of stay of an EU citizen: deadline, no fee, certificate valid for 10 years.
Mazowiecki Voivodeship Office, migrant.wsc.mazowieckie.pl: registration of stay of an EU citizen: department, booking, documents.
Warszawa 19115: temporary registration of foreigners, including EU citizens (updated 6 July 2026).