Buying property in Poland as a foreigner

Where the line runs

Acquisition of real estate by a foreigner in principle requires a permit from the Minister of the Interior and Administration. The Act dates from 1920 and has been amended many times; what matters today is the exemption regime built around EU membership.

Citizens and companies of the European Economic Area and Switzerland are exempt, and since 2016 that exemption is complete — it now covers agricultural and forest land too, which was the last category still restricted during the transitional period. For a German, French, Dutch or Scandinavian buyer, the permit question simply does not arise.

Everyone else is a third-country buyer and generally needs the permit. Since Brexit that includes buyers from the United Kingdom, which surprises people who last looked at these rules while the UK was still in the EU.

The share deal does not avoid it

This is the point most often missed. The permit requirement extends to acquiring or subscribing for shares in a Polish company that owns real estate, where the company thereby becomes — or remains — controlled by foreigners. Buying the company instead of the building does not sidestep the regime.

For non-EEA capital planning a share deal, this belongs in the timetable from day one. Discovering it during due diligence means either a permit application running in parallel with everything else, or a restructured transaction.

Agricultural and forest land: a separate regime for everyone

Resort, lakeside and mountain properties routinely include plots classified as agricultural or forest, even where the hotel itself stands on building land. Those plots fall under separate legislation on the agricultural system, with a state pre-emption right exercised through the National Agricultural Support Centre.

This applies regardless of nationality — a Polish buyer faces it too. It is one of the more common reasons a resort transaction takes longer than expected, and it is entirely visible in the land and building register before anyone makes an offer.

What the permit process involves

The application goes to the Minister of the Interior and Administration, with the Minister of National Defence — and, for agricultural property, the Minister of Agriculture — able to object. The applicant shows a connection with Poland and that the acquisition will not threaten defence, security or public order.

A permit, once granted, is valid for a defined period, so it is obtained with a specific transaction in mind rather than held in reserve. There is also a preliminary permit route, which gives a buyer certainty before committing to a purchase agreement — worth using when the deal is large enough that the cost of being refused matters.

What this means in practice for a hotel purchase

If you are an EEA or Swiss buyer, none of this affects your schedule; go straight to due diligence. If you are outside that group, decide early between an asset deal with a permit and a Polish holding company set up before the transaction, because the two run on different timetables.

In either case check the land register for agricultural or forest classification on any part of the plot. That check costs nothing and is the difference between a transaction that closes in two months and one that discovers a pre-emption right in the eighth week.