Property acquisition by foreigners in Poland

A German technology company identifies a logistics hub near Wrocław. The site fits the expansion plan perfectly. Then the legal team flags a question nobody had asked: does the buyer need a permit? The answer depends on nationality, property type, and intended use – and getting it wrong can invalidate the transaction entirely.

Foreign nationals and foreign-controlled companies must obtain a permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration before acquiring real property in Poland, unless a statutory exemption applies. European Economic Area and Swiss nationals are broadly exempt for residential and commercial property, but restrictions persist for agricultural land, forest land, and second-home purchases near the border. The permit application is assessed within two months, and a transaction completed without a required permit is void under Polish civil law.

This guide walks through the permit framework step by step – who needs one, which exemptions apply, how the procedure works in practice, and where deals most often go wrong. Three business scenarios illustrate the rules across manufacturing, IT, and foreign-investor contexts. A checklist at the end summarises what to prepare before signing any preliminary agreement.

Who needs a permit to buy property in Poland?

Polish real estate law distinguishes buyers by two criteria: legal status (individual or entity) and nationality or seat. The core rule is straightforward. Any foreigner – meaning a non-Polish natural person or a company with its registered seat outside Poland – must hold a valid permit before title transfers. The requirement also extends to Polish companies where a foreigner holds a controlling interest.

The ustawa o nabywaniu nieruchomości przez cudzoziemców (Act on Acquisition of Real Property by Foreigners, ANRPF) is the primary statute. It is administered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration (Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji, MSWiA). The National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy, KRS) is the reference point for verifying corporate control. The Land and Mortgage Register (Księga Wieczysta, KW) records the resulting ownership.

EEA and Swiss nationals are the largest exempt group. They may buy most urban property without a permit. However, three categories remain restricted regardless of EU citizenship:

Agricultural land and forest land – a five-year permit exemption for EEA buyers expired; specific rules under agricultural land legislation now apply
Second homes in border zones – buyers from all countries, including EEA, need a permit
Shares in companies owning real property – indirect acquisition triggers the permit requirement where the company's assets are predominantly real estate

Non-EEA nationals face the full permit requirement with very limited exceptions. A permanent residency card (karta stałego pobytu) or a long-term EU residency permit held for a qualifying period can reduce the burden for individuals. Corporate buyers from outside the EEA have no general exemption and must file regardless of transaction size.

What exemptions apply, and when are they safe to rely on?

Exemptions under the ANRPF are specific and conditional. Misreading one word – "residential premises" versus "real property" – can expose a buyer to a void transaction. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration has issued guidance, but the final word on borderline cases rests with the courts. A conservative reading is always safer than an optimistic one.

The main exemptions for EEA and Swiss buyers cover: acquisition of a separate residential flat (lokal mieszkalny) for personal use; acquisition of commercial premises for business activity registered in Poland; and acquisition of property through inheritance by a person who held a qualifying residence status. Each exemption has conditions attached. The flat exemption, for example, does not cover a house with a separate land plot unless the land is classified as non-agricultural.

We secured a clear title confirmation for a Dutch IT company acquiring office premises in Warsaw's Mokotów district (spring 2025). The transaction had initially stalled because the seller's notary flagged an unresolved question about indirect share acquisition. Correct classification of the asset as a standalone commercial unit resolved the issue within three weeks.

Non-EEA buyers should note two practical exemptions. First, a foreigner who has been married to a Polish citizen for at least three years and holds a permanent residency permit may acquire property without a permit for personal residential use. Second, corporate buyers established in EEA member states are treated as EEA entities even if their ultimate beneficial owner is non-EEA, provided the company itself is genuinely active in that state. That second point is frequently misunderstood and worth verifying with counsel before structuring the acquisition vehicle.

For agricultural land, the ustawa o kształtowaniu ustroju rolnego (Agricultural System Act, UKUR) adds a separate layer. The Agricultural Property Agency (Krajowy Ośrodek Wsparcia Rolnictwa, KOWR) holds a pre-emption right and can block or substitute itself into certain transactions. This applies to plots above 0.3 hectares classified as agricultural, regardless of buyer nationality.

How does the permit procedure work in practice?

The permit application is submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. The statutory assessment period is two months from the date of a complete application. In practice, complex cases – particularly those involving agricultural land or border zones – can take up to four months. Buyers should build this timeline into any preliminary agreement (umowa przedwstępna).

A complete application includes: a certified copy of the buyer's identity documents or corporate registration; a description of the property with a land register extract; a statement of the acquisition purpose; evidence of financial capacity; and, for corporate buyers, documentation of the ownership chain. MSWiA may request supplementary documents within the two-month window, which suspends the clock.

The permit is granted as an administrative decision (decyzja administracyjna). It specifies the property, the buyer, and the permitted purpose. Using the permit for a different property or purpose is not allowed. If the transaction is not completed within two years of the permit date, the permit lapses. That two-year window catches buyers who sign a permit, then delay completion due to financing or construction issues.

What to prepare before filing:

Full land register extract (odpis z księgi wieczystej) – no older than three months
Corporate ownership chain chart showing all beneficial owners above 25%
Certified translation of all foreign-language documents into Polish
Statement of acquisition purpose signed by the buyer's authorised representative
Proof of source of funds or financing commitment letter

State fees for the permit application are set by statute. As of 2026, the fee for a corporate buyer is PLN 1,570 for a standard residential or commercial property permit. Agricultural or border-zone applications carry a higher fee. Notary fees for the transfer deed itself are calculated on the transaction value under the notarial fee schedule and are separate from the permit fee.

What are the most common mistakes foreign buyers make?

Three errors account for the majority of failed or delayed transactions. Understanding them in advance is far cheaper than fixing them after a preliminary agreement has been signed.

The first mistake is signing a binding preliminary agreement before the permit is secured. Polish law allows a preliminary agreement conditioned on permit receipt, but the condition must be drafted precisely. A poorly worded clause can leave the buyer liable for a contractual penalty even if the permit is refused. The penalty in a standard developer's preliminary agreement can reach 10% of the transaction price – on a PLN 5m acquisition, that is PLN 500,000 at risk.

Our team obtained a full penalty waiver for a Ukrainian logistics company in the Silesia region (autumn 2024). The buyer had signed a standard developer form without adapting the permit condition. When MSWiA requested supplementary documents, the completion date passed. We argued successful force majeure and administrative-delay grounds, avoiding the penalty entirely.

The second mistake is overlooking indirect acquisition. A foreign investor buying 100% of a Polish special purpose vehicle (SPV) that owns a warehouse is acquiring real property indirectly. The ANRPF treats this as a permit-triggering event unless the SPV's real estate assets fall below the statutory threshold. Many buyers assume a share deal bypasses the permit requirement. It does not.

The third mistake is ignoring KOWR's pre-emption right on agricultural plots. A buyer who completes a transaction without notifying KOWR on an eligible agricultural plot risks the Agency exercising its substitution right and taking the property at the agreed price. The buyer loses the asset. That outcome is irreversible. For guidance on how profit repatriation interacts with the overall investment structure, see our analysis of dividend distribution rules for Polish companies.

Three business scenarios: manufacturing, IT, and foreign investor

Real permit questions arise in specific commercial contexts. The three scenarios below illustrate how the rules interact with different acquisition structures and purposes. Each scenario assumes the buyer has no prior Polish real estate holdings.

Manufacturing company from outside the EEA. A South Korean manufacturer wants to acquire a 12-hectare industrial plot in the Wielkopolska region. The plot is partly classified as agricultural. The buyer needs both an ANRPF permit from MSWiA and clearance from KOWR regarding the agricultural portion. Timeline: allow five months from application to completion. The KOWR process runs in parallel but requires a separate notification. The buyer should structure the preliminary agreement with a six-month permit condition window.

IT company from within the EEA. A Czech software firm wants to buy an office unit in Kraków. As an EEA-registered entity, it is exempt from the ANRPF permit for a standalone commercial premises. However, if the firm's beneficial owner is a non-EEA national holding more than 50%, counsel should verify whether the corporate exemption still applies under current MSWiA practice. A Czech national buyer faces no permit requirement for the same purchase. For a detailed walkthrough of the Czech-buyer rules, see our full guide to buying property in Poland as a Czech national.

Private foreign investor acquiring a second home. A US national wants to buy a holiday house in the Małopolska region. Second homes are not exempt under the ANRPF regardless of nationality. The buyer must file a standard permit application. MSWiA will assess whether the acquisition is genuine personal use. A lease-back arrangement with a rental management company can complicate the "personal use" declaration and should be disclosed upfront. For cross-border structuring options available to foreign investors through Luxembourg vehicles, see our practice page on real estate in Luxembourg.

Across all three scenarios, the permit condition in the preliminary agreement is the single most important contractual protection. A real estate lawyer Warsaw-based or otherwise familiar with MSWiA practice should draft or review that clause before signing.

Specific advice on your acquisition structure requires analysis of the property classification, buyer nationality, and intended use. Each of those variables can shift the permit requirement or the applicable exemption. Relying on a generic checklist without professional review forfeits the protections that careful drafting provides.

To receive an expert assessment of your property acquisition in Poland, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How long does the permit process take for a non-EEA corporate buyer?

A: The statutory deadline is two months from submission of a complete application. MSWiA may suspend that period once to request supplementary documents. In practice, straightforward commercial property cases are resolved within two to three months. Agricultural or border-zone cases can take up to four months. Build at least three months into any preliminary agreement as the permit condition window.

Q: Can a foreign buyer sign a preliminary agreement before the permit is issued?

A: Yes, but the preliminary agreement must include a precisely drafted condition precedent (warunek zawieszający) making the final transfer contingent on permit receipt. A standard developer's form rarely contains adequate language for this purpose. Without a correctly drafted condition, the buyer may owe a contractual penalty if the permit is delayed or refused – potentially 10% of the transaction price or more.

Q: Does buying shares in a Polish company that owns property require a permit?

A: It can. Under the Act on Acquisition of Real Property by Foreigners, indirect acquisition of real property through a company triggers the permit requirement when the company's real estate assets are predominant. A share deal does not automatically bypass the permit rule. The threshold test is applied to the company's asset structure at the time of acquisition. Legal review of the target company's balance sheet is essential before signing any share purchase agreement.

About KORDECKI & Partners

KORDECKI & Partners is a law firm based in Warsaw and Krakow, advising business clients across 30 jurisdictions. Our team combines expertise in Polish and international law with a practical approach to real estate acquisitions, permit procedures, and cross-border property structuring. We work with Polish entrepreneurs, foreign investors, and in-house legal teams. To discuss your situation, contact info@kordeckipartners.com.