POLAND TO JOIN SCHENGEN AREA

On December 21, 2007, Poland will become a member of the Schengen area. This entry will have an impact on Americans living and traveling within Poland and the greater Schengen area. The following countries are currently members of Schengen:

• Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

On December 21, 2007, the following countries will join the Schengen area:

• Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Note: The United Kingdom and Cyprus, although members of the EU, are not members of Schengen.

Americans living and traveling within the Schengen area will be affected as follows:

• Within the Schengen area, internal checks at land and sea borders will be abolished on December 21, 2007. Random checks may still occur.
  (For example – Persons traveling from Warsaw to Berlin or Prague will not pass through border check points leaving or entering Poland).


• Internal checks at air borders for flights within the Schengen area will be abolished in March 2008.


• Persons admitted to the Schengen area for tourism or business may stay for a maximum of 90 consecutive days within a 6 month period. They may enter and leave the Schengen area multiple times provided that the total number of days spent within the Schengen area does not exceed 90 days within the 6 month period.


• Time spent within any country in the Schengen area (not just Poland) counts towards the 90 days.

Even though American travelers will no longer be subject to regular border controls when traveling within the Schengen area, the U.S. Embassy strongly recommends that American Citizens continue to carry their U.S. passport with them when traveling within the Schengen zone. Americans seeking to renew or replace their U.S. passport may do so in Poland at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow and the U.S. Consular Agency in Poznan.

RESIDENCE PERMITS

Persons seeking to work, study or reside in Poland and the Schengen area for longer than 90 days should apply for a residence permit. This can be done at the Polish Embassy or a Consulate in the United States, or at the regional Immigration Office in Poland (Oddział do Spraw Cudzoziemców przy Urzędzie Wojewódzkim). In Warsaw this office is at ul. Długa 5, phone: 022 695-6777 or 022 695-6787; office hours: Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., on Wednesdays the office is closed.

Below please find links to the above listed offices:

• Polish Embassy address: www.polandembassy.org/ in English.


• Immigration Office in Warsaw www.mazowsze.uw.gov.pl/wsc in Polish.

Americans who do not have a residence permit, and who are working, studying or residing in Poland for longer than 90 days within a 6-month period, risk being in violation of Polish and Schengen immigration regulations.

If you have additional questions or concerns, you may contact the U.S. Embassy’s American Citizen Services section either by telephone at (48)(22)504-2784 or e-mail at acswarsaw@state.gov.