Job Discussion Forums

[Grrrmachine]

I moved to Warsaw a year ago, and have managed to get my residency card. I'm working here legally (paying the 10% tax) and I'm looking to buy an apartment. However, every mortgage lender is asking for my PESEL, and nobody (not even the beloved British Embassy) seems to be able to advise me on how to get one.

Has anyone got any information on the process required? I'm going round in circles here in the wonderful Polish beaurocracy

[j-ang]

After 5 years with a temporary residence card I finally got my permanent residence card which came with my own personal PESEL as part of the deal. Before this I found that most places would use my passport number as a sort of substitute PESEL. So, I guess the answer is fill out the wnioski and pay the money each year then after 5 years of that fill out another wniosek, attach about 14 documents, shell out some more money and then you'll be all set. Good luck. I hope you find as helpful people as I did in the necessary government office.

[elblagskich]

I got my PESEL after only 3 years on a Karta Tymczasowy without applying for it. However, this could have been just a case of good luck.
There must be a way of applying for it. But without a residence card i think it would be nigh on impossible.

[Grrrmachine]

I have a five-year residency card, as a member of the EU (karta pobytu obywatela) but the helpful people at the Oddział Ds. Cudzoziemćow told me that didn't come with a PESEL. So far I've heard of a few options, but no info on where to go from there:
1) Health insurance. So far, Im identified with my passport number, so no luck there.
2) "registered address." Apparently I can ask my landlord to put me on some electorial (or similar) list. However, considering the "casual" nature of most leases round here, that's pretty difficult.

Im only doing this so I can buy a house. Anyone else know a loophole?

[elblagskich]

why don't you have a trusted Polish friend to buy it on your behalf. Or maybe you want to do some sort of spivving?

[Grrrmachine]

Having a Pole buy it for me sounds feasable if the mortgage lender didnt ask for things like "tax number" and "proof of earnings"
EDIT: spivving?? how d'you mean?

[elblagskich]

a SPIV is a person who wheels and deals something like a second hand car dealer who makes a lot of money from very little investment.

In Polish a CZINKCZARZ. Not sure of the spelling here????

Elblagskich

[afowles]

I got my PESEL my first year in Poland in Czestochowa and it wasn't a complicated affair.

I just went to the office (OK, I can't remember which), filled out the forms, and waited. And waited.

When they gave me the number, it was on a piece of scrap paper with a special rubber stamp and the numbers written in.

[Grrrmachine]

In my never-ending quest for a PESEL, I found out today that, since I signed a contract with my landlord he was legally obliged to register me at the apartment where I lived. Which he didnt. Possibly because he's French.

However, I had that address on my residency card (they never checked to see if that was my actual registered address, it seems) and when I went to get my card updated (I moved apartment) I then had a screaming civil servant saying "you dont live here! you're illegal!" which was nice.

It seems I cant get a residency card without a registered address, but I cant have a registered address without a residency card, and I cant get a PESEL without either. So now all sorts of formal statements to back-register me have to go into process just so I can get registered at my girlfriend's mother
s apartment.

I'll leave this as a comment to anyone thinking paperwork in Poland is a simple affair...