Life in Poland

     

Life in Poland

 

 

Poland is located in the middle of Europe. It connects East and West not only geographically, but also culturally.

The country has a surface area of 322,575 square kilometres. It is inhabited by 38 million people. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO and the UN.

Our country is a perfect place for those who love tourism. One day you can admire the sunrise at the seaside, and on the next one you can see how beautiful are the views from the mountain peaks. From cities full of amazing monuments you can quickly set out on a trip to the breathtaking wild forests with their unique flora and fauna. There’s something to be found for everyone here. Do you love windsurfing? Go to the Hel Peninsula. Do you like climbing? The Świętokrzyskie Mountains are waiting for you. In our country you can also sail through the waters of the beautiful lakes of Warmia and Mazury, which have been nominated for one of the twenty-eight most beautiful places in the world, or climb to the peaks of the Tatras – the highest Polish mountains.

Poland also has a dynamically developing economy. We are ranked on 6th position in the EU and the 21st in the world. We were one of the few countries in the European Union who has had economic growth despite last great economic crisis.

Public transport 

Each city has its own urban transport authority, so ticket prices vary from city to city. The good news, however, is that if you are a student (and therefore have a student ID), you are entitled to a large discount (usually 50%). You can use one-time, daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly tickets – depending on how often you have to travel. However, it is always best to have a quarterly ticket, which is also the most cost-effective one.

Public transport is covered by buses, trams, metro lines and city railways owned by the municipal transport authority, it also includes numerous train lines. To use the latter you usually need to use different tickets. Remember, when buying a ticket, you need to make sure that it is definitely a ticket for the means of transport that you are planning to use.

In every city you can also take a taxi, but the most expensive mean of transport – usually the price per 1 km is about 2-4 PLN during the day, at night it is about 3.5-4.5 PLN. You can order a taxi by phone or at a taxi rank (they are usually located in the vicinity of railway stations, airports, shopping malls or tourist attractions). You can also stop passing taxis, although they will not always stop on your request.

You should know that in Poland you can also find transport companies that are not registered as taxis but look almost the same. You will get to know them because, firstly, they do not have the inscription "Taxi" and, secondly, they do not have a phone number on their car written in Arabic numerals, or at least the address of a website. We do not recommend that you use their services. It is better to call for a taxi from one of the corporations or use one that is correctly marked (so it has the inscription "Taxi" and the phone number on the car).

In recent years, international corporations such as Uber, My Taxi or Taxify have become a very popular form of car transport in cities – they are much cheaper than taxis and can be ordered using simple mobile applications, so they do not require knowledge of Polish.

Medical Care 

While studying in Poland, you must be insured – one of the choices can be the National Health Fund or private health insurance. This is one of the conditions for your arrival (more information can be found in the Requirements in the Study section). In order to receive basic medical care, you should go to an English speaking doctor (GP), who receive patients in public or university outpatient clinics, as well as in the private medical centers. Your GP will examine you and may refer you to a specialist, a diagnostic service or a hospital. Having local health insurance policy will enable you to get a refund of basic health care costs.

IIn an emergency situation, e.g. accident, injury, sudden illness or childbirth, you can call an ambulance or go directly to a hospital emergency unit (SOR) or, in the event of childbirth, to a maternity ward in a hospital. In such case, medical transport is free of charge. However, you will need to present proof of insurance at the hospital.

Religion

In Poland, freedom of religion and conscience is constitutionally guaranteed, so if you are a follower of one of the legal religions, you do not have to worry about practising it. Officially, 138 churches and religious associations are registered in Poland. The dominant religion is Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism. After the Catholic Church, the second largest is the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Another very numerous religion is Protestantism: the Evangelical-Augsburg Church, the Pentecostal Community, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and several smaller religious associations. The Association of Jehovah's Witnesses' Denomination is quite numerous in Poland. In addition, there are also religious groups in Poland, such as the Union of Jewish Religious Communities, the Muslim Religious Union, the Karaim Religious Union, the International Society for the Consciousness of Krishna, Sikhism and the Buddhist Association. 

Mail and phone 

In today's world, the most popular is the use of mobile phones, and this is also the most convenient way of communication. There are many mobile phone networks in Poland, the largest being Orange, Play and T-Mobile. For the duration of your studies, you can subscribe to a network or use a wide range of pre-paid fares. Another way to make cheap calls is Internet telephony (e.g. Skype or WhatsApp). You can still use telephone booths, for which you can buy the cards at kiosks, newspaper agencies, petrol stations and post offices.

In 2017 roaming charges in the European Union were abolished, so if you have a Polish phone number, you can call and use the Internet without additional charges while travelling in Europe.

Remember, however, that operators often impose data limits and charge extra fees if you exceed them.

The national postal operator in Poland is Poczta Polska. So if you want to send a letter or a parcel, the easiest way is to go to one of the numerous Polish Post offices and send it there. There are two service options to choose from – you can send your shipment by priority mail or economic letter. Priority shipment should be delivered on the Polish territory on the day following the day of shipment (if you send it before 15.00, shipments sent after this hour are considered to have been sent the next day), it should reach another European country within 3 working days. When you send a letter to other places, it can take up to 5 (and sometimes up to 7) days. However, delivery by economic letter takes longer and is not recommended.

Since sometimes letters and parcels happen to be lost (which luckily does not happen very often), important shipments should be sent in form of registered letters - in this case you can track your parcel or letter and you receive a confirmation of posting.

Electricity 

Voltage in Poland is the same as in other countries of the European Union, and thus 230 V. Polish electrical sockets are referred to as 2P+ Z (two current paths and earth, the protective contact - a cylindrical pin). So if you are going to use equipment with other plugs, be sure to purchase an adapter that will fit the equipment's plug into the socket in your home. 

Units of measurement 

Poland uses the metric system, i.e. units of the International System of Units (ISU), i.e. 1 metre (1 m = 100 cm), 1 kg (1 kg = 1,000 g), among others. The speed of means of transport is measured in kilometres per hour (km/h). The temperature in Poland is determined on the basis of the Celsius scale (C, i.e. degrees Celsius), and atmospheric pressure is expressed in hectopascals (hPa).

Your travel step by step

This offer is made for you - wherever you are right now. It is available for you whether you are in your home country, travelling abroad or already in Poland. You can deal with all the formalities online, via mail, by visiting one of our offices or during individual consultations in your city. Please contact us and we will surely find an option for you.

I am in my home country and I want to be finally in Poland! Discover how you can travel to Poland in 9 easy steps. 

1 Contact us

Simple and easy contact is basic nowadays. You can contact us in many ways: visit Think Poland at our partner office, call our hotline or on Skype, send us an e-mail. We will answer all your questions. We offer you feedback within 24h. If you prefer one-on-one contact, we can organize free individual consultations. If there is no Think Poland partner office in your city - that's not a problem. We organize regular meetings and individual consultations in many different cities. Just follow our webpage and Facebook profile. Moreover, Think Poland is an exclusive organizer of events dedicated to travels to Poland. This is a great opportunity to learn more about studies, work, migration and travelling to Poland.

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2 Choose an offer for yourself

Do you want to study or work? Do you want to travel for short or stay a little longer? In our offer you can find various services and school offers that can be easily combined depending on your preferences, budget and goal of travel. We are the only company in the education market that offers this advanced program and additional service browser.

Language courses  Universities Acommodation Promotions

3 Quote in 1 minute

Log in to our webpage. Start with program browser and find a program for you. Generate one or more quotes. Number of generated initial quotes will be shown in the quote icon in the top right corner as well as in your shopping basket. Remeber that you can calculate costs of one or more programs within one student visa - you can create a package. For example - you can choose two different language courses or a language course and a degree program following it. Finally, you can choose additional services or products: accommodation or insurance. Recalculating and comparig costs on our website is free of charge - it will give you an idea about the travel costs. If you have any questions - call us, send us e-mail or visit our office. We will contact you back as well. 

Quote

4 Our services are competitive

Thanks to the Internet we can do our shopping on the moblie or tablet. A lot of people planning a trip to Poland know what they expect, compare offers and look for information on social media. We know how to adjust, so we offer a multi-channel contact. You can organize your travel and deal with all the formalities online or in a traditional way. The offer is very rich and transparent - the only one like this in the market. You have a lot to choose from. All our common arrangements will be included in an appropriate document. This will assure you that we will fulfill all our responsibilities. All your payments can be also done online. We will help you to choose the best payment method for you. 

5 We assist you in visa application

That's the crucial stage of organizing your travel. Every visa application to Poland requires certain preparations. This is a process that takes some time. With support of our local partner, we will help you in preparation of of all visa supporting documents and in filling a visa application form. We will also prepare you for the visa interview to make sure that everything goes smoothly. We have almost 10 years of experience in visa application assistance and we have the highest rate of positive decisions. Remember that visa application process is included in our service without any extra charge.

Student visa

6 After I get my visa...

You will be able to download most of the documents needed before travelling from our system. You will receive Pre-departure Information Package via e-mail or at our partner office. We are a team of people who know Poland from their own experience. We'd love to share our knowlegde and answer your questions. Upon your arrival you will receive also a Think Poland Welcome Pack with a Polish mobile number included. And what is the most important - you will also receive all the contact details to be able to keep in touch with us right after arrival and throughout your stay duration, no matter which city you will be staying in.

7 Arrival and accommodation

You already have a plane ticket and let us know about your arrival date, before you have booked accommodation through us. No matter what is the accommodation type you booked, it is part of our service to pick you up and make sure you will reach the right place. Whether you arrive by train or by plane, our representative will be waiting for you at the airport or train station with Think Poland sign to take you to the place of your accommodation.

8Multilingual Warsaw office 

We are the first company that opened its own all-year, multilingual student office in the center of Warsaw. In our office you can use computers, Internet, copymachine or scanner. Our office address can always stay also your correspondence address. But no matter which city in Poland you choose to stay in, a person from our team will take you for Orientation - it will help you to learn to move around the city, how to use public transportation and where to do the shopping. You will learn basic information on a daily life and useful to settle down in Poland. We will answer all your questions

 Office in Warsaw Integration events

9 Job Assistance

While studying in Poland you can also work legally. It allows not only to earn some money to cover your every day expenses, but you also get a chance to meet new people and get to know Poland better. Usually it is not very hard to find typical student jobs. These kinds of job include: language teacher, waiter/waitress, bar tender, babysitter, salesperson, cleaning person. To do these kinds of job it is usually required to know Polish. If you don't know it, Think Poland will help you to find and subscribe for the course of basic Polish, which will increase significantly your chances for employment. While looking for a job, it is worth to check websites which specialize in job offers for foreigners who don't speak Polish.

Work in Poland

I'm in Poland and I want to extend my legal stay. Find 5 steps to apply for the Residence Card in Poland

1 Are you already in Poland?

So you are already in Poland. You liked it and you would like to stay here for longer? Doesn't matter if you organized your travel on your own, with us or with help of friends or another agency. It is important that you pursue your goals. Doesn't matter what type of visa you have and where in Poland you stay - you can always contact our office in Warsaw and discuss your situation. You can count on our advice, support and best solution. We can always help you to apply for a Residence Card.

Office in Warsaw Integration event

2 Log in to check the prices for your country

We perfectly know how it is to be a student abroad. You study, work, make friends, try to see as much as you can. You want to maximize your experience of Poland and you don't have much time left - yet you need time to apply for a Temporary Residence Permit. If you intend to extend your stay in Poland as a student, you can use our program database and browser (there is a lot to find there). Find the most suitable program for you and add it to your quote. You can also combine courses and programs into packages, e.g. language course + university degree program, or add additional services, such as accommodation and insurance. We will check course or program availability for you. In case what you choose turns out to be unavailable, we will offer you similar alternative. In case of any questions, just let us know. We know all the schools and universities very well and from our students recommendations - we'd love to share this knowledge with you.

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3 We will take care of all the formalities for you

Until you finally decide what course or program is best for you, our free consultations and generating quotes do not oblige you to make the payment. Depending on the school chosen by you, type of documents required for the application process and payment plan can differ. We will help you to choose the school depending on your preferences and financial capabilities, you will learn from us if the payment is due for semester or for a year and what it depends on. You will be able to make a tuition fee payment directly to a university account.

4 We assist you in visa application

That's the crucial stage of organizing your travel. Every visa application to Poland requires certain preparations. This is a process that takes some time. With support of our local partner, we will help you in preparation of of all visa supporting documents and in filling a visa application form. We will also prepare you for the visa interview to make sure that everything goes smoothly. We have almost 10 years of experience in visa application assistance and we have the highest rate of positive decisions. Remember that visa application process is included in our service without any extra charge.

Students visa

5 What's next?

You became Think Poland student. We are your information point in case you need us. You are also welcome to our regular integration events. The truth is that once you fall in love with Poland, you will want to stay here for longer. The truth is also that not everyone can easily stay in Poland due to the visa type. So if you want to stay in Poland longer, get in touch with us. We can discuss your current situation, find out what your options are and make decision on applying for the Residence Card.

Contact

I'm abroad now and I want to travel to Poland without necessity of going back to my country. Contact Think Poland - we will discuss your residential situation and see if this option could be available for you.

1 Contact us

Simple and easy contact is basic nowadays. You are in a foreign country. You can contact us in few different ways: write us an e-mail, call our office, call our hotline or contact us via Skype. We will answer all your questions. We will give you feedback within 24h. We can organize the whole travel to Poland online. We will not meet until you arrive to Poland - and this not necessarily at our office, but possibly during one of the integration events we organize.

Contact News Events Facebook

2 Choose an offer for yourself

Do you want to study or work? Do you want to travel for short or stay a little longer? In our offer you can find various services and school offers that can be easily combined depending on your preferences, budget and goal of travel. We are the only company in the education market that offers this advanced program and additional service browser. Search and check

Language courses Universities Accommodation Promo

3 Quote in one minute

Log in to our webpage to see the prices valid for your country. Start with program browser and find a program for you. Generate one or more quotes. Number of generated initial quotes will be shown in the quote icon in the top right corner as well as in your shopping basket. Remeber that you can calculate costs of one or more programs within one student visa - you can create a package. For example - you can choose two different language courses or a language course and a degree program following it. Finally, you can choose additional services or products: accommodation or insurance. Recalculating and comparig costs on our website is service free of charge - it will give you an idea about travel costs. If you have any questions - call us or send us an e-mail

Quote

4 Formalities

We can organise your whole travel for studies online, you can also count on the assistance of our local partner in your country.

Thanks to the Internet we can do our shopping on the moblie or tablet. A lot of people planning a trip to Poland know what they expect, compare offers and look for information on social media. We know how to adjust, so we offer a multi-channel contact. You can organize your travel and deal with all the formalities online or in a traditional way. The offer is very rich and transparent - the only one like this in the market. You have a lot to choose from. All our common arrangements will be included in an appropriate document. This will assure you that we will fulfill all our responsibilities. All your payments can be also made online. We will help you to choose the best payment method for you.

5 We support your visa application

That's the crucial stage of organizing your travel. Every visa application to Poland requires certain preparations. This is a process that takes some time. With support of our local partner, we will help you prepare all visa supporting documents and fill a visa application form. We will also prepare you for the visa interview to make sure that everything goes smoothly. We have almost 10 years of experience in visa application assistance and we have the highest rate of positive decisions. Remember that visa application process is included in our service without any extra charge.

Students visa

6 I received my visa

You will be able to download most of the documents needed before travelling from our system. You will receive Pre-departure Information Package via e-mail or at our partner office. We are a team of people who know Poland from their own experience. We'd love to share our knowlegde with you and answer your questions. Upon your arrival you will receive also a Think Poland Welcome Pack with a Polish mobile number included. And most importantly, you will also receive all the contact details to be able to keep in touch with us right after arrival and throughout your stay, no matter which city you will be staying in.

7 Arrival and accommodation

You already have a plane ticket and let us know about your arrival date and you have booked accommodation through us before. No matter what is the accommodation type you booked, it is part of our service to pick you up and make sure you will reach the right place. Whether you arrive by train or by plane, our representative will be waiting for you at the airport or train station with Think Poland sign to take you to the place of your accommodation.

8 Multilingual Warsaw office

We are the first company that opened its own all-year, multilingual student office in the center of Warsaw. In our office you can use computers, Internet, copymachine or scanner. Our office address can always be also your correspondence address. But no matter which city in Poland you choose to stay in, a person from our team will take you for Orientation - it will help you to learn to move around the city, how to use public transportation and where to do the shopping. You will learn basic information on a daily life and useful hints on how to settle down in Poland. Apart from this you can count on our help in opening a bank account, university registration, purchasing the insurance and getting sworn translation of your documents.

Office in Warsaw  Integration events

9 Job Assistance

While studying in Poland you can also work legally. It allows not only to earn some money to cover your every day expenses, but you also get a chance to meet new people and get to know Poland better. Usually it is not very hard to find typical student jobs. These kinds of job include: language teacher, waiter/waitress, bar tender, babysitter, salesperson, cleaning person. To do these kinds of job it is usually required to know Polish. If you don't know it, Think Poland will help you to find and subscribe for the course of basic Polish, which will increase significantly your chances for employment. While looking for a job, it is worth to check websites which specialize in job offers for foreigners who don't speak Polish.

Work in Poland