Whether you can get a Polish mortgage, and how smooth it is, comes down to one line first: are you an EU citizen or not. This guide walks both paths, from the property-purchase permit to residence, income, deposit and the full process.
Two separate questions sit behind every foreign purchase: can you buy this property at all, and will a bank lend to you. Your citizenship changes the answer to the first, and your residence and income change the answer to the second.
EU, EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Swiss citizens sit close to Polish nationals on both counts. Non-EU citizens can still buy and still borrow, but with more paperwork on residence, a narrower set of banks, and sometimes a larger deposit. The table below shows where the two paths differ in practice.
| What matters | EU / EEA / Swiss citizen | Non-EU citizen |
|---|---|---|
| Buying the property | No Ministry of Interior permit for apartments, houses or land (agricultural and forest land aside). | Apartment outside a border zone: no permit. House with land, plot, or any border-zone property: MSWiA permit needed. |
| Proof of legal stay | EU registration certificate is enough for most banks. | Residence card, usually required. Permanent reads strongest; a temporary card works with comfortable validity left. |
| PESEL number | Expected by most banks. | Expected by most banks; a few accept passport plus PESEL. |
| Choice of banks | Wide. Treated close to a local applicant. | Narrower. Policies differ a lot by nationality, residence and income source. |
| Deposit | From 20%, sometimes 10% with insurance. | From 20%, sometimes 10% with insurance. |
| Foreign income | Accepted by more banks when it is verifiable. | Accepted by fewer banks, with a larger haircut and more scrutiny. |
Everything below explains these rows in detail, in the order they usually come up.
This is a legal question about the property, separate from the loan. Under the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, some purchases need a permit from the Ministry of the Interior (MSWiA), and some do not.
Exempt in almost every ordinary case. You can buy an apartment, a house, a building plot or commercial premises without ministerial consent. The main exceptions are agricultural and forest land, which should be checked before signing.
The starting point is that a permit is required, but the exemption most buyers rely on is large: a self-contained apartment (odrębny lokal mieszkalny) outside a border zone can be bought without a permit. A permit is needed for a standalone house with its own land, an undeveloped plot, agricultural or forest land, or any property, apartment included, in a border zone. The border zone covers areas near the frontier and the coast, which matters if you are buying by the sea.
Banks read your residence paperwork as a proxy for how long you, and your income, are likely to stay in Poland. It is the single biggest factor in how many banks will look at a non-EU file.
From strongest to weakest, banks tend to see: permanent residence or EU long-term resident status, then a temporary residence card tied to employment, then a national visa with a fresh work contract. A temporary card is workable, but if it expires within the next several months some banks step back, so timing the application around your card matters.
Banks care less about how much you earn and more about how stable and how visible your income is in Poland. Contract type and currency shape which banks say yes.
Households often combine incomes, and that helps. Partners can apply together whether or not they are married, and two incomes are added and assessed as one household. When one income is in PLN and the other in a foreign currency, most banks are comfortable as long as PLN is the main income.
The loan is in PLN, the deposit starts at 20 percent, and the rate is either variable or fixed for a set period. None of this is exotic; it is the same framework Polish buyers face.
It is best to plan for around 20 percent of the price. Some banks accept 10 percent when you insure the missing part, and in some cases a state guarantee can stand in for the own contribution.
Banks lend in the currency of your main income, and for a foreign buyer earning in Poland that means PLN.
You will see two shapes: a variable rate built on a market benchmark plus the bank's margin, or a rate fixed for a period, often five years, before it reverts. New Polish mortgages are moving from the older WIBOR benchmark to the new POLSTR benchmark (POLSTR 1M). Your offer letter states the exact index, the margin and the fixation rules. As of 2026 standard mortgage rates have broadly sat in the region of 6 to 8 percent, but the only rate that matters is the one in your offer on the day you apply.
A deposit that cannot be explained on paper is one of the most common reasons a foreign file slows down. Both the bank and the notary run anti-money-laundering checks.
Show a clear paper trail for the money: savings built up over time, the sale of another property, a documented gift, or a transfer from your own account abroad. Funds arriving recently from another country without a trail draw questions, so gather statements and evidence before you apply rather than after the bank asks. Foreign-language documents generally need a certified Polish translation (tłumaczenie przysięgłe).
The deposit is the big number, but budget for the transaction costs around it. Your notary gives exact figures tied to the deed.
Notary, court and tax costs combined, as a rough share of the price:
| Scenario | Approximate cost of the price |
|---|---|
| Primary market (new-build) | about 0.4-0.6% |
| Secondary market - PCC exemption | about 0.4-0.6% |
| Secondary market - PCC 2% | about 2.4-2.6% |
The list is longer than for a Polish applicant, mostly around identity, residence and income. Foreign-language documents need a certified Polish translation.
Passport; residence card or EU registration certificate; PESEL number; often a registered address in Poland.
Employment contract and payslips, or B2B and tax records (PIT, and the ledger for JDG); an employer or accountant certificate where the bank asks.
Bank statements showing income history; in some cases a credit report from your home country to check for any additional liabilities.
The preliminary sale agreement and land-register details; evidence of your deposit and its source for AML.
From first call to keys, a foreign purchase runs on the same rails as a Polish one, with a couple of extra checks. Roughly four to six weeks from a complete application to a decision.
We look at your residence, income, deposit and target budget, and tell you where you stand and which banks fit before anything is submitted.
Day oneIdentity, residence, income and proof of the deposit, with certified translations where needed.
Week 1 to 2We submit to the two or three banks most likely to approve your exact profile. The bank values the property and issues its decision. If a property permit applies to your case, it runs in parallel.
Week 2 to 6Once the bank approves, you sign the loan agreement. If you do not speak Polish, a sworn translator (tłumacz przysięgły) attends the signing.
After approvalYou sign the notarial deed, again with a sworn translator if needed, and the mortgage is registered. Once you submit the disbursement instruction at the bank and meet its conditions, including property insurance, the bank releases the funds.
Final stepMost delays are avoidable and come down to timing and paperwork, not the strength of the case.
Yes. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are treated by banks almost like Polish nationals. Non-EU citizens qualify too, usually with a valid residence card and income earned and taxed in Poland. Approval depends more on your residence status, income type and documentation than on your passport.
Two things. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can buy almost any property without a Ministry of Interior permit, while non-EU buyers need one for houses with land, plots and anything in a border zone, though a self-contained apartment outside a border zone is exempt. And non-EU applicants usually need to prove legal residence, so bank choice is narrower and the deposit can be higher.
For a self-contained apartment outside a border zone, generally no. For a standalone house with its own land, a plot, agricultural or forest land, or any property in a border zone (including the coast), a non-EU buyer usually needs an MSWiA permit, which takes about two to four months. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are exempt. Confirm the property's classification with your notary before paying a deposit.
Non-EU applicants normally need a residence card; permanent residence reads strongest, and a temporary card tied to employment works when it has comfortable validity left. EU citizens show an EU registration certificate. Most banks want a PESEL number, and a few accept an application with a passport and PESEL alone, so arrange PESEL early.
It is best to plan for around 20 percent of the price. Some banks accept 10 percent with insurance for the missing part, and in some cases a state guarantee can stand in for the own contribution. The deposit must be fully documented for anti-money-laundering checks, especially when it is transferred from abroad.
Yes, but conditionally. Fewer banks lend against foreign-currency income and they reduce it by roughly 20 to 50 percent before calculating borrowing power, and it must be combined with income in PLN. The loan itself is in PLN. Matching your currency and contract type to the banks that accept them is a core part of a broker's job.
Usually you need some own contribution, but not always. Some banks accept 10 percent when you insure the missing part, and a state guarantee can sometimes stand in for the deposit so you borrow with little or no own funds, subject to eligibility and limits. Whether a no-own-contribution option is open to you depends on your profile and the current rules, which we check for your specific case.
Tell us your nationality, residence status, income and target budget. We will tell you which banks fit and what your case looks like, in English and at no cost.
Advice by Bartłomiej Bożko, founder of Easy Mortgage · kontakt@easymortgage.pl · +48 579 073 844
This guide is general information, not individual legal, tax or financial advice. Bank policies and property rules change; we confirm the current position for your specific case.