Winter

It's winter in Poland and that means heavy snow and about -16C. It is a time to sit together and think what new initiatives we can start in 2010. Because to use Obama's words: "Change, Yes we can!"

I was at : Kobierzyce,

New investments on their way

It's a long time ago that I wrote something on this blog. Did this mean that we are sitting still? No, most certainly not. The last year has been hectically busy with starting new initiatives.

The company I am running as CEO, Variomatic Media Sp. z o.o., has been taken over by another Dutch company, TSi Solutions BV, and will slowly continue its life as TSi Solutions Spółka z o.o..
My amount of shares has also increased so you can understand that a considerable amount of my time goes to running this company.

TSi Solutions BV is a company in The Netherlands that is focussed on creating innovative ICT solutions for the travelling industry. And here you have think of applications for travel agents, but also online travelportals, etc.. TSi Solutions Spółka z o.o. has now 15 employees and I am still hiring!

Another initiative is that we decided to start to investigate the possibilities of a holiday park on our ground in the South of Poland. Placing there nicely wooden summer houses that will be available for rent. This will take some time still, but we have started the process.

Next to this I also started to co-operate with a Dutch management guru who wants to give management trainee courses here in Poland. I'm curious how that will evolve.

For the rest, as always, if you want to reach me for business opportunities, please, fill in the contract form on the right.

Best regards,
Jan

Purchase of real estate by Foreigners, Who Are Not EU / Other EEA Citizens

Generally, a purchase of real estate, or taking it over in perpetual usufruct, as well as a purchase or taking over shares in a company having its registered seat in the territory of Poland and holding title to, or the right of perpetual usufruct to real estate (if such an action results in the company becoming controlled by a foreign person), requires a permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. However, acquiring stock in publicly traded companies does not require a permit.

Permits are issued by the director of the Department of Permits and Licences (Departament Zezwoleń i Koncesji) in the Ministry of Internal Affairs an Administration, acting on the authorisation from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. A permit is issued in the form of an administrative decision, pursuant to an application having been filed by a foreigner. The permit is valid for two years from the date of issue. Provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure apply to the purchase of real estate.

Currently, a foreigner does not have to apply for a permit in the following cases:
· The purchase of an independent residential property, as defined in the Law on Ownership of Premises of 24 June 1994, including purchase of separate premises destined for garages, or of shares in such premises;
· The purchase of real estate by a foreigner who has lived in Poland for at least five consecutive years from the date of issuance of a permanent residency card, or EC long-term residence permit for the territory of Poland;
· The purchase of real estate by a foreigner who is the spouse of a Polish citizen and who has lived in Poland for at least two consecutive years from the date of issuance of a permanent residency card, or EC long-term residence permit for the territory of Poland when the real estate will become part of the matrimonial estate;
· The purchase of real estate by a foreigner, if legally entitled to inherit from the property title holder on the day of the purchase, when the property title holder had been the owner or perpetual user of the property for at least five years;
· The purchase by a legal entity or a commercial partnership that has no legal personality and a registered seat in Poland, controlled directly, or indirectly by any entity mentioned in 1, 2, or 3 above, in accordance with its statutory objectives, when the total area of undeveloped land does not exceed 0.4 ha within city zones;
· The purchase of real estate by a foreign entity that is simultaneously a bank and a mortgage debtor, as a result of an unsuccessful auction being a part of an execution process;
· The purchase or acquisition by a bank being a legal person defined in art. 1 paragraph 2 item 4 of the law, of shares in a company, as mentioned in art. 3e of the law, in connection with that bank’s pursuance of claims arising from banking activities performed.

The above listed exemptions from the permit requirement do not apply to property located in the border zone, or when the total area of land zoned for agricultural use exceeds 1 ha.

A permit may be refused only if such a refusal is justified by national security, public order, social policy, or public health concerns.

This text is part of "How to do Business in Poland 2006" written by Unido.

Purchase of real estate by foreigners

Ownership rights on land and real estate concerning foreigners are governed by the act of 1920 (The Law on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners), as amended. The most recent amendments stemmed from Poland’s accession to the EU on 1 May 2004.
Therefore, the law provides for a favourable treatment of EU and other European

Economic Area (EEA) citizens.
For the purposes of this act a foreign person is defined as:
1. a natural person who is not a Polish citizen,
2. a legal entity with its registered seat abroad,
3. a partnership with no legal personality between the above mentioned persons, or entities with their registered seat abroad, established on the grounds of a foreign law,
4. a legal entity or a commercial partnership that has no legal personality and a registered seat in Poland, controlled directly, or indirectly, by any of the above.

Purchase by Foreigners, EU / Other EEA Citizens
Purchase of real estate by EU/EEA citizens does not require any permits. Still, there are some noteworthy exceptions during the transition periods. These are:
· Purchase of agricultural and/or forest real estate, during the first 12 years of Poland’s membership in the EU;
· Purchase of ‘second houses’, during the first 5 years of Poland’s membership in the EU.

However, even in the above mentioned periods it is not necessary to obtain a permit in the following cases:
· For the acquisition of agricultural real estate located in the Dolnośląskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lubuskie, Opolskie, Pomorskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Wielkopolskie, Zachodnio-Pomorskie provinces, upon 7 years of concluding a lease agreement with stated date, if during this period the foreigner conducted agricultural activities in person and lived legally on the territory of the Republic of Poland;
· For the acquisition of agricultural real estate located in the Lubelskie, Łódzkie,Małopolskie, Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Śląskie, Świetokrzyskie provinces, upon 3 years of concluding a lease agreement with stated date, if during this period the foreigner conducted agricultural activities in person and lived legally on the territory of the Republic of Poland;
· For the acquisition of ‘second houses’:
- if the buyer has legally, continuously been residing for at least 4 years on the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
- in order to engage in economic activity involving the provision of tourist services.

 

Rules for non-EU/EEA citizens will be discussed in a later post.

This text is part of "How to do Business in Poland 2006" written by Unido.

Signatures

Another small but important thingy when you do business in Poland. Always ask if people want your regular signature or your readable signature.

Where I come from, The Netherlands, you only have one signature and you can freely be creative with that one. In Poland they will look strange when you put your normal signature that you already put on documents thousands of times, because they from time to time want to be able to read your signature.

A Dutch notary when I asked him about this said that he believed that this was actually a good idea. People making a creative sign how can they be identified as the real identity?

Also be aware that your full readable signature consists of your full (Christian) name. In The Netherlands, f. i., you get Christian names by birth which is used for your baptising, and never ever anymore. Until you suddenly move to Poland and they start to use your full name, i.e. the one in your passport.

Failing signing with a wrong name can lead to fines from official instances, so be warned!

Stamp

Just before the weekend a very important tip for when you want to start a company in Poland. Make yourself a company stamp!

This sounds ridiculous, but believe me without a stamp you cannot do much. If the mailman comes he wants a stamp on his paper. If you put your signature on tax papers, a stamp in necessary. Everywhere where paper is involved you have to put your stamp!

Make sure that all the right data is included as your statutory address, your NIP, your KRS, and your REGON. And your life will be a lot easier.

Investing climate

If you are looking for a real estate investment at this moment then for sure Poland is the place to be. Cities like Warsaw, Krakow have been booming in the last couple of years and now it looks like the city of Wrocław is having its go.

So, it is the perfect moment to invest in a nice appartment in Wrocław, or a newly built house in Wrocław. But also don't forget that 100km to the South of Wrocław there are the mountains surround Karpacz, Sklarska Poreba, and Jelenia Góra.

We can help you with looking for that special offer you were looking for, so please contact us if you are interested in having a great investment opportunity in the beautiful south-west of Poland.