“Isn’t it time to buy my own place in Poland?” is a question many people relocating from Ukraine, Belarus, or Russia end up asking. Here’s how the real estate market works, whether a foreigner needs a special permit, and what buying property actually does (and doesn’t do) for your legal status.

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Buying an apartment in Poland

If you don’t yet have enough savings to buy a place but have a stable, regular income, you can apply for a mortgage. Polish banks tend to be fairly liberal about foreigners buying apartments and are generally willing to offer mortgages to people without Polish citizenship.

We covered how a foreigner opens a bank account and gets a loan in detail in “Opening a bank account in Poland” and “Getting a loan in Poland.”

Does owning an apartment affect your residence permit?

A common belief among prospective immigrants is that buying real estate is a fast track to getting a residence permit in Poland. It isn’t.

As the owner of your own apartment, you won’t be asked to provide a rental agreement when applying for permanent or temporary residence. However, simply owning property in Poland is not, by itself, a basis for legalizing your stay or for naturalization. This is still accurate in 2026: Polish law doesn’t tie buying a home to any automatic right to a residence permit: there’s no “golden visa” scheme for real estate investment in Poland.

Owning your own place can only indirectly make things easier when your application is based on other grounds (work, business, study, family), for example, by removing the need to show a rental contract, but it doesn’t replace the actual legal basis for your stay.

Real estate prices

Housing prices in Poland vary a lot by voivodeship, city, and neighborhood. The most expensive apartments are traditionally found in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, and Gdańsk; among major cities, the most affordable are Szczecin and Poznań.

An approximate range of average resale prices per m² for 2025/2026 (aggregated from market overviews, actual prices vary a lot by district and condition):

CityApproximate price per m²
Warsaw~13,000-16,000 PLN
Kraków~11,000-14,000 PLN
Gdańsk~11,000-14,000 PLN
Wrocław~10,000-13,000 PLN
Poznań~9,500-12,000 PLN
Szczecin~8,500-11,000 PLN

New-build apartments sold directly by developers are usually somewhat cheaper than finished resale homes, but keep in mind that many apartments in Poland are sold in “shell” condition (“stan deweloperski”), though in recent years, thanks to growing competition, developers increasingly include basic finishing and even plumbing fixtures as standard.

Do you need a permit to buy real estate?

There’s a lot of inaccurate information online claiming that foreigners need a special permit to buy any kind of real estate in Poland. That’s not correct: the rule depends on the type of property.

The current rule as of 2026 (the Polish Act of 24 March 1920 on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners, as amended) works like this:

  • Buying a standalone apartment (samodzielny lokal mieszkalny) in a multi-unit building doesn’t require a permit for any foreigner, regardless of nationality or the legal basis of their stay (visa, temporary residence, permanent residence, etc.).
  • Buying a house with land, a standalone plot, agricultural or forest land, or property in a border zone: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens never need a permit for this; other foreigners generally need a permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, unless one of the exemptions applies.

The exemption from the permit requirement for buying a house applies to people who:

  • have lived in Poland for more than 5 years on the basis of permanent residence or an EU long-term resident card;
  • are married to a Polish citizen and have lived in Poland for more than 2 years on the basis of permanent residence or an EU long-term resident card, provided the property will be joint marital property.

The full list of exemptions is available on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.

FAQ

Does buying an apartment give me a right to a residence permit? No. Buying real estate is not a basis for legalizing your stay; a residence permit is granted on other grounds (work, business, study, family).

Do I need a permit to buy a regular apartment? No, buying a standalone apartment in a multi-unit building doesn’t require a permit for any foreigner.

What if I want to buy a house with land? Generally yes, unless you’re an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen or you qualify for one of the exemptions (5+ years of permanent residence, or 2+ years of marriage to a Polish citizen).