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First weeks in Poland: a step-by-step checklist for new arrivals
Start with your address: non-EU foreigners must register no later than the 4th day after arriving. Registration gives you a PESEL, the PESEL lets you set up the trusted profile, and the trusted profile lets you sign and file your residence application in MOS. A bank account helps with the profile and daily life.
Step 1: register your address (within 4 days)
Non-EU foreigners register at the municipal office no later than the 4th day after arrival, unless the stay will not exceed 30 days. It is free; the certificate for a temporary stay costs 17 zł. Read the guide.
Step 2: PESEL
Registered for more than 30 days? You get a PESEL automatically. If you cannot register, apply in person at any municipal office; it is free. Read the guide.
Step 3: trusted profile
With a PESEL you can set up the trusted profile (free, valid 3 years) and confirm it at a confirmation point or through your bank. Read the guide.
Step 4: bank account
Banks decide on regular accounts; the law guarantees a basic payment account. Read the guide.
Step 5: your residence permit
Sign and file your application in MOS yourself, using the trusted profile, and pay the stamp duty and the card fee. Guides: temporary residence and work, residence card, changing employer.
Step 6: health and social insurance, tax number
If you work, your employer registers you with ZUS and for health insurance. If not, a non-EU foreigner living in Poland can insure voluntarily with NFZ. Your PESEL is also your tax number. Guides: NFZ, ZUS, tax number. With children: school.
Where we help
We explain each step, prepare your documents and guide you through every office and portal. In Kraków we can go with you to the municipal office and the bank (other cities by arrangement). We cannot register, sign or submit anything for you where the law requires you to do it personally.
Sources
- gov.pl: Register for permanent or temporary stay (foreigners)
- gov.pl: Get a PESEL number (service for foreigners)
- gov.pl: Trusted profile: frequently asked questions
- Dziennik Ustaw: Payment Services Act (consolidated text 2026)
- Legal basis: Act on population records (Dz.U. 2026 item 384); Payment Services Act (Dz.U. 2026 item 623); gov.pl service pages
Facts checked against the official MOS portal on 25 Oct 2026. Rules and amounts change, so check the source before you act.