UK citizen visiting Poland - any restrictions on entering the country?

frickdapopThreads: 2 Posts: 5 Joined: Oct 18, 11 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:17 #1
I am UK citizen and hold a full UK passport that is valid till end of Aug 2012. I am travelling to Poland for 4 days in March 2012. Are there any restrictions on entering the country? My friend is under the impression that you need to fill in special cards and have a passport with 6 months on it. Or is it just as easy as going to Germany or France? Thanks

theKNOWLEDGE	Oct 18, 11, 23:19 #2
frickdapop: My friend is under the impression that you need to fill in special cards and have a passport with 6 months on it. I suggest better friends. As an EU country, the only requirement for crossing an internal EU border an an EU citizen is a valid identity document - either a passport or national identity card.

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,415 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: pawian Oct 18, 11, 23:20 #3
=frickdapop]I am travelling to Poland for 4 days in March 2012. A good example of Present Continuous with a distant future meaning. My students asked me about it a few days ago. Thank you. PS. Are you a native by any chance?

frickdapopThreads: 2 Posts: 5 Joined: Oct 18, 11 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:23 #4
Thanks for the reply. Thats what I thought and knew, as I have common sense and some knowledge. He has been before a couple of times and I think is trying to make out that he knows more...

♂

Oct 18, 11, 23:25 #5

frickdapop:

I am UK citizen and hold a full UK passport that is valid till end of Aug 2012.
I am travelling to Poland for 4 days in March 2012.
Are there any restrictions on entering the country?

it depends on how you plan to enter Poland
were you thinking on flying? if so, you will be fine
if thinking of entering at the head of a column of troops, it is an entirely different matter

My friend is under the impression that you need to fill in special cards and have a passport with 6 months on it.

no, no, no when will they ever learn?
special cards are a thing of the past
your passport will still be sufficiently valid too
Or is it just as easy as going to Germany or France?

oh yes.

Thanks

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,415 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: pawian Oct 18, 11, 23:25 #6
]=frickdapop: Thanks for the reply. Thats what I thought and knew, as I have common sense and some knowledge. He has been before a couple of times and I think is trying to make out that he knows more... Hey, don`t leave me behind like that! What about you being a native? For the sake of my students!!!!

theKNOWLEDGE

Oct 18, 11, 23:27 #7

pawian:

My students asked me about it a few days ago.

I do hope you told them that English grammar is largely made up and argued over and not in any way sensible or definitive? ;)

frickdapop:

He has been before a couple of times and I think is trying to make out that he knows more...

Beats me why he said such a thing - as far as I know, there was never a requirement post-abolishing of visas in 1991 for anyone to fill out any documents when visiting Poland, except possibly customs declarations.

Ukraine on the other hand had very annoying registration forms up until recently...

frickdapopThreads: 2 Posts: 5 Joined: Oct 18, 11 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:28 #8
To Pawian - Yes I am native to UK (29 Years).

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,415 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:30 #9
=theKNOWLEDGE]I do hope you told them that English grammar is largely made up and argued over and not in any way sensible or definitive? ;) They were curious to know how distant can the Present Continuous future action be. I said it can be even one year. It seems I was right. :):):) 18 October 2011- March 2012.

♂

Oct 18, 11, 23:40 #10

hythorn:

if thinking of entering at the head of a column of troops, it is an entirely different matter

Hahaha! I laughed so much, my Greek delight made me feel queasy.

frickdapop, I was going to send you a link to the bit on the Polish Consulate in London's visitor information page, but it is presently requesting a username and password, which is:

a) irritating
b) probably means the server is being updated or some other technical thing
c) so funny! Being asked for a password to receive simple information. It's probably a new initiative to deter immigration.

Bugger, where did I put that password application?

♂

Oct 18, 11, 23:48 #11

pawian:

A good example of Present Continuous with a distant future meaning. My students asked me about it a few days ago. Thank you.
PS. Are you a native by any chance?

Off topic I know, but we can use present continuous to talk about the future, either in the immediate or distant future. I'm meeting my friends in a cafe tomorrow. I'm going to France next summer.

Yes I'm a native speaker-American-and I teach English here. I know grammar.

theKNOWLEDGE:

As an EU country, the only requirement for crossing an internal EU border an an EU citizen is a valid identity document - either a passport or national identity card.

True.

hythornThreads: 6 Posts: 843 Joined: Feb 21, 08 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:52 #12
scottie1113: As an EU country, the only requirement for crossing an internal EU border an an EU citizen is a valid identity document - either a passport or national identity card not entirely true as the gentleman is a UK citizen he will not have a national identity card

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,415 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:52 #13
=scottie1113] we can use present continuous to talk about the future, either in the immediate or distant future. I know. :):):) =scottie1113] I'm going to France next summer. Would you say it this autumn/fall? :):):) =scottie1113]I know grammar. Congrats!

♂

Oct 18, 11, 23:53 #14

theKNOWLEDGE:

I suggest better friends.As an EU country, the only requirement for crossing an internal EU border an an EU citizen is a valid identity document - either a passport or national identity card.

I suggest ignoring internet know it alls who dont even register and are pretty obviously not UK residents as we all know you cant get out the friggin country without a passport......Oh, and that there is no such thing as a national identity card in the UK,as for the Polish end of things,pass.
Some countries do give you an extra once over if you are on a short passport but I doubt one EU country would bother for another EU country.

magpieThreads: 7 Posts: 171 Joined: Mar 10, 09 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:53 #15
hythorn: as the gentleman is a UK citizen he will not have a national identity card No, there was a war to make sure we didn't have them. It may have been down the list, but it was there.

isthatu2Threads: 13 Posts: 5,225 Joined: Apr 3, 08 ♂	Oct 18, 11, 23:57 #16
magpie: No, there was a war to make sure we didn't have them. Oh, "we" had them during the war, only it was optional whether you decided to put your photo in it , and people wonder why the idea never took off again :)

magpieThreads: 7 Posts: 171 Joined: Mar 10, 09 ♂	Oct 19, 11, 00:03 #17
True. It must be an Anglo thing. My French and Polish friends can't see what I find so offensive about them. Or carp. By law (in theory) should they be carried at all times in PL? That is the law in France, but most people ignore it.

JonnyMThreads: 16 Posts: 4,487 Joined: Mar 9, 11 ♂	Oct 19, 11, 00:23 #18
magpie: By law (in theory) should they be carried at all times in PL? That is the law in France, but most people ignore it. It certainly used to be the case, and the police can ask for ID at any time, but nobody is ever prosecuted for not carrying one.

theKNOWLEDGE

Oct 19, 11, 00:29 #19

hythorn:

not entirely true

as the gentleman is a UK citizen he will not have a national identity card

As I said - "either a passport or a national identity card". Some may have both - I know someone who has a Dutch ID card and British passport, for reasons best known to herself.

isthatu2:

I suggest ignoring internet know it alls who dont even register and are pretty obviously not UK residents as we all know you cant get out the friggin country without a passport......Oh, and that there is no such thing as a national identity card in the UK,as for the Polish end of things,pass.
Some countries do give you an extra once over if you are on a short passport but I doubt one EU country would bother for another EU country.

I said "either" :P

(you actually could leave on a UK ID card - they were produced and issued to a small amount of people, but I think they've now been annulled).

JonnyM:

It certainly used to be the case, and the police can ask for ID at any time, but nobody is ever prosecuted for not carrying one.

Actually - I know someone who got a 50PLN fine for not having it. But that was after getting stopped for crossing on a red light - so he ended up with 2 50zl fines :)

As far as I understand it, the general idea in Poland is that you must carry *something* - be it a scan of a passport, a driving licence, etc.

magpieThreads: 7 Posts: 171 Joined: Mar 10, 09 ♂	Oct 19, 11, 00:30 #20
JonnyM: It certainly used to be the case, and the police can ask for ID at any time, but nobody is ever prosecuted for not carrying one. Good. I'm glad I know that, as I'd hate to loose my bottle and blurt out a whole list of things I've done wrong, and, not have an ID card. I find it difficult enough to remember to carry the papers for the car when I go to buy milk.

scottie1113Threads: 11 Posts: 873 Joined: Mar 13, 07 ♂	Oct 19, 11, 00:54 #21
isthatu2: passport. That's what I meant. pawian Yes.

frickdapopThreads: 2 Posts: 5 Joined: Oct 18, 11 ♂	Edited by: frickdapop Oct 19, 11, 17:21 #22
Thanks for all the replies. Think I have the information I needed confirming. We did have ID cards in UK but now are not Valid, so pointless and where not even recognised by other countries anyway, so even more pointless.

♂

Oct 19, 11, 17:45 #23

If your passport is due to expire less than 6 months from the travel date, would it not be better and safer to get a new passport anyways? Even if the UK may be part of the EU/Schengen zone why risk it if something happens while on holidays. If in doubt, double check with the appropriate authorities to make sure since they are (or may be) better informed than most people on any given website. Otherwise make sure that any and all id is up to date that you need and use in the UK.

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