admin, Author at Poland Unraveled

In Transport

Driving a car in Poland

6 Mins Read

Driving a car in Poland can be tricky if you don’t know the Polish law and Polish customs. To make life easier for you, we have gathered all the information you need in one article.

Owning your own car – Car insurance Poland

There are two options: either you have brought your car from abroad or you have bought one in Poland. Both options have some advantages and disadvantages.

When you own a car that you brought over when you moved to Poland, you would be insured in your country and you wouldn’t have to worry about ensuring your car in Poland. If you decided to buy a car in Poland you need to be insured in Poland and that means a few things.

Car insurance in Poland is obligatory and there are two types available. The first of which is called OC. The OC insurance is a third-party liability insurance. The OC insurance is the minimum obligatory insurance in Poland and protects persons that got injured in an accident caused by you. What’s important is that OC only insures the car and not the driver. That means that anyone can drive the insured car with insurance coverage. Another important element is that OC only covers damages to your car when you had an accident and it wasn’t your fault. If it’s you who caused the accident then you will not be compensated for car damages. If you want to be insured for this situation, you need the second type of insurance, AC.

Want to know what kind of car insurances are available in Poland and what costs are involved, check out this comparison website and get an instant quote.

The other thing that is connected with the insurance is the technical check (MOT). How often you have to do it depends on your car. But here is the tricky part. As far as you are insured in Poland there is no problem with the technical check. You just need to find the most suitable garage (called in Polish – Stacja Kontroli Pojazdów) and leave your car for the check. Although, if you are not insured in Poland, you won’t be able to get the papers signed by the mechanic. Only cars insured in Poland can get a valid technical check in Poland. So if your technical check will soon be out of date and your car is insured abroad, you might have found yourself a good excuse for a trip home.

Renting a car in Poland

The rules and regulations for car owners or car renters are the same. The only thing you don’t have to worry about when renting a car is the insurance. You will always have your basic cover with every rental. Bear in mind though that driving in a new unknown environment can sometimes be challenging, especially during the icy Polish winters. An additional coverage is no unnecessary luxury.

Read more about how to rent a car in Poland or check out the best Polish car rental deals

Driving licence

If you’re not a citizen of an EU member state you will have to carry an international driving licence in order to drive a car. If you’re a citizen of EU member state all you need is to make sure you took it with you when you left home as it is valid in Poland.

If you want to take your driving test in Poland we have great news for you, even if you don’t speak Polish you can still take the exam. What you have to do is to take the exam with a translator assisting you during the entire exam!

The basics for driving

Poland has very similar laws to other European countries. Here is the list of the most basic rules. Probably you are aware of them, but it’s better to read it and realise that you know it, than not bother and get in trouble!

1) You always have to have your driving license and insurance papers with you when you are driving.

2) You always need to have in your car the necessary elements of equipment in case of emergency (fire extinguisher, first aid kit, a hazard warning triangle and a safety vest).

3) One of the most important things you have to do after getting into the car is fastening your seatbelt. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a driver or a passenger – it’s a total must. Of course, you can play a hero and decide not to obey this rule but keep in mind that having this superpower may cost you a 100 PLN fine.

4) If you travel with kids you should know how old they are (which shouldn’t be so difficult – if they are your own children) and not sit them in the front passenger seat if they’re under the age of 12.

5) Children up to the age of 12, must be seated in either a safety seat for infants, 9-12 months or toddlers 1-4 years, or in a booster seat for children aged 4-12.

6) The next rule probably won’t be any kind of special news for you – you can’t drive drunk. The permitted alcohol level in Poland is 0.2 and if you exceed this value you simply break the law which is strongly enforced by Polish police.

7) Also, remember that in Poland you have to have the dipped headlights on – even during the day all year round.

8) In Poland, in the places where there are regularly fatal accidents, there are signs called black points (czarny punkt). It is information for you to be careful and drive slower and with your full attention.

9) If the car coming opposite way flashes its lights at you twice it can mean two things: either there is police somewhere close, probably looking for people speeding, or you don’t have your lights on. It’s just a small Polish driving custom that is good to know.

Speed limits in Poland

There are times when you can feel the speed and drive really fast – we talk about motorways, of course, however, to make sure you don’t go too far with your imagination, here are the speed limits on various types of roads:

motorways – 130 kph
dual carriageways express roads outside urban areas – 110 kph
dual carriageways and single carriageways express roads outside urban areas – 100 kph
single carriageways outside urban areas – 90 kph
main roads in urban areas – 90 kph
built up areas – 50 kph (5 AM – 11 PM); 60 kph (11 PM – 5 AM)

Note to self: in Poland there are many speed cameras and they are often in places where you would not to expect them to be.

Well, that’s basically it. That should be all you need to know before you drive on Polish roads. We wish you all safe trips – especially during your journeys in our beautiful country. Take care of yourself!

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In About Poland

Essential DO’S AND DONT’S in Poland

4 Mins Read

It is said, that ignorance of the law is harmful. We see it especially when we are in a different, unknown country, where everything is so puzzling and different. So have you ever thought about those essential rules that apply in Poland? Here is the list of the most important do’s and don’ts.

#1 Smoking & drinking in public spaces

In the past in Poland, people could smoke cigarettes everywhere they wanted to, similarly to the rest of Europe. However, the last 10 years or so have brought a change to the legislation and it is not legal anymore to smoke in most of the public spaces. Although some pubs and clubs create special areas where smoking is allowed, usually outside. Be careful especially at the train station and bus stops, those areas are considered public space, therefore, it’s forbidden to smoke there.

Similarly to cigarettes, drinking alcohol is also considered illegal in public spaces. There are lots of exceptions to this rule, e.g. sitting outside in a beer garden and drinking is of course ok. However, the Polish law is quite bizarre when it comes to drinking in public, so you will find that drinking for example of a beach is ok, but in a park or forest not. Cities are also allowed to create own rules so very often the council make some exceptions. One thing to remember is that if you see people drinking at some spots it doesn’t necessarily mean it is legal to do so. But don’t be obsessed with it, in the worst case scenario a policeman can give you a fine (which is not going to break the bank as it is usually 50 – 100 PLN).

#2 Swearing

For the majority of foreigners knowledge of the Polish language is close to zero, but somehow there is a bunch of words (unfortunately swear words), that most of them know perfectly. If you already know these magic words, you should remember that generally it is banned to use them in public. Most of the people use them anyway, but the police have a right to fine you for it (the likelihood of this happening is really low though, how could a policman punish a foreigner for trying their best in learning Polish?).

#3 Being a good pedestrian and a driver

When it comes to walking and driving in a city you have to really stick to the rules. No crossing on the red light (that applies in the same way to drivers and pedestrians) or even worse, crossing a street, not on a zebra crossing. Even when you are coming back to your place at night and there is no car in your proximity you need to wait for the green light. If a policeman catches you on crossing the street on the red light you are getting fined and no foreign charm will help you (police is much stricter when it comes to those rules that to the other ones mentioned above).
Additionally, drivers need to obey the international driving rules and watch out for the speed cameras, there are pretty much on every corner.

#4 Obligation of having an ID

When you are going out somewhere, no matter what time it is, there is one thing that you have to keep on you and it is some form of ID (either passport or a National Identity Card). Remember to always carry an ID card and you will avoid getting into trouble. This rule applies to everyone, not just foreigners.

#5 Life after 10 p.m.

Of course, every house party eventually has to end and according to the Polish law, it should be 10 o’clock. However, with an agreement and kindness of the neighbours, this rule can be stretched. If there is a noise after 10 pm the neighbours have a right to call the police.

Another thing to know is that after 10 pm only people over 18 can be outside unless an underage person is with a guardian. The rest of the minors have to stay politely at home.

In People

The most famous Polish celebrities

5 Mins Read

In the second part of our series “Polish people you should know” you can get familiar with Polish celebrities. Polish celebrities have a lot in common with celebrities all around the world: they come in all different shapes and sizes and often they are not everyone’s cup of tea. However, whether you like them or not, you’ll regularly find them coming up in conversation so it’s well worth knowing who they are.

Doda

Doda, is one of those rare breed of celebrities that appear to be famous, but no one is quite sure why. Ok, so maybe it’s not so very rare these days, but Doda is surely Poland’s finest example. What some may perceive as a lack of talent is more than made up for with her inability to wear clothes. Her barbie doll style and way with words has been likened to a car crash – people know they shouldn’t look but they almost all do.

Nergal

Well-known king of darkness, the frontman of black metal band Behemoth. He’s a no. 1 on the “to reeducate” list of some really conservative groups. He does anything he wants, speaks his mind and spreads the love for rock’n’roll. He also used to be one half of a Polish celebrity couple, the other half being Doda!

Joanna Krupa

Sweet, but a little naive, Polish beauty, who had huge success across the sea. In the USA she’s a famous model and celebrity, and she came back to her native country to spread the love and “American spirit”. Her perfect English influenced her way of speaking in Polish, which is a topic of many jokes. She is respected because of her fierce fight against fur making and brutal treatment of animals of all kinds.

Kuba Wojewódzki

Kuba is a scandal seeking journalist. He is known for his fairly controversial show and his recent work on Radio Eska, where he received the title of “Hyena of the Year”. What is also interesting is the fact that Kuba, who is now 50, is also a famous collector of women and flashy sports car. At this age he still looks like a teenager, wearing sneakers and t-shirts to almost every occasion. Proud of it, he says “My wife is not born yet”.

Grycanki

They are the wife and 3 daughters of a Polish ice cream magnate (yes, you heard correctly, ice cream magnate!). If Doda is a sex bomb, they deserve the title of the atomic bombs of Polish show business after the last few months – they’re awesomeness is measured in XXXL size. They are literally everywhere: in the morning on breakfast tv, in the afternoon you can see

Krzysztof Ibisz

Krzysztof is another of those guys who doesn’t grow old, although he is almost 50. The Polish Benjamin Button: every year he gets younger! He wrote a book about his secrets of looking good and is prospering in Polish show-biz. He started out as a host, before becoming a journalist and back to host again but this time as a big celebrity.

Kasia Tusk

The famous daughter of a famous father. Making life easier with her blog of this exact title – as a daughter of former Poland’s Prime Minister – she is hated by many fashion bloggers and loved by readers. Stepping from the “high seat”, she shows off her outfits, which are varieties of clothes from “shops for mortals” 🙂 Considered as kind and well-educated, she is no troublemaker.

Anja Rubik

A well-known Polish model, not only for her modelling but also for her problems with speaking. Despite that, she’s adored and recommended by big shots from the fashion industry all over the world. She has a huge amount of fans and haters, who argue about her all the time. This gives Anja time to earn more and more money and prosper freely, not minding the buzz around her 😉

Ola Kwaśniewska

The real First Daughter – her father is Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Polish president between years 1995 and 2005. Kinda is a shy girl that became a popular and self-confident woman, who made her way into show biz. She became a journalist and a celebrity, whose wedding was one of the most awaited ceremonies in recent years.

Patricia Kazadi

Patricia Kazadi – half Polish and half Congolese. It isn’t hard to notice her, because she is everywhere; every red carpet belongs to her. She mostly appears in TV – she plays in TV dramas and hosts various shows, like “You Can” or “X-Factor”. You can hear her in the radio as well – she released her debut album in May 2013.

In People

The most famous Polish athletes

5 Mins Read

We are starting a new series of articles in which we are going to describe the most notable and famous (sometimes just notable or famous) Poles. Get familiar with it and avoid awkward situations when everyone around you talks about some people you haven’t heard of before. You too can now contribute to these conversations! All you have to do is to relax, make yourself a drink and start reading. We are kicking the series off with athletes.

Jerzy Janowicz

This young guy is one of the newest stars in Poland. Jerzy, often referred to in the diminutive – Jerzyk (which doesn’t really suit him, being over 2 metres tall), plays very powerful tennis and step by step gets higher in the rankings. Janowicz is also known for his emotional attitude – he has broken a fair few rackets already and frustrated referees. Jerzy has been playing tennis professionally for a few years and is already knocking on the doors of tennis’ top league. Tennis fans definitely should keep an eye on him.

Robert Lewandowski

The man popularly known as Lewy was big in Polish football, but when he scored 4 goals against the famous Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals the whole of Poland literally went crazy. Robert is right now one of the main celebrities in Poland. Some Poles are frustrated he doesn’t score so many for the national but most realize it is due to the players around him. After his successful season at Borussia Dortmund many wondered where he will play next season – Real, Manchester United and Bayern Munich to mention just a few. Decided to stay in German, he’s currently a player of Bayern Munich.

Agnieszka Radwańska

Agnieszka is the best Polish tennis player. Unfortunately, she also has a negative side to her personality which is criticized by journalists and sport fans. If she has a bad day it’s easy to unhinge her. Her passion, apart from playing tennis, is shopping; especially shoes and purses – all from most expensive brands. Agnieszka is also religious and supports church organizations. Her decision to appear naked on the front cover of a magazine about body issues caused a big scandal, especially among Catholics. It seems like she’s not really worrying about it, just doing what she likes and winning some tournaments in the meantime.

Marcin Gortat

Marcin is a 2.14 metres tall giant that plays in NBA for Washington Wizards. He’s definitely the most successful Pole to play in the best basketball league in the world. Also, he was the only Pole to play in the NBA final. He has developed his career quite successfully, lives in the USA, but he has never forgotten about Poland. Marcin organizes Gortat Camp, where kids can learn how to play basketball and develop skills. He knows how much effort he had to put to achieve success. Even now, he’s still very ambitious and always gives 100%.

Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica was first Polish F1 driver, debuting in 2006. Robert was known for his sharp tongue (especially towards journalists), very steady, precise driving and his passion for rally driving. That’s why during breaks in F1 he could be seen racing somewhere on roadless tracks. Unfortunately, in January 2011, Kubica was badly injured in car crash during a rally race. Many doubted he would be able to get back into sport and regain fitness. But yet, after only 8 months of operations and rehabilitation he was back on the track. Not on the F1 track though, now he wants to focus on rally races.

Adam Małysz

Adam Małysz started his ski jumping career in 1994 but real success came in 2001 when, to the surprise of most of Poland, Małysz won the 4 Hills Tournament. He literally couldn’t stop winning, beating opponents with ease. The whole country, for years, gathered in front of TVs to see Małysz win World Championships, Crystal Balls, and 3 Olympic Medals. He ended his career in 2011. But don’t think sat at home with his pipe and slippers. He surprised everyone yet again by becoming a racing driver! He participates in races all over the world. Some people criticize him but it looks like this guy doesn’t care and needs a constant adrenaline rush.

Piotr Żyła

Piotr Żyła got some attention not a long time ago. But not really because of his ski jumping skills. He has had good performances from time to time, but what people like about him the most is… his personality. He’s very individual, very honest (or inconsiderate), easy-going, joking all the time. He seems to embarrass himself, but apparently all his failings are forgiven. Żyła is a star on the internet, videos with his weird interviews are very popular. He certainly doesn’t beat Adam Małysz in number of victories. Żyła is much better known for his bloopers if you want to be up to date with trends and know what people are laughing at parties.

In About Poland

Facts about Poland

5 Mins Read

The Republic of Poland is a country situated in Central Europe. As a country located at the heart of Europe, we follow the rule “the more, the merrier”. In the south, we share a border with our friends from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. To the east with Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and Lithuania. And in the west, we have our German friends. Our country has access to the Baltic Sea in the north and is surrounded by mountains (Tatry, Bieszczady, Karpaty) in the south.

It’s been a while since our country became a member of the European Union (2004), United Nations (1945), NATO (1999) and dozens of other international organisations.

Stats about Poland

The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (9th largest country in Europe) with a population of over 38.5 million people. You should know the name of our capital city but just to make sure you are well-informed, we want you to keep in mind that it’s Warszawa (Warsaw) – not Krakow ;).

After joining the European Union we decided not to change our currency from Polish Złoty (PLN) to Euro (because we are not ready) and not to add any additional official languages (Polish is the only one, but you will have no problems if you start speaking in English).

There was a time where we had a king who ruled all across the country, but after a few centuries and generations we decided to get rid of this idea and we left the power to the Parliament and Prime Minister. Yes, we also have a President but as Poland is a parliamentary republic – the first one has more power. If you want to get things done at the moment you should speak to Mateusz Morawiecki (our current prime minister) rather than Andrzej Duda (president).

Polish Religion

The great majority of Polish people are Christians (probably this is why Christmas is so popular here) – 86.7% belong to the Roman Catholic Church. There are even a Catholic TV channel and a Catholic radio station.

jezus-from-swiebodzin — Monument of the Christ the King in Świebodzin

If you like huge monuments, you might want to go to Świebodzin in western Poland, where you can see a statue of Jesus Christ called “Christ the King (Polish: Pomnik Chrystusa Króla). Completed in November 2010, with a total height of 33 meters it is the tallest statue of Jesus in the world (sorry, Rio de Janeiro…). By the way, have you ever heard of Karol Wojtyła? No? Let’s try with his better-known name – John Paul II. He was the head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005, the second longest-serving pope in history and the first non-Italian since Pope Adrian VI, who died in 1523. Till date – he remains one of the most well-known Poles in history.

Language

The Polish language is one of the most difficult languages to learn. It has seven cases and grammar that has actually more exceptions than rules (sorry for that!). But imagine how proud you will be of yourself when you finally get through all of these things (if you do…). We don’t know why our ancestors decided to create a language so difficult and full of exceptions, but we know that even Polish people have a lot of problems learning it.

Polish Cuisine

If there’s one thing about Poland we are really, really proud of, it is most definitely our cuisine. Before you try it we have to warn you – it is extremely tasty but also fatty and calorific (however, you can get rid of extra calories by visiting Polish pubs or monuments after that…).

The most popular Polish meals are pierogi (dumplings), kotlet schabowy (type of breaded cutlet), bigos (a mix of cabbage, meat and mushrooms), gołąbki (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat), rosół (chicken soup), zupa ogórkowa (cucumber soup – it’s really sour!!!) and żurek (sour soup with egg and sausage).

We won’t be modest here – our cuisine is great and it’s totally worth trying. It’s also especially good when accompanied by vodka or beer! Try it!

Other facts about Poland

In Poland, we drive on the right (if somebody told you differently, don’t believe them!). Read more about the driving rules in Poland.

We kiss each other three times during official situations, for example, family meetings during holidays or when we meet with our friends. The cheek kiss is a very important part of family and friend interactions during traditional ceremonies BUT! if you see somebody for the first time it might be better if you just stick to a handshake.

The most popular alcoholic drinks in Poland are beer and vodka. Poland is increasingly well-known for its many small breweries which are becoming better and better (Belgium – we’re right behind you!). Vodka is normally drunk straight, rather than as a part of a cocktail or with a mixer, and during winter season we like to drink mulled, spicy beer and wine.

That’s all for now! We could write even more about our country – its secrets, mysteries, traditions, other facts but it is better if you simply come here and find them out for yourself!

In Health

Medical emergency in Poland

3 Mins Read

There are three ways to get to the hospital. No more, no less:

1. Involuntary – the least pleasant way and let us hope the least frequent way. If you have an accident or you feel really, really bad then you get transported by the ambulance, straight to the hospital. If you have a medical insurance – you don’t have to worry about a thing as everything is covered. In case you don’t have any ID with you to prove you’re insured or you are unconscious while transported to the hospital, you need to provide the insurance in 30 days from the date of the admission. If you don’t do it, you will have to pay for the treatment.

2. Voluntary – after the consultation with your family doctor or the specialist, you can get the referral to the hospital – for surgery for example. Once more, you have to provide your insurance at the day of the admission or within 30 days from it to not pay for anything. The good news is that you only have to bring your ID with you together with the referral note from your doctor and the hospital should be able to confirm that you are eligible for the free treatment. The bad news is that it might take a while before you will get admitted, the lines to the specialists working at hospitals or the (wolne terminy) for the surgery or examinations might rather long.

3. Private – if you can afford to spend money but not spending time on the examination or surgery you can go to a private clinic or hospital and get things done immediately. The only thing is that you will have to pay for that. How much? It’s hard to say as it depends on the clinic/hospital.

In case of emergency

If you feel or you look like you need to call for emergency don’t waste time! Do it! All you have to do is call 112 and provide the dispatcher information regarding your current situation, location and your personal information. Of course, if you don’t have enough strength to do it or you’re unconscious – your friends should do it for you! After the call is done, the ambulance should be with you as soon as possible and you will be taken to the hospital. We can’t say how serious your illness or injury is and for how long you will have to spend in the hospital, but we can say one thing for sure – you will have to confirm that you hold health insurance within 30 days from the hospital admission. Otherwise, you will have to pay for the treatment.

In Health

Private Health Service in Poland

2 Mins Read

If you read this it probably means one of the following:

you don’t have time to wait in lines or visit your family doctor to get a referral;
you are here just for a certain time and you don’t have medical insurance;
you have extra money you want to spend;

Whatever your reasons are, keep reading and we will share all the secrets of the private health service you’ve always wanted to know.

To pay or not to pay?

Unfortunately, unlike the public health service, its private counterpart isn’t for free. In most of the private clinics, you have to pay for things like consultations, visits to specialists or examinations. As with everything in this world, it has its good and bad sides. A very positive aspect is definitely the fact that you normally don’t have to queue and the private healthcare clinics are usually less crowded (unlike public clinics or hospitals) and the medical equipment is of the highest quality. The flip-side of using private health services is that you have to pay for it, but again, you must ask yourself a question; do the benefits of private healthcare outweigh the disadvantages.

Spending time in a queue

Probably, the biggest advantage of using a private health service is saving time. In most cases, there are no large queues in the waiting rooms of the medical office which means you can make it home for lunch. What is even more important is that you don’t need any referrals from your family doctor – in fact, you don’t even have to visit them or to know them at all. You choose the specialist – you pay – you get in for the consultation – simple as that.

Health insurance

That’s probably the best thing of all. Visiting a private clinic or a private doctor doesn’t require you having any kind of health insurance. Nothing. At all. Which means you don’t have to bother yourself with all formalities and procedures like when you use the public health service.

That’s basically all you need to know! If you want to have some more details regarding locations, prices and opening hours of the private clinic – just simply visit their websites and get all of the information.

In Health

Public Health Service in Poland

3 Mins Read

Let’s say that you’ve felt sick, starting to feel pain in your body, or you thought that it would be a good idea to take some standard medical procedure. To see the doctor in Poland and use the public health service you need to have an insurance. Once you have it, things get pretty easy for you. However, there are two very important things you need to know straight away.

Rule number one – remember, that in case you are not feeling well but don’t require urgent medical care, the first thing you have to do is see your family doctor. In Poland to see the specialist you need to have a referral.
Rule number two – if you bleed out, suffer from a bone fracture, burning up or freezing out while reading this – don’t wait! Call 112 (same as in all EU member states) or go to the closest emergency room and get help!!!

Visiting a doctor

If you feel that your medical needs are not life-threatening and medically urgent, you first have to locate the closest clinic to the place that you live. When you’re done, you simply register yourself by giving all the information about yourself to the polite lady or gentleman working in the clinic by putting it on the registration form. Of course, you will be asked about the medical insurance. Don’t worry! If you have one, the only thing you need to do is to bring your ID to the clinic. Congratulations! You’ve found yourself a clinic where you can talk about all your health problems…but we hope you won’t have to talk about them too often.

Now, the procedure is simple. You describe the nature of your problem to the doctor and if necessary you will get the referral to the specialist or for some kind of special examinations like x-ray for example. Of course, you don’t have to wait for the referral, unless you want to pay some money for visiting a specialist or getting the examinations (but then you should be reading about private health service). After you’re finished – you take the results back to the family doctor and see what happens. Oh, and don’t worry about the medications. You will get the prescription if necessary.

Make sure everything goes smoothly

Probably like most of the newcomers to Poland, you may feel a bit worried about going to the doctor because of the language. There are two solutions to this problem. You could go to the doctor with a polish person who would translate for you if necessary (this is obviously more a quick fix rather than a real solution) or, before registering you make sure your family doctor speaks English. It will be a bit more tricky to make sure that the specialists you may need to visit speaks English but it is worth asking. Which solution you choose depends on you, but it is good to think about it before.

In Health

Health insurance in Poland

4 Mins Read

In Poland, if you’re ill or you just want to go through some medical examination, the first thing you have to know is that in order to do so, you need to be insured through the Polish National Health Fund (Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia). It allows you to benefit from all the medical services from health care providers who have contracts for health services with the Polish National Health Fund. How can you do this? Well, it’s simple.

If you are a citizen of any EU or EFTA state and you are a happy holder of any kind of a valid health insurance in your home country, the job is done. All you have to do is go to an NFZ approved doctor and show your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a replacement certificate.

If you’re not a citizen of before mentioned countries, or you don’t have any valid health insurance from your country, there are two ways of obtaining it. To make things easier for you let us call them compulsory health insurance and voluntary health insurance.

Compulsory health insurance

You will automatically obtain health insurance under the following conditions:

1. Being employed in Poland – if you’re legally employed, the employer is obliged to notify the National Insurance Service (ZUS) that he is proud to have you in their company. Then, your employer’s responsibility is to pay a monthly contribution to the Polish National Health Fund (NFZ). From now on, you can visit all the health care providers contracted to the NFZ. If you’re self-employed you have to pay a contribution by yourself (it is a part of ZUS that you should pay every month).

2. You’re a family member of the insured – family of a member who could benefit from health care services on the same basis as the insured, are:

wife or husband;
child under the age of 18 or under the age of 26 in they continue their education or with no age limit (if a child holds a judgement of severe disability);
parents and grandparents – if they stay in the same household as the insured;

3. Refugees (refugee status must be considered in Poland) and foreigners under the subsidiary protection and integration program in consultation with the county family assistance centre.

4. Unemployed – registered at the employment office (insurance may be extended to family members of the registered unemployed if they are not insured).

5. Children attending school – in the care provided by the school, even if their parents stay in Poland is not legal.

Voluntary Health Insurance

If you’re not eligible for the compulsory health insurance you need to fill out the registration form and deliver it to your regional Polish National Health Fund office.

If you’re not an EU citizen don’t forget to bring a passport and one of one of the following documents:

visa allowing you to work in Poland;
residence permit for a fixed period;
permit to settle;
residence permit;
tolerated stay;
evidence of refugee status granted in Poland or the use of temporary protection on its territory.

Once you get the confirmation issued by NFZ you just have to…fill out another form – this time for the National Insurance Service, and deliver it personally or by post to one of its offices (you can find a blank and translated example here.

Right after you’re done, the last thing you have to do is to register the members of your family and put them on your insurance, unless they’re already holders of Compulsory health insurance. To do so you just have to…that’s right – fill out another form (it can be found here together with filled and translated example) and then deliver it to the local National Insurance Service office.

From now on you will have to pay the contribution to the account of National Insurance Service (you will be given one after you complete the registration process) before every 15th day of each month. You always pay for the previous month, so don’t get confused! The exact amount of the contribution will be given to you at the National Insurance Service Office.
And that’s all folks!

In Traditions and Manners

Polish Easter Traditions

4 Mins Read

Easter is one of the most important holidays in the Polish calendar and for some of the more religious Poles, it is more significant and meaningful than Christmas. There are a lot of fun Easter traditions that develop over centuries and quite a few serious customs that may be surprising for a foreigner or an expat. As you may know, the entire week before Easter is called Holy Week, and during that time most of the celebrations are taking place.

Palm Sunday

Exactly 7 days before the main celebrations take place, people gather for a procession with palms in their hands. I know what you are thinking – Where the hell do Polish people take the palms from? It’s too cold for them to grow there! Well, you’re absolutely right about that. In Poland, all we can get are ‘artificial palms’. They’re usually made from branches of native trees, including box, willow, yew and olive trees.
Some of the Polish villages and small towns organise palm competitions with the most famous one taking place in Lipnica Murowana (fun fact: the highest palm so far was over 32 meters high and was created in 2013).

Blessing of the Easter baskets

This is probably one of the most beloved Polish traditions that take place on Holy Saturday. It is celebrated not only in Poland but also within Polish communities all around the world. The name of this custom might sound mysterious but it’s nothing more than a blessing given by the priest over the food that will be eaten during the Easter feast. Of course, you won’t see people bringing all of the traditional dishes right to the front of the church (it would be funny though) instead, a small amount of the most important food like eggs, bread, meat and butter are put inside the basket. It’s a very important tradition in Polish culture so you can often spot entire families participating in it.

Holy Sunday

Holy Sunday morning is all about the food and enjoying family time. The traditional family breakfast is served, including the blessed food and many other delicious specialities. It’s also time when everyone wishes each other all the best. Some people may say that Easter is all about tradition, celebration, meeting with family but deep down they know that it’s also mainly (or all) about food. After the breakfast is finished, people take a walk and enjoy the rest of the day (unless somebody ate too much and he or she cannot move for a while…).

Easter Eggs

In Poland, eggs are an important part of the Easter tradition. Children decorate them with paints, crayons, stickers, tissue-paper and anything they can find and seems suitable. The decorated eggs are put on the Easter table as a decoration and very often are also used for entertainment. The simple game includes two participants that pick one egg each and hit them against each other. The person whose egg didn’t crack wins.

Easter Bunny

In contrast to Christmas Easter in Poland isn’t really about gifts, however, small presents are given to children. Children believe that a giant Easter Bunny goes from house to house and hides sweets somewhere in the room the night before Holy Sunday. Who knows, maybe it’s true?

Wet Monday

If you’re a girl you’d better read this paragraph carefully! During Wet Monday you can expect to get soaked, at any time and any place. Boys in small groups hunt for girls and use their water guns or even buckets full of water to fulfil their Easter duty. So don’t be surprised when you see a small boy running around with a big bucket of water ready to pour it out on a random girl he sees. What are the most dangerous places during that day? Churches, parks, small streets, squares…well to be honest, you can’t feel 100% safe anywhere, even inside your own house. The best tip you can get is to not leave home alone unless you carry a huge water gun with you so you can fight back!

There are probably a few other regional Easter traditions and customs, however, you should know now enough to get by and be able to enjoy Easter in Poland. Focus on food and just go with the flow.

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