There is a possibility of acquiring a real estate by a foreigner in Poland without the need of obtaining the permit from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration. Such a possibility is regulated by the Act on the Acquisition of Immovable Properties by Foreigners of March 24, 1920. On the basis of the provision of this Act, we distinguish two circumstances that determine it. The first is the nature of the property and the second is the legal situation of the acquirer.

Foreigners who are citizens or entrepreneurs of states – parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation are exempted from obtaining a permit. In the case of other foreigners, there is no need to issue it when acquirer:

• has lived in Poland for at least 5 years from the granting of a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU residence permit
• is a spouse of a Polish citizen and has lived in Poland for at least 2 years from the granting of a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU residence permit, and the acquired immovable property will joint property of spouses
• on the date of acquisition (through agreement), is entitled to statutory succession from the transferor of the real a state, and the transferor himself is its owner or holder of perpetual usufruct for at least 5 years
• is a legal person or a commercial company controlled by foreigners, without legal personality, based in Poland and acquires undeveloped real estate, with the total area of ​​which throughout the country does not exceed 0.4 ha for statutory purposes
• is a bank and at the same time a mortgagee and acquires real estate by taking ownership of the real estate as a result of an ineffective auction in enforcement proceedings
• is a bank based in Poland controlled by foreigners and acquires shares in a company in Poland in connection with the pursuit of claims by this bank as a result of banking activities performed

Among the immovable properties, we distinguish those that do not need such a permit. These are:

• self-contained residential unit, like real estate consisting of rooms and auxiliary premises. Auxiliary premises include a kitchen or a bathroom. The condition is that such properties provide adequate housing conditions
• premises intended for a garage (or shares in such premises), if the buyer or owner of the property wants to secure adequate housing conditions in the form of access to a garage

However, it should be remembered that despite the fact of meeting above-mentioned conditions if the agricultural land exceeds the area of ​​1 ha and the property is located in the border zone, i.e. in the area of ​​municipalities adjacent to the state border, the permit of the Minister of Interior and Administration is obligatory.