For buyers
Mortgage in Poland for foreigners
A foreigner can get a mortgage in Poland and needs no official permission for it — this is a bank decision, not a government one. Three things decide it: your residence status, your down payment and the currency you earn in.
Legal status as of October 13, 2026
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What the bank will ask for
- Passport and residence card — temporary or permanent; with a temporary one its remaining validity matters
- PESEL number — most banks will not start an application without it
- Employment contract, service contract or company documents, depending on your income source
- Income history: employer statement, bank statements, last year's tax return
- Statements from the account your salary goes into — usually three to twelve months
- Preliminary contract with price and deadline, plus property details (land register number, floor area)
- Proof of the down payment — where the money came from and that you already have it
How it goes, step by step
- 01
Calculate your capacity before you start looking
Borrowing capacity sets the budget and the budget sets the district — doing it the other way round ends with a flat the bank will not finance. Get a rough figure yourself first.
The bank adds a stress buffer of at least 2.5 percentage points to the interest rate and checks what share of your income all instalments take together. A credit card and an overdraft limit count even when unused.
- 02
Check your residence status and PESEL
With a permanent residence card banks treat you as a resident. With a temporary one they look at its expiry date and at what comes after it — some banks expect residence documented for more than a year ahead.
Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland need no residence card to buy a flat; the bank will still ask for a PESEL number and a Polish address.
- 03
Gather the down payment
The minimum is 20% of the price. Some banks go down to 10% if insurance covers the missing part — that costs either a fee or a higher margin. For applicants without permanent residence, banks often expect more than 20%.
The down payment is not the only cash you need at the start: transfer tax on the secondary market, notary fees, land register entries and commissions come on top. On a second-hand flat, budget a few per cent of the price above the down payment.
- 04
Get pre-approval from several banks
Policy towards foreigners differs between banks more than interest rates do: the same application can be refused by one and accepted by another. So applications go in parallel, not one after another.
- 05
Sign a preliminary contract with a mortgage deadline
The preliminary contract must state the deadline for delivering the credit decision and what happens if the bank refuses. Without that clause your deposit is lost on a refusal you had no control over.
Realistically it takes several weeks from application to decision, longer with incomplete documents. A deadline shorter than that puts you in a losing position from the moment you sign.
- 06
The bank values the property and pays out
Before paying out, the bank orders its own valuation. If it comes in below the price, you cover the difference in cash — the bank calculates the loan from its valuation, not from the contract price.
The currency of your income decides the most
A mortgage is granted in the currency you earn in. This is not one bank's internal rule but a supervisory requirement introduced after the Swiss-franc loan crisis: a bank may not expose a borrower to currency risk.
In practice this means income from Ukraine, Belarus or the United States will not support a zloty mortgage — however high and however well documented. You need income in zloty, which means a job or a business in Poland.
Income that is partly in zloty and partly foreign is counted selectively: the zloty part enters the calculation, the rest is seen only as background.
The credit history you do not have yet
Banks read your history from BIK, the Polish credit bureau. Someone who arrived recently has nothing in it — and no history is not the same as good history, because the bank cannot see how you repay.
The simplest way to build it is a credit card or a small instalment purchase, repaid on time over a few months. This is the one item you cannot make up for in the week before applying.
It works the other way too: a phone instalment paid late a year ago can block an application, and applicants usually do not remember it. You can pull your own report before you apply.
Contract type and time in work
A permanent employment contract is the simplest case for a bank — three months with the current employer is usually enough. A fixed-term contract has to reach beyond the coming months, and banks look at whether previous ones were extended.
Service contracts and self-employment need a longer track record: from six to twenty-four months depending on the bank. With a business, what counts is income after costs, not turnover.
A gap in employment in the last year does not rule out an application, but you need to explain it with a document rather than a story.
What this text does not promise
We do not describe government support schemes for first-time buyers. They appear and end with political terms, come with their own limits and conditions, and a text about them ages invisibly to the reader.
If someone tells you about a mortgage with no down payment, they mean either such a scheme or a loan with insurance over the missing part — the second exists, but you still need your own money for tax and fees.
A mortgage adviser checks what applies today, before you start looking at flats. With us that conversation is free, because the bank pays the adviser, not the client.
Buying for cash, borrowing later
A flat bought for cash can be mortgaged later to release part of the money — that is a general-purpose mortgage, usually more expensive than a purchase loan and against a lower share of the value.
The reverse order is often cheaper: take the purchase loan first, then repay early. Worth calculating before the decision, not after.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a mortgage without a residence card
Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland do not need one. Everyone else in practice does: the bank needs a documented right of residence and a PESEL number. A passport with a visa is rarely enough.
Can I borrow with no down payment
No. The minimum is 20% of the price, or 10% at some banks when insurance covers the missing part. Taxes and notary fees come on top and a mortgage does not finance them.
Will my income from Ukraine be counted
Not for a zloty mortgage. Loans are granted in the currency of income, so zloty instalments require zloty income. The bank will see foreign income but will not include it in your capacity.
How long does it take from application to money
The credit decision usually takes several weeks from a complete application, and the payout follows the notarial deed and the mortgage entry. The deadline in the preliminary contract needs a margin.
Will a bank finance a flat I buy through my company
That is a different product from a private mortgage — different rates, different down payment and a different assessment. A purchase through a company counts as business financing and has to be calculated separately.
What if the bank values the flat below the price
You cover the difference in cash. The bank calculates the loan from its own valuation, not from the contract price — so with an ambitiously priced flat you need a cash reserve even with good capacity.
This text describes the legal position as of the date above and is informational — it does not replace legal advice on a specific case. If your situation differs from the one described, write to us or consult a lawyer.
See also
Still have a question?
Write to us — we answer specific questions specifically, even if you are not looking for a flat yet.
We call back every day, 10:00–18:00We speak English