Poland has decided to make changes to language qualification requirements for those applying for residence permits.
In line with a new regulation from the country’s Minister of the Interior and Administration, which officially became effective on June 24, the range of documents that are recognized for proving knowledge of the Polish language has expanded significantly.
This means that foreigners will have it now easier to prove knowledge of the language for the purpose of obtaining a long-term residence permit.
As the Office for Foreigners of Poland explains, one of the requirements, in order to be eligible for obtaining a residence permit is to present a document proving knowledge of Polish at the B1 level.
Until now, the fulfilment of such a requirement has been challenging as only certificates issued by the State Commission were accepted, leading to difficulties in enrolling in state language examinations.
However, in line with the newly made changes, it will be easier to prove language knowledge.
The Polish authorities now recognise certificates issued by the European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages, and telc GmbH, WBT Weiterbildungs-Testsysteme GmbH.
In addition, certificates that are issued by universities once courses in Polish as a foreign language are completed, and other forms of completion of education in Polish as a foreign language are now recognised.
Certificates of entitlement to practice the profession of sworn translator that has been issued by the Minister of Justice are also now accepted.
“The new catalogue of Polish language proficiency certificates applies to proceedings for granting a long-term resident’s EU residence permit, which has not been completed by June 24, 2023. In these proceedings, foreigners may therefore prove the existence of confirmed knowledge of the Polish language by means of documents contained in the above directory,” the statement of the Polish Office for Foreigners reads.
As under the previous regulations, it is still possible to fulfil the condition to certify knowledge of the Polish language by presenting a certificate proving graduation from a university or school abroad that uses the Polish language as the language of instruction or a certificate of graduation issued by a school in Poland.
Poland consistently makes changes to its law in order to make it easier for foreigners who wish to remain in the country.
Earlier this year, Poland introduced new changes to the Act on Foreigners in an attempt to facilitate the process of issuing Polish travel documents to nationals of other countries.
