Hello:

Now I know that US citizens do not need a visa to stay in Poland 90 days as a tourist. My moms situation is, she needs to stay in Poland (to see relatives)120 days. Also, she won't be traveling outside of Poland during her stay.

I've heard of the Schengen visa, is this something she would need to get after she has stayed her visa-free 90 days in Poland. She is staying there just as a tourist, and needs the extra 30 days. Is the visa-free 90 days (for tourist US citizens in Poland) different from the Schengen visa for 90 days?

Any ideas, please help, info online is so vague! Thanks~

Business people in Warsaw travel to Germany (or other neighboring country) for a day and then return with another 90 days of residence. Besure to get passport stamped. Go to your local passport office and request a further stay. She also needs to register her residence. The relatives can help with this. Read the USA Warsaw Embassy for detailed information. Call the Polish Embassy and ask about extensions.

"Business people in Warsaw travel to Germany (or other neighboring country) for a day and then return with another 90 days of residence."

...is simply <b> WRONG </b>

Poland is part of the Schengen area.

That means a foreigner may stay for 90 days anywhere in the area in any 180 day period. It's simply not possible to leave for another country and restart the clock until another 90 days have expired. And even if it were, since Germany's also in Schengen, going to Germany's a total waste of time, unless you want to travekl to Germany.

If you want to stay more than 90 days, you have two alternatives:

- stay, and hope no-one worries. Really NOT a good idea if she thinks she's going to want to come back and see her relatives some other time
- apply to the Polish embassy in your country for an extended stay visa. This MUST be done before leaving your home country.

Been there......done that. It is a fact that you can not stay in a Schengen country for more than 90 days unless you have a long stay visa or establish residency. Leaving all Schengen countries and returning 1 day later or 89 days later doesn't do it. If you will need a long stay visa you really need to apply several months in advance of your trip as the process is long and drawn out and very bureacratic. My experiences in this regard are with France but I understand it is very similiar throughout Europe.

Good luck,
Larry J

When is your Mom's trip? If in the near future she may be out of luck since it can take quite a while to get a visa. (as the other say, GSteed is 100% wrong on the visa requirements). She may just have to shorten her stay to 90 days.

Mistake, yes! The rules have changed. The Schengen Area rules stipulate that a visitor is only allowed 90 days in the area. Poland does grant resident visas for more than 90 days. Present limit is ten years. Perhaps your mother could apply for a resident visa as soon as she arrives, Mine was issued in three weeks. Applying will take a day if all the papers are present and in order. Processing then takes three weeks. Search 'USA Embassy Warsaw' read, Poland to join Schengen area.

Surely for a resident visa she needs to be able to proove she intends to live there - ie has a job/home/bank account there? Why take the risk of them not issuing it?
A Schengen visa will cover her for all Schengen lands and will be issued by the Polish embassy, assuming she is flying directly to Poland. If she is not then she must get the visa from the embassy of the first Schengen country she will be visiting.
The forms are downloadable, and must be accompanied by her passport (valid for at least three months after her departure date), two passport photos, and proof of a return ticket.

The Schengen Visa information notes that it is issued for a period of 90 days. Search, Schengen Visa.

Hi Romi2: Your Mom has relatives in Poland??? she may have another problem/option ... if one of her parents or her was born in Poland she maybe considered a Polish citizen by Government of Poland ... In which case by Polish law from 1962 she needs to have a Polish passport to travel FROM Poland (she be able to enter without any issues, is when she leaves she maybe asked to present Polish Passport)... Not a joke ... although Polish Consulates don't like to get into specifics of this - Border Control in Poland sometimes do ...

check Polish Consulates Pages: http://www.polishconsulateny.org/index.php?p=95

And best is to contact them directly for your options... since if considered a Polish Citizen then may not be even able to get a visa, and they maybe pushing for a Polish Passport (which then allows any length of stay in Poland for dual citizens - Problem is that with Polish Passport All Polish laws will apply to her).

Also decide if a reason for travel should be altered (e.g. to just extensive travel without mentioning visiting relatives) ...

I would sugggest you contact the Polish Consulate with all of the details (but do NOT give your name) and get the correct info from the horse's mouth.

She does not want to go in on a regular Schengen visa, oversay it, be caught - and be banned from returning to any Schengen country.

If she must be therre at the end of the staty can;t she just go later to stay within the 90 day limit?

Try:www.paszporty.lodzkie.eu. I applied for a visa June 30, it took one day. I picked up the card August 05.