A month in Katowice

Polish law exempts foreigners from residence registration, the meldunek, when their stay in Poland does not exceed 30 days. A longer stay brings the duty: citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland register at the commune office by the 30th day after arriving at the address, other nationals by the fourth day. An EU citizen who stays beyond three months must also register the residence, in person, no later than the day after the three months run out.

Non-EU visitors may stay 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area, and since 10 April 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System records their entries and exits at the external border. British travellers need a passport issued less than 10 years before and valid at least three months after they leave the Schengen area.

A furnished flat let by the night counts as a hotel service in an "other establishment" under the hotel services act, which sets no number of days. The government bill now in the Sejm would define hotel services as stays of less than 30 days for one client and give every such flat an ID number for its listings; it awaits its second reading, so nothing changes yet.

A longer stay can also be a lease under the Civil Code. The occasional lease, najem okazjonalny, protects the landlord with a notarial deed in which the tenant agrees to leave and names another address to move to, plus a deposit of up to six months' rent. Ask which contract a month is offered under before paying a deposit.

Where a Polish commune levies the opłata miejscowa, the current act charges it for every day begun and sets no limit on the number of days, with a 2026 cap of PLN 3.46 a day. Whether Katowice levies it was unverified as of October 2026, so ask the host whether the price includes a local levy.

An act passed by parliament in September 2026 and awaiting the President's signature on 5 October 2026 would change the levy from 1 January 2027 wherever a city adopts it: a charge per night, a cap of PLN 5, and no levy on stays of more than 29 consecutive nights. Existing local resolutions would lapse. It is not law yet.

Katowice sells monthly parking permits for its paid zones, PLN 300 in Zone A and PLN 200 in Zone B under the 2023 resolution, but only to people registered for permanent residence in the city or paying income tax there. A visitor pays by the hour on weekdays, so the car is better kept outside the zones.

That favours Brynów and Ligota. The park and ride sites there, Brynów on ul. Kościuszki with 492 spaces and Ligota by the railway station with 110, are free with a valid ZTM ticket from 4:00 to 24:00, so the ticket for the tram or bus into town is also the parking ticket. Nikiszowiec and Giszowiec lie outside the districts the city names for its paid zones, but their street rules were not verified, so ask the host about a space.

A car that stays in the centre for a month also has to meet the clean transport zone rules: Euro 3 or 2000 and later for petrol, Euro 5 or 2009 and later for diesel, for cars from outside the metropolis.

Airbnb calls 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, then charges each later month 10 days before it starts. How other platforms label long stays in Katowice was not verified as of October 2026.

Staying 31 nights without registering. Past 30 days in Poland, the meldunek deadline for non-EU nationals is the fourth day at the address.

Counting Schengen days in Poland alone. The 90 days in 180 run across the whole area.

Planning on a monthly parking permit. Katowice sells them only to registered residents and local taxpayers.

Bringing an older diesel into the centre. Diesels from outside the metropolis below Euro 5 and built before 2009 may not enter the clean transport zone.