A month in Warsaw

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, applying 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. 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, and a deposit of up to six months' rent. Those formalities, a notary and a second address, belong to that contract type, so ask the landlord which contract a month is offered under before paying a deposit.

Quub found no Warsaw resolution introducing the opłata miejscowa, the local visitor levy capped at PLN 3.46 a day in 2026; unverified as of October 2026. 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 at all on stays of more than 29 consecutive nights.

A car parked on the street in the paid zone costs PLN 4.50 for the first hour and PLN 4.50 for each hour after the third on weekdays, which adds up over a month of weekdays. The resident permit would solve it, but it requires registration inside the zone and a Warsaw income tax return for the previous year.

The city garages offer the alternative: a 30-day pass with parking around the clock for PLN 840 at Plac Krasińskich, by the Old Town, or at Waryńskiego by Politechnika metro. For a month away from the Old Town, Old Mokotów, which the tourism board calls an atmospheric residential district, Praga and Wola all lie at least partly inside the paid zone, where street parking is free from Friday 20:00 to Monday 08:00.

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 Warsaw 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 resident parking permit. It needs a Warsaw tax return, so price the PLN 840 garage pass instead.

Driving an older diesel. Since 1 January 2026 diesels older than 17 years or below Euro 5 may not enter the clean transport zone beyond four days a year.