Overseas property for Warsaw residents: city guide

Warsaw is the easiest Polish city from which to buy property abroad. The airports are the biggest in the country, most of the destination countries have an embassy here, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which issues apostilles on Polish documents, sits in the city. This guide collects what is specific to Warsaw. We work online and have no office, team or events in Warsaw; everything below can be done from your desk with a few trips to the offices named. The text is informational and based on public sources checked in October 2026.

Airports and routes from Warsaw

Warsaw has two airports used by property buyers: Chopin (WAW), served by LOT, Wizz Air, Ryanair and others, and Modlin (WMI), a low-cost base. Which routes exist changes every season, so we do not list a timetable here. As an indication of the kind of network: the press reported that for winter 2025/26 Ryanair added Porto and Seville from Chopin and increased frequency on Alicante, Málaga and Paphos. We could not confirm the 2026/27 winter schedule for Warsaw, so treat these only as examples of what has been flown and check the airport and airline sites before you plan a viewing trip.

For the general picture of which destinations Poland connects to without a change, see direct flights from Poland to property destinations, and for planning the trip itself how to plan a viewing trip abroad. If a destination has no direct flight from Warsaw, a connection through a hub usually costs a few hours; in some cases it is worth choosing the property by flight access rather than the other way round.

Apostille, power of attorney and sworn translation in Warsaw

Warsaw has an advantage here. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page on apostille, the Ministry itself issues apostilles on most Polish official documents, at ul. Krucza 38/42 in Warsaw. Appointments are booked through the e-Konsulat system, and documents can also be sent by post (the Ministry gives up to 30 days for that route). The fee given on the page is PLN 60 per document; check it before you apply. Other bodies handle some documents, for example university diplomas and school certificates, so confirm the route for your document type. We do not recommend paying private intermediaries; the Ministry states it does not work with them.

Notarised documents have an extra step. A notarial document, such as a power of attorney signed before a Polish notary, must first be certified by the competent regional court, and only then does the Ministry add the apostille. Warsaw has two regional courts, Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie and Sąd Okręgowy Warszawa-Praga w Warszawie; which one is competent depends on where the notary has the office, so ask the notary or the court. Notaries in the city belong to the Warsaw Notarial Chamber.

For translations, the Ministry of Justice keeps the public list of sworn translators (tłumacze przysięgli), searchable by language. You need one for the language that the foreign notary or land registry requires, which is often the language of the destination country and not Russian or Polish. Ask the destination-country lawyer first which translation and which apostille they accept. Background: apostille and legalisation for a property purchase abroad, sworn translators and certified translations and power of attorney for buying abroad.

Which tax office

The annual PIT return is filed to the tax office competent for your place of residence on the day you file, not the registered address (zameldowanie). Warsaw has several tax offices, and which one is yours depends on the address, so use the office finder on podatki.gov.pl rather than a list from the internet. Most filings, including the foreign-income attachment, can be submitted online. What to declare and how foreign tax is credited depends on the country and on your status; start with PIT for foreigners in Poland: income from property abroad. If you live in Poland on a residence card and pay tax in Poland, that article applies to you.

Embassies and consulates in Warsaw

Warsaw is the one Polish city where almost every popular destination has an embassy. According to the public list of missions, these include Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Portugal, France, Georgia, Armenia, the UAE, Thailand, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Albania, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Embassies handle visas, consular documents and relations with Poland. They do not choose a property for you or check a seller, and they do not recommend lawyers. Use them where it helps: a visa for a non-EU destination, a document that the destination country requires you to obtain from its consular section, or confirmation of what a foreign certificate must look like. Open hours and appointment rules differ, and many sections require booking, so check each embassy's website.

Russian-, Ukrainian- and Belarusian-speaking community

Warsaw, as the largest city, is home to one of the biggest Russian-, Ukrainian- and Belarusian-speaking communities in Poland (we give no numbers), which means you can find Russian-speaking accountants, notaries' staff, translators and real estate people without difficulty. We recommend using the community as a source of recommendations, not as a guarantee: whoever you hire, check the licence or register entry, ask for a written scope and fee, and send money only to the account named in the contract, never to a private person. See how to choose a Russian-speaking property agent abroad and communities and services in popular destinations.

Typical sequence for a Warsaw resident

• Choose the country and shortlist with the budget in mind: what 300, 500 and 800 thousand PLN buys.
• Open or prepare the bank side early: the bank will ask for the source of funds; see bank checks for Russian citizens living in the EU.
• Book a viewing trip, or run the first viewings by video.
• Agree on who signs what: in person, by power of attorney, or remotely.
• Get the apostille and translations done in Warsaw if the destination requires them.
• After the purchase, report income and sale proceeds in Poland according to your status.

FAQ

Do I need to go to the Ministry in person to get an apostille? Not necessarily. The Ministry accepts requests in person by appointment and by post, with a longer waiting time for post. Check the Ministry page for the current procedure.

Which regional court certifies my notary's signature? The court competent for the notary's seat. In Warsaw there are two regional courts, so ask the notary which one applies.

Is the embassy of the country I am buying in the right place to ask about taxes and ownership rules? Usually not. Taxes and registration are handled by the destination's authorities and by local lawyers. An embassy answers visa and consular questions.

Can I find a Russian-speaking sworn translator in Warsaw? Most likely yes for Russian and Ukrainian, but the translator you need may have to work in the destination language, and not every language has a sworn translator in every city. The Ministry of Justice list shows who is registered.

Does D.H. Realting have an office in Warsaw? No. We are an online platform in Russian, Polish and English, with no premises or meetings in Warsaw.

How we help

We are a trilingual platform that finds properties abroad and coordinates independent local lawyers and tax advisers. We do not provide legal, tax or investment advice, and this guide is informational only. Rules, fees, flight schedules and consular procedures change; verify current conditions with the official sources before acting. See the countries we cover and the calculators.