How Foreigners Obtain a PESEL Number Without Registering their Stay In Poland?
The beginning of June of this year witnessed the coming into force of the amendments in the Act on Rules for registration as well as Identifying Taxpayers as well as Tax Remitters from 13th October 1995 (Act).
The rules have been rewritten in relation to taxes and taxpayers. PESEL along with the NIP (Taxpayer Identification Number) tax identification numbers. This means that PESEL has been made the primary identification number to identify taxpayers who are not individuals who are not legally recognized as taxpayers of goods or services, or not in business.
According to the reason for the Act, these modifications are designed to allow foreigners to get the PESEL identifier, without needing to declare their residence and also eliminate the method that assigns NIP numbers to these individuals.
This is of huge practical importance, especially for people who provide payroll and HR services to employers that employ foreigners.
Assignment of the PESEL number before the modification
Following the current general rules in the Population Registration Act of 24 September, the foreign national is granted a PESEL when their stay is registered for longer than 30 days.
However that is not always the case. not able, due to various reasons, to sign the tenancy agreement or any other arrangement similar to one that could serve as the basis to register the stay.
Another method of obtaining a PESEL number is to do so, but it involves submitting a request to an appropriate authority (municipal office or district office, district). In addition to providing basic personal information, the application must also state the legal reason for the requirement of having a PESEL number.
It’s a fact that the main reason mentioned for the requirement to get the PESEL number was the desire to establish an authentic online profile, however, after getting a PESEL number, not many would bother to set it up.
When applying, only the most meticulous officials would inquire regarding the location of residence and the applicant’s address, but most applications were approved with the understanding that it had about the payment of tax debts or making it easier to visit the doctor.
The PESEL code as well as the settlement of the personal Income Tax (PIT) as well as the social insurance (ZUS) before the modification
Prior to the amendment, foreigners were issued the NIP number, which allowed them to properly manage the tax requirements of their country.
Tax office issues it was also a common procedure for tax returns filed on PIT-11 to be accepted with the number and series of the passport of the foreigner or a set of digits that repeated for example “9999999999” instead of the number NIP/PESEL.
Sometimes, documents that were prepared in this way were not considered to be processed and settled with the tax authority and were not provided to the tax department, which the party concerned only was able to discover when they applied for residency permission in Poland.
It is also possible that tax returns prepared and settled in this manner in 2021 do not in general, need to be rectified regardless of whether the foreigner has been given a PESEL number. But, corrections can be made and recommended. The correction can be done by filing a new tax return with a PESEL number.
For non-Polish citizens, the absence of the PESEL number was also not a hindrance to getting health insurance in Poland It was enough to show any document that proved that you had registered for health insurance.
In reality, it was often necessary to obtain additional documents, like from your employer, which increased the time required to sign up at a health clinic. At the time foreigners were identified on their contributions declarations using names on their passports. The situation, while simple, raised concerns between HR and payroll service suppliers in firms that employ foreign workers.
Furthermore, it may happen that following the issuance of a PESEL number, the foreigner was able to open two accounts with ZUS the first one where the individual was identified using their PESEL number, while the second was made using their passport number.
However, in this scenario, the issue was only apparent when attachments were being compiled in the process of applying to obtain the right to reside in Poland. The solution was to join the accounts if they are not completed by ZUS ex officio by ZUS you can accomplish this by contacting ZUS’s Call Centre ZUS Call Centre or by visiting the relevant ZUS branch.
Allotment of the PESEL number following 1 June 2021
Foreigners can still make an application for a PESEL number, which states that the motive behind getting a PESEL number is to fulfill the requirement to sign a document electronically, with a trusted online profile.
In the present, an applicant may also refer your application the lawful the basis is Article 3 par. 1 pt. 1 of 1 pt. 1 of the Act. Like before, the application is completely free and can be submitted either personally or by proxy.
- The appropriate authority to accept the application for PESEL numbers PESEL number (for an outsider) is:
- the district administration responsible for taxpayers’ (worker) registered home address,
- The district administration for the registered office of the employer in the event that an employee (worker) cannot declare their residence,
- the District Office for Warszawa-Srodmiescie in the event that the taxpayer (worker) is not employed or if the employer has a registered office in another country than Poland.
The amended Act also contains an interim provision that clarifies the rights of individuals who, as a consequence of the amendments must use a PESEL.
Up until the time they receive a PESEL number, these people will be able to utilize their NIP tax identifier that was assigned to them before the Act’s entrée into force, however, not for more than 30 days following the day of entry into effect.
Conclusion
As of the present legal situation that a foreigner can be given the PESEL number at their request. The reason to assign it comes from the revised act on Rules for Registration as well as Identifying Taxpayers and Tax Returners, which was passed on the 13th of October in 1995.
If you still have any queries related to obtaining of PESEL number, we are ODINT Consultancy, here to help you out in each & every step of yours.
FAQ’s
PESEL number is completely free similar to the filing of an address for your residence at the office of local authorities. It may take between 30 and 60 days.
PESEL, which is a Polish abbreviation for the Universal Electronic System for Registration of the Population is a code assigned to every citizen of Poland at the moment they are registered with the official authorities following their birth.
The authority responsible to accept the application for a PESEL number (for foreigners) can be found in:
the district administration responsible for that taxpayer’s (worker’s) registered address,
The district administration for the employer’s registered office in the event that you are a taxpayer (worker) cannot declare their stay
- Create your bank account.
- Create a company.
- Taxes to be paid.
- Visit the doctor through NFZ (Polish healthcare service)
- Apply for a residence permit.
- Request loans.
- Find a driver’s licence.
- In general, anything that is connected to an institution.
However, the PESEL number is completely free.