Buying Agricultural Land or Property in a Polish Border Zone

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. How the rules apply depends on your individual circumstances, contracts, documents and deadlines. If you need advice or representation, the matter should be assessed by a qualified Polish lawyer. Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the documents for that assessment.

Key points

• Agricultural land and property in a border zone are the hardest cases for a foreign buyer — they can trigger two independent legal regimes at once: the MSWiA permit (under the 1920 foreigners' acquisition act) and consent from the Director General of the National Agricultural Support Centre (Krajowy Ośrodek Wsparcia Rolnictwa, KOWR) under the agricultural system act. In a border zone, most of the statutory exemptions from the MSWiA permit effectively stop applying.
• UK citizens have been treated as non-EEA foreigners in Poland since 1 January 2021 — the exemption for EEA/Swiss nationals does not cover them, and Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary status does not create a separate exemption from the property-acquisition permit.
• The 1-hectare threshold determines whether a plot counts as "agricultural land" under the agricultural system act: plots below 0.3 ha are fully exempt from this regime; above 1 ha, consent from the KOWR Director General is typically required if the buyer is not an individual farmer.
• KOWR holds a statutory right of first refusal (pre-emption) on sales of agricultural land of at least 5 ha and on shares in companies that own such land.
• The precise scope of exemptions excluded in the border zone needs confirmation from a lawyer and notary for the specific plot — official sources are not fully consistent on this point, and the marker on this claim is deliberate.
• The March 2026 amendment applies only to State Treasury agricultural land sold by KOWR, not to ordinary private sales between individuals — still worth confirming its current scope before any transaction.

Who this guide is for

• UK citizens (and other non-EEA foreigners) considering the purchase of a farm plot, smallholding, house with a large plot, or any property within roughly 15 km of Poland's border.
• Polish nationals returning from the UK who plan to buy agricultural land for a non-Polish partner, or jointly with a British spouse.
• Anyone who already has a plot in mind and wants to understand why an agent or notary is talking about "two permits" instead of one.
• This guide is NOT for you if you are buying a self-contained residential flat (samodzielny lokal mieszkalny — a flat with its own separate land and mortgage register entry, roughly comparable to a leasehold flat with its own title in HM Land Registry) outside a border zone — that is the simplest case, covered in When Does a Foreigner Need Permission to Buy Property in Poland?. It is also not a tax guide or a step-by-step farming-procedure guide for someone who already qualifies as an individual farmer.

Contents

• Two independent legal regimes
• Who counts as a "foreigner" under these rules
• The MSWiA permit — general rules and exemptions
• The border zone — why exemptions stop applying
• The agricultural system act and KOWR
• The dual regime in practice — when the route is effectively closed
• The March 2026 amendment
• Documents you will need
• Common risks and mistakes
• Checklist
• Frequently asked questions
• Deadlines

Two independent legal regimes

Buying agricultural land or property in a border zone as a UK citizen can involve two entirely separate permission systems, each of which must be cleared independently:

1. Permit from the minister competent for internal affairs (MSWiA) — under the Act of 24 March 1920 on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners. This applies simply because the buyer is a foreigner, regardless of the type of property.
2. Consent from the Director General of KOWR — under the Act of 11 April 2003 on shaping the agricultural system (ustawa o kształtowaniu ustroju rolnego). This applies because the property is agricultural land, and it binds every buyer who is not an individual farmer — Polish nationals and foreigners alike.

In other words: a UK citizen buying a plot of agricultural land over 1 ha may need both the MSWiA permit (because they are a foreigner) and KOWR consent (because the land is agricultural) — two independent procedures with different authorities, timelines and evaluation criteria. This is the crucial difference from buying an ordinary flat, where only one regime applies (and often none at all, thanks to the flat exemption).

Who counts as a "foreigner" under these rules

The 1920 act defines a foreigner broadly: not only an individual without Polish citizenship, but also a legal person based abroad, a partnership without legal personality based abroad, and any entity based in Poland but directly or indirectly controlled by the above. This means a Polish company controlled by a UK citizen is treated exactly the same as that person — you cannot sidestep the permit requirement by incorporating a Polish company.

Since 1 January 2021, UK citizens have been treated in Poland as foreigners from outside the EU and the European Economic Area. The UK lost its EU membership status, and the exemption available to EEA and Swiss nationals does not cover them.

Importantly, being a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement — i.e. someone who legally lived and worked in Poland before 1 January 2021 and continues to exercise those rights — does not create a separate exemption from the property-acquisition permit requirement. The Withdrawal Agreement primarily protects residence, employment and social security rights, not the property right to buy without a permit. This is the official position of Poland's Office for Foreigners (Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców, UDSC). This distinction is easy to miss because Withdrawal Agreement status genuinely does matter in other areas (e.g. employment) — it just does not apply here.

The MSWiA permit — general rules and exemptions

As a general rule, a foreigner acquiring property in Poland (ownership or perpetual usufruct) needs a permit from the minister competent for internal affairs, issued by administrative decision and valid for 2 years from the date of issue. The stamp duty for the permit is PLN 1,570. By statute, proceedings should not take longer than 2 months from initiation — but this is an instructional (non-binding) deadline, and in practice, because opinions from the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture are usually required, the real timeline tends to be longer.

The act also provides several statutory exemptions, under which no MSWiA permit is needed:

• purchase of a self-contained residential unit (samodzielny lokal mieszkalny — a flat with its own separate title in the land and mortgage register, księga wieczysta, roughly analogous to a leasehold flat with its own HM Land Registry title),
• purchase of a self-contained garage-use commercial unit connected to the buyer's own housing needs,
• 5 years of residence in Poland from the granting of a permanent residence permit or long-term EU residence status,
• marriage to a Polish citizen and 2 years of residence in Poland from the granting of a residence permit, provided the property becomes part of the couple's joint marital property,
• statutory inheritance (a full exemption regardless of how long the deceased owned the property) or acquisition from a close relative who owned it for at least 5 years.

These exemptions — central to a "straightforward" flat purchase — largely stop applying in a border zone, as explained below.

The border zone — why exemptions stop applying

A border zone (strefa nadgraniczna) is a strip of administrative units (municipalities) bordering another state, or, on the coast, a strip adjoining the shore, up to 15 km wide from the border.

Most statutory exemptions from the MSWiA permit requirement (including the self-contained flat exemption) do not apply if the property is located in a border zone, or if it is agricultural land exceeding 1 ha — in these cases, the MSWiA permit is required in almost every situation, regardless of the type of property being acquired.

What this means in practice for a UK citizen: even where buying a flat in an "ordinary" municipality would need no permit at all (because a self-contained flat is exempt), the same transaction in a border municipality may require the full MSWiA permit procedure. This is one of the most underestimated traps when buying holiday cottages, recreational plots or smallholdings near the borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania or Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast), as well as in the coastal strip.

Practical recommendation: before committing to any property within roughly 15 km of the border, confirm with the notary handling the transaction, or with a lawyer, whether the specific municipality and plot actually fall within the border zone (the list of border-zone municipalities is an official register) — only then can you assess whether an MSWiA permit is needed.

The agricultural system act and KOWR

Regardless of foreigner status, every buyer of agricultural land (Polish national or foreigner) is subject to the agricultural system act if the plot meets the definition of "agricultural land":

• Plots below 0.3 ha are fully exempt from this regime — no restrictions apply on acquisition (though the MSWiA permit may still apply if the buyer is a foreigner outside the exemptions).
• Acquisition of agricultural land requires consent from the KOWR Director General, issued by administrative decision, if the buyer is not an individual farmer — with statutory exceptions (e.g. close relatives of the seller, small plots, internal roads, land under fish ponds covering at least 70% of the area, land designated for non-agricultural use in the local zoning plan as of 30 April 2016).
• KOWR holds a statutory right of first refusal (pre-emption) on sales of agricultural land, and on shares in companies owning such land, of at least 5 ha. In 2024, KOWR received about 24,500 conditional sale agreements and exercised pre-emption on land totalling over 1,200 ha — a mechanism that is actively used, not a dead letter.
• A buyer who is not an individual farmer must run an agricultural holding for 5 years from acquisition and may not sell or hand over possession of the land to another person without KOWR Director General consent, which is granted only for valid reasons.

These rules do not formally distinguish between Polish nationals and foreigners — the same requirement applies to anyone who is not an individual farmer. An individual farmer (rolnik indywidualny) under the act must, among other things, have lived in the relevant municipality for at least 5 years, hold appropriate agricultural qualifications, and personally run the holding. In practice, most UK citizens buying their first agricultural property in Poland will not meet this definition.

The dual regime in practice — when the route is effectively closed

Combining both regimes, some scenarios are theoretically possible but practically very difficult or slow, and others are effectively closed without meeting extra conditions:

In the last row of the table — sizeable agricultural land in a border zone, bought by a UK citizen who is not an individual farmer — the transaction requires simultaneous compliance with two independent, multi-step administrative procedures, and if buying from a third party, KOWR's statutory right of first refusal may also come into play. In practice this means such a transaction:

• rarely closes in less than several months,
• needs professional support from a notary and lawyer from the very start (ideally before signing any preliminary agreement or paying a deposit),
• carries a real risk that, despite costs already incurred (fees, translations, travel), one of the two required consents is refused or delayed to the point of unravelling the arrangement with the seller.

There is no room here for outcome promises — whether the route is open at all in a specific case depends on the exact location of the plot, its area, the buyer's status, and the current register of border-zone municipalities. This always requires individual assessment by the lawyer and notary handling the case.

The March 2026 amendment

On 9 March 2026, the President of Poland signed an amendment to the agricultural system act and to the act on suspending sales of State Treasury Agricultural Property Stock land (published as Journal of Laws 2026, item 317). Among other things, it introduces a 20-year suspension on sales of land from the State Treasury Agricultural Property Stock and raises, from 2 to 5 ha, the area threshold below which KOWR can sell land to a farmer without the Minister of Agriculture's consent. Article 2 of this amendment enters into force on 30 April 2026.

Important distinction: this change applies only to land from the State Treasury Agricultural Property Stock (i.e. land sold by KOWR itself as custodian of that stock), not to ordinary private trading of agricultural land between individuals. The 1-hectare threshold at which KOWR Director General consent is required for a normal private transaction remains — according to available sources — unchanged. Still, if you are planning a purchase in 2026, it is worth confirming the current legal position with a lawyer at the next review, especially if you are considering buying land directly from the State Treasury/KOWR rather than from a private seller.

Documents you will need

The exact document set depends on which regime (or both) applies, but typically includes:

• proof of identity and citizenship (for the MSWiA permit application),
• a description of the property: plot number, area, land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta) number,
• the seller's details and a statement of their intention to sell,
• a description of the purpose of acquisition and the source of financing (the MSWiA application has no official form, but must contain the elements required by the act and its implementing regulation),
• for agricultural land — documents confirming individual-farmer status, if relied on, or an application for KOWR Director General consent with justification,
• proof of stamp duty payment (PLN 1,570 for the MSWiA permit; PLN 98 for an advance promise if applied for beforehand; PLN 17 for a certificate).

The MSWiA application can be submitted in person at the ministry, by post, or electronically via ePUAP/e-Doręczenia — you do not need to be physically in Poland on the day the application is filed, though practical aspects (signature, power of attorney) are worth arranging with a lawyer in advance.

Common risks and mistakes

1. Treating the MSWiA permit and KOWR consent as one procedure. They are two different authorities, two different applications and two independent assessments — clearing one does not clear the other.
2. Paying a deposit before checking whether the plot lies in a border zone. Border-zone status changes the entire risk and timeline calculation — check this before committing any funds.
3. Assuming Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary status exempts you from the MSWiA permit. It does not — this is a common misconception among long-term British residents in Poland.
4. Ignoring KOWR's pre-emption risk on agricultural land of 5 ha or more — the transaction can effectively be "stepped into" by KOWR on the same price terms.
5. Setting up a Polish company to get around the permit requirement. It does not work — a company controlled by a foreigner is treated as a foreigner.
6. Relying on outdated information about thresholds and exemptions. Rules (particularly on agricultural land) are amended periodically — always confirm the current legal position before a transaction, not from older articles or forum posts.
7. No time buffer in the preliminary contract. Under the dual regime, the realistic wait for both consents can exceed several months — the agreement with the seller should account for that.

Checklist

• [ ] Confirm whether the property is located in a border zone (verify with a notary or lawyer against the current register of municipalities).
• [ ] Confirm the exact area and classification of the plot (is it "agricultural land" under the agricultural system act — the 0.3 ha threshold).
• [ ] Establish whether any statutory exemption from the MSWiA permit applies to you (5 years' residence, marriage to a Polish citizen, inheritance) and whether it actually applies at this specific location.
• [ ] Establish whether you are (or can become) an "individual farmer" under the act — this changes the entire procedure with KOWR.
• [ ] Ask the notary whether KOWR's right of first refusal could apply to this transaction (relevant for land ≥5 ha).
• [ ] Build a realistic timeline — do not assume both consents will arrive within the statutory, non-binding 2-month period.
• [ ] Have a Polish lawyer review the content and form of applications before they are filed.
• [ ] Do not pay a deposit before confirming the purchase route is actually open.

Frequently asked questions

Can a UK citizen buy agricultural land in Poland at all?

Generally yes, but it usually requires meeting two independent regimes: the MSWiA permit (because they are a foreigner) and consent from the KOWR Director General (because the land is agricultural and the buyer is usually not an individual farmer). In a border zone, there is an additional restriction, because most exemptions from the MSWiA permit stop applying. Every case requires an individual assessment of the specific plot and the buyer's status.

Does Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary status make it easier to buy agricultural land?

Not in terms of the property-acquisition permit. The Withdrawal Agreement protects the residence, employment and social security rights of people who legally lived in Poland before 1 January 2021, but it does not create a separate exemption from the MSWiA permit requirement for buying property — this is confirmed by the official position of Poland's Office for Foreigners.

What is a border zone, and how do I check if my plot is in one?

It is a strip of municipalities bordering another state (or, on the coast, a strip adjoining the shore), up to 15 km wide from the border. This cannot be judged by eye — you need to check the current official register of municipalities included in the zone, ideally through the notary handling the transaction or a lawyer, because this status determines whether the usual MSWiA-permit exemptions apply at all.

What is the difference between the MSWiA permit and KOWR consent?

The MSWiA permit concerns the buyer's status as a foreigner — it is generally required of any foreigner buying property, subject to exemptions. KOWR Director General consent concerns the agricultural character of the property and applies to any buyer (Polish or foreign) who is not an individual farmer. These are two separate administrative procedures that may, but do not have to, overlap in the same transaction.

Does buying a flat in a border zone also require a permit?

That depends on which specific exemptions are excluded in the border zone — and this point is not fully unambiguous in the available official sources, requiring confirmation from a notary or lawyer for the specific location. Do not automatically assume the usual self-contained-flat exemption will apply the same way it does outside the zone.

What happens if I buy agricultural land without the required consent?

Acquisition of property by a foreigner in breach of the 1920 act (without the required permit) is void by operation of law. A court rules on the invalidity at the request of the relevant mayor, district governor (starosta), regional marshal, provincial governor (wojewoda), or the minister competent for internal affairs. This is a serious financial and legal risk that cannot simply be "fixed" after the fact.

Can KOWR "take" a plot I have already agreed with the seller?

For agricultural land of at least 5 ha, KOWR has a statutory right of first refusal — meaning that after a conditional sale agreement is signed, KOWR can step into the buyer's position on the same price terms. This risk is real (in 2024, KOWR exercised pre-emption on land totalling over 1,200 ha), so it is worth factoring into transaction planning and into the terms of the preliminary agreement.

Deadlines

• The MSWiA permit is valid for 2 years from the date the decision is issued — if the transaction drags on, a fresh application may be needed.
• A promise (promesa — an advance undertaking to grant the permit) is valid for 1 year from the date of issue; during that period the permit cannot be refused unless the factual circumstances of the case have changed.
• MSWiA permit proceedings should not statutorily take longer than 2 months from initiation, but this is an instructional deadline — the real timeline tends to be longer, particularly where opinions from the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture are required.
• A buyer of agricultural land who is not an individual farmer must run the agricultural holding for 5 years from acquisition, and during that time may not sell the land without KOWR Director General consent.
• Article 2 of the 12 March 2026 amendment (Journal of Laws 2026, item 317) enters into force on 30 April 2026.

If you are considering buying agricultural land or property in a border zone and want to get your documents and timeline in order before committing financially, request a free initial assessment. Describe the type of property, its approximate location, and the stage the transaction is at — you will receive a free initial assessment of what to check before taking the next step.

Related guides

• When Does a Foreigner Need Permission to Buy Property in Poland?
• Buying a Flat, House or Land in Poland: Legal Differences for Foreign Buyers
• Can a British Citizen Buy Property in Poland?

Przeczytaj po polsku: Zakup gruntu rolnego lub nieruchomości w polskiej strefie nadgranicznej

Sources

• Act of 24 March 1920 on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners (consolidated text) — Chancellery of the Sejm / ISAP — https://api.sejm.gov.pl/eli/acts/DU/2017/2278/text.html
• Act of 11 April 2003 on shaping the agricultural system (consolidated text) — Chancellery of the Sejm / ISAP — https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=wdu20030640592
• Act of 14 April 2016 on the suspension of sales of land from the State Treasury Agricultural Property Stock — Journal of Laws 2016 item 585, as amended
• Act of 12 March 2026 amending certain acts to protect Polish agriculture — Journal of Laws 2026 item 317 — Chancellery of the Sejm / ELI — https://eli.gov.pl/api/acts/DU/2026/317/text.pdf
• Will British citizens covered by the Withdrawal Agreement be exempt from the requirement to obtain a permit to buy land or houses? — Office for Foreigners (UDSC), gov.pl — https://www.gov.pl/web/udsc/czy-brytyjczycy-objeci-umowa-o-wystapieniu-beda-wykluczeni-z-wymogu-uzyskania-pozwolenia-na-zakup-ziemi-lub-domow
• Obtain a permit to acquire real estate, shares or stock by foreigners — Ministry of Interior and Administration (gov.pl) — https://www.gov.pl/web/mswia/uzyskaj-zezwolenie-na-nabycie-nieruchomosci-akcji-udzialow-przez-cudzoziemcow
• UKUR — trading in agricultural land — National Agricultural Support Centre (KOWR), gov.pl — https://www.gov.pl/web/kowr/ukur---obrot-gruntami-rolnymi
• Exemptions from the permit requirement — Returning to Poland / Chancellery of the Prime Minister (gov.pl) — https://powroty.gov.pl/nieruchomosci-nie-wymagajace-zezwolenia-9953/
• Acquisition of real estate by a foreigner — Ministry of Economic Development and Technology (biznes.gov.pl) — https://www.biznes.gov.pl/pl/portal/ou209

Information verified on: 11 July 2026.