Polish B1 Certificate — The Exam You Need for EU Residency

Of all the requirements for the EU long-term resident permit (zezwolenie na pobyt rezydenta długoterminowego UE), one stands apart: the certified knowledge of Polish at level B1 or higher. Income you either have or you don't. The 5 years of residence accumulate on their own. But B1 Polish is the one requirement most people must actively earn — and the one they most often underestimate, discovering it a few months before they planned to file.

This guide covers what the law accepts as proof, how the state exam (egzamin certyfikatowy) actually works, what it costs, and which documents let you skip the exam entirely.

Why B1, and who's exempt

The language requirement applies specifically to the EU long-term resident permit. Its sibling status, the permanent residence permit (zezwolenie na pobyt stały), has no language requirement at all — a key differentiator if you happen to qualify for pobyt stały on personal grounds. For everyone earning permanence through years of residence, though, B1 is non-negotiable.

There is exactly one exemption: applicants who were under 16 on the day the application was filed don't need to prove Polish at all.

The closed list of accepted documents

The regulations accept only the following documents — anything else, including course completion certificates from ordinary language schools, is not honored:

1. A certificate of Polish language proficiency at level B1 or higher issued by the State Commission for the Certification of Polish Language Proficiency (Państwowa Komisja Poświadczania Znajomości Języka Polskiego jako Obcego) — the "state exam" this article focuses on; information at certyfikatpolski.pl.
2. An ECL certificate (European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages), level B1 or higher.
3. A TELC certificate, level B1 or higher.
4. A CEFR-aligned certificate issued by an approved university after completing Polish-as-a-foreign-language coursework, level B1 or higher.
5. A sworn translator credential for Polish (certificate of qualification or entry on the sworn translators' list).
6. A diploma from a Polish school (primary, secondary, or art school) taught in Polish — with the exception of post-secondary school (szkoła policealna).
7. A diploma from an equivalent school abroad taught in Polish — same exception.
8. A university degree completed in Poland with Polish as the language of instruction.
9. A university degree taught in Polish completed abroad.

A deadline warning on point 6: a post-secondary school (szkoła policealna) certificate is no longer accepted as proof of Polish. It can still be used only in proceedings started before 30 June 2026, and only if the school was finished before 30 June 2025. If that was your plan, the window is closing — for proceedings started after that date, you'll need one of the other documents on the list.

If none of items 2–9 apply to you, the state exam is your route. Here's how it works.

The state exam: structure and pass rules

The exam is run under the State Commission and held at authorized exam centers — universities and licensed language schools across Poland (and some abroad). The list of centers and general information live at certyfikatpolski.pl.

The B1 adult exam has two parts:

• Written part — 190 minutes total, in four modules: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, grammatical correctness (structures), and writing.
• Oral part — up to 15 minutes, in front of examiners.

The pass rule is stricter than most people expect: you need a minimum of 50% in each written module separately, plus 50% on the oral part. There is no averaging — a brilliant reading score cannot rescue a weak writing module. One module below 50% fails the exam. This is why targeted preparation across all five skills matters more than overall fluency.

What it costs

• Exam fee: 150 EUR for the B1 adult exam. This is the maximum set by the legislator; each authorized center sets its own fee up to that ceiling, and you pay the center directly.
• Certificate fee: 20 EUR, paid separately — only after you pass.
• Combined, that's about 730 zł at mid-2026 exchange rates. Fees are paid in the PLN equivalent, calculated at the National Bank of Poland average rate from the last day of the month before your payment.

There is also a separate exam variant for young people aged 14–17, priced at 90 EUR. Note that permit applicants under 16 are exempt from the language requirement anyway — so for the residence permit itself, the adult exam is the relevant one.

2026 sessions and how to register

The official 2026 exam calendar includes five sessions with a B1 adult exam:

As of publication, only the October and December sessions remain in 2026. That matters more than it looks: the certificate is not handed to you on exam day — results are announced later and the certificate is issued after that, so the paperwork takes time on top of the exam itself. If your residence-permit timeline points at 2027, sitting the exam in October rather than December buys you slack.

Registration is not centralized: you sign up directly with an individual exam center from the authorized list, and each center runs its own registration window and its own payment details. Places at popular centers fill up, so contact your center early and ask for their specific deadlines — don't assume the window will still be open a few weeks before the session.

Alternatives: who never needs to sit the state exam

Look back at the closed list. Three groups are already covered:

• Graduates of Polish-medium education — if you finished a Polish school (other than szkoła policealna) or completed a university degree taught in Polish, in Poland or abroad, your diploma itself is the proof. No exam.
• Holders of ECL or TELC certificates at B1 or higher — both are accepted on equal footing with the state certificate. If one of these exams is more accessible where you live, or its format suits you better, it's an equally valid route.
• Sworn translators of Polish — the professional credential covers the requirement by definition.

Everyone else — the typical case being someone who moved to Poland for work and learned Polish along the way — takes one of the exams.

What B1 actually means, and how to prepare

B1 is "intermediate": you can handle most everyday situations, describe experiences and plans, and produce simple connected text on familiar topics. It is not fluency, and it's not academic Polish. For someone who has lived and worked in Poland for five years, it's a realistic target — but the exam format still catches people out, especially the writing module and the no-averaging rule.

Practical, product-free advice:

• Work from past papers. Sample tests from previous sessions are published on the commission's site (certyfikatpolski.pl) — they're the single best calibration tool for what B1 tasks actually look like.
• Train the format, not just the language. 190 minutes across four modules is a long exam; timing each module in practice runs pays off.
• Balance your weakest skill. Since every module must clear 50%, an hour spent on your weakest skill is worth more than an hour polishing your strongest.
• Write by hand. The written part is exactly that — if you've typed Polish for years but rarely written it, practice on paper.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need B1 for pobyt stały too? No. The permanent residence permit (pobyt stały) has no language requirement. B1 applies to the EU long-term resident permit.

I have a B2 or C1 certificate. Does it count? Yes — the requirement is B1 or higher, so any accepted certificate at B1, B2, C1, or C2 works.

My degree was taught in Polish. Do I still need the exam? No. A university degree with Polish as the language of instruction — completed in Poland or abroad — is on the accepted list by itself.

What happens if I fail one module? The exam is failed — every written module and the oral part must each reach 50%, with no averaging. Ask your exam center about arrangements for taking the exam again.

Does the certificate expire? No — it's issued without an expiry date, so an exam passed years ago remains valid proof.

How much is the whole exam, all in? 150 EUR for the B1 exam plus 20 EUR for the certificate after passing — around 730 zł combined, paid in PLN equivalent to your exam center.

When can I take the exam this year? Two B1 adult sessions remain in 2026: 17–18 October and 5–6 December. Register directly with an authorized center, and check its registration deadline as early as you can.

The certificate is step one — the permit is the goal

Once the certificate is in hand, it slots into a bigger application: 5 years of qualifying residence, stable income, health insurance, housing, fees, and the electronic filing itself. The full picture — including which of your years actually count toward the 5-year clock — is in our complete guide to the EU long-term resident permit.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Exam fees, session dates, and center-level rules can change — verify current details at certyfikatpolski.pl and with your chosen exam center, and check permit requirements on the official MOS portal (mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl) before filing.

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