Free tool
The Student Residence Financial Means Calculator works out maintenance, documented housing, the return travel reserve and unpaid tuition separately, showing an estimated minimum for an art. 144 study permit application.
PLN 15,150.00 is not the final required total for everyone. It is only the maintenance component for one person for 15 months (PLN 1,010.00 × 15); housing, tuition and the return reserve are added separately.
Legal status reviewed as of: 21.10.2026
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Used only for the housing-cost exemption for Belarusian citizens; it does not set the return reserve.
This calculator covers permits for higher-education studies (art. 144).
The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Your citizenship, country of arrival, rent, tuition and financial details are not sent to our servers.
How the calculation works
It is the monthly PLN 1,010.00 for a student with no dependants multiplied by the 15 months of the first permit. It is only the maintenance component; the actual required total can also include housing, tuition and the return reserve.
Art. 144 ust. 1a of the Act on Foreigners requires the monthly funds left after housing costs to be higher than the social-assistance income criterion. The Council of Ministers regulation of 12 July 2024 (Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1044) sets it at PLN 1,010.00 for a person living alone. Because the law says “higher than”, an equal amount may not be enough.
If you support family members, the monthly amount is PLN 823.00 for you and for each family member. For a student and one family member it is 2 × PLN 823.00 a month. The return reserve is also added for each person.
For studies, actual housing costs are documented and deducted from the monthly amount, so the calculator adds them on top of it. They cover the fixed charges for the flat per occupant plus electricity, gas, water, sewage and waste. The deposit is not added. Belarusian citizens are exempt from this obligation.
The return amount depends on the country you come from, not on nationality: PLN 200.00 from neighbouring countries, PLN 500.00 from non-neighbouring EU states and Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, PLN 2,500.00 from other countries. A student coming from Turkey needs PLN 2,500.00 per person, also for family members. No rule lets a return ticket replace this amount.
The law asks you to show the fee for a semester or a year of studies; what you have already paid is not required again. The Mazowieckie office uses the current academic year and the next semester. In other regions, check the required period with your university and the office.
Under art. 145 ust. 1, the first permit for a first-year student is granted for 15 months, and funds are calculated for that period. For EU or multilateral mobility programmes the first permit is 24 months. For studies shorter than a year, it is the academic year or length of studies + 3 months.
A further permit is granted for the remaining studies + 3 months, at most 36 months (art. 145 ust. 4). So later applications can cover more than 15 months — the same amount does not apply to every student.
No. According to MOS, actual housing costs are taken into account for a study (studia) permit, while for education (nauka, e.g. a language or preparatory course) they are not treated the same way. That is why this calculator covers art. 144 study applications only; other types of education need an individual review.
A bank or SKOK certificate, a credit card limit certificate, a scholarship document, a traveller’s cheque, and an employment and earnings certificate — yours or of the person supporting you. Card-limit, bank/SKOK and employment certificates must be issued no earlier than 1 month before the application. Funds in a foreign currency are converted at the NBP average rate from the last working day before the application.
The rules were verified in the official sources below. Regional practice notes are kept separate from national rules.
Institution: Sejm RP – ISAP · Accessed: 21.10.2026 · Legal review: 21.10.2026
Institution: Sejm RP – ISAP · Accessed: 21.10.2026 · Legal review: 21.10.2026
Institution: Sejm RP – ISAP · Accessed: 21.10.2026 · Legal review: 21.10.2026
Institution: Sejm RP – ISAP · Accessed: 21.10.2026 · Legal review: 21.10.2026
Institution: Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców – MOS · Accessed: 21.10.2026 · Legal review: 21.10.2026
Institution: Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki · Accessed: 21.10.2026 · Legal review: 21.10.2026 · Regional practice
Institution: Wielkopolski Urząd Wojewódzki · Accessed: 21.10.2026 · Legal review: 21.10.2026 · Regional practice
Legal status reviewed as of: 21.10.2026 · PL-STUDENT-FINANCE-2026-10-21
