Most banks in Poland treat clients from Russia and Belarus differently than clients from other countries. Getting a mortgage in Poland is much harder if you have Russian or Belarusian citizenship compared to people from other countries.
It is getting more difficult, but it is still possible.
At the end of January 2026, Bank Pekao introduced new, stricter rules for clients with Russian or Belarusian citizenship. Santander Bank introduced similar changes in December 2025.
Quick summary
- Santander now requires a residence card for Russian and Belarusian citizens (and in some cases it must be valid for at least 12 months).
- Pekao now requires permanent residence (pobyt stały).
- Some banks officially accept applications, but in practice often reject them due to “increased risk”.
- A mortgage is still possible in Poland, but you need the right bank and the right documents.
New rules in Santander Bank
In the past, Santander did not require a residence card to apply for a mortgage (for citizens of other countries this is still often the case). Of course, you still had to work in Poland and meet other standard requirements, but the residence card was not necessary. A PESEL number and a Polish address were enough.
However, Santander introduced stricter rules in December 2025.
If you are NOT a Santander client
If you are a Russian or Belarusian citizen and you are not already a Santander client, you must have a residence card valid for at least 12 months from the date of the mortgage application.
If you ARE a Santander client
If you are already a Santander client, the rules are slightly easier. You only need: a valid residence card (the expiry date does not matter), or a Temporary Certificate of Foreigner’s Identity issued for at least 3 months.
Interesting detail
To get a credit card in Santander, the residence card must be valid for at least 26 months, no matter if you are already a client or not. So, in theory, it may be easier to get a mortgage than to get a credit card.
New rules in Bank Pekao
Until now, Bank Pekao always required a residence card from non-EU clients, but the expiry date did not matter.
However, on 23 January 2026, Pekao introduced new requirements for Russian and Belarusian citizens.
The residence card is still required, and the expiry date still does not matter – but the residence permit must be a permanent residence permit. This means you must have permanent residency in Poland (pobyt stały).
Getting permanent residency usually requires many years of legal stay in Poland and is not easy. In practice, in the last few years I have had only a few clients who had permanent residence cards. So this is a major restriction introduced by Pekao.
What about other banks?
As mentioned at the beginning, it is not easy to get a mortgage in Poland if you are a Russian or Belarusian citizen. However, it is still possible.
Some banks officially do not have special restrictions for Russian or Belarusian citizens, but in practice the decision is almost always negative. This is often the case in banks like ING or BNP Paribas. Recently I had several clients who have lived and worked in Poland for many years, were employed in large international corporations, had a high down payment, had strong creditworthiness and all of them received negative decisions in those banks due to “increased risk for the bank”.
However, there are still banks where a mortgage is possible.
In general, if your residence card is valid for at least 6 months, you still have a chance. If it is valid for at least 12 months, your chances are higher because more banks may accept your application.
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