Poland

Poland's Register of Sexual Offenders, run by the Ministry of Justice, has a restricted part and a public part. The public part, for the most serious offences against minors, is open online without login. Poland applies the Schengen Borders Code. Under the Act on Foreigners a traveller is refused entry if listed as undesirable, listed in the Schengen Information System, or where security or public order requires it (art. 28(1)).

Full profile · Last verified: October 27, 2026 · All countries

Each statement is labelled Law (statute, regulation or court ruling), Policy (official guidance) or Reported practice (what officials report doing). Items marked Recheck could not be fully confirmed from a primary source.

The country's own registry

Law The Register of Sexual Offenders (Rejestr Sprawców Przestępstw na Tle Seksualnym) was created by the Act of 13 May 2016. It is kept by the Minister of Justice and has three parts: a restricted-access register, a public register, and a register of people entered by the State Commission on child sexual abuse (art. 4).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110
Law The restricted register covers people finally convicted of sexual offences under chapter XXV of the Polish Criminal Code, with some exclusions, as well as conditional discontinuances, security measures and juvenile measures (arts. 2 and 6(1)). Courts, prosecutors, police and security services, public authorities, and employers and organisers of activities with children may consult it; any person may check whether their own data are in it (art. 12).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110
Law The public register covers the most serious cases: aggravated rape offences under art. 197 of the Criminal Code and repeat sexual offending after an unsuspended prison sentence, where an offence was committed against a minor (art. 6(2)). It shows the person's details and photograph, but in place of an address only the name of the town where they stay (art. 7(3)–(4)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110
Policy The public register is available without restriction and published on the Ministry of Justice website (art. 16). The Ministry says no login is needed for the public part at rps.ms.gov.pl. The restricted part needs an account and an electronically signed request, and is free.
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110; Ministry of Justice: Ogólne informacje o Rejestrze Sprawców Przestępstw na Tle Seksualnym
Law Register data are drawn from the National Criminal Register (art. 7(1)). The National Criminal Register records foreign convictions only of Polish citizens (KRK Act art. 1(2)(4)). The Act contains no provision for entering a foreign national's conviction from another country.
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110; Ustawa z dnia 24 maja 2000 r. o Krajowym Rejestrze Karnym, consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 poz. 276
Recheck: Inferred from the text of both Acts; no official statement on foreign convictions was found. Confirm with the Ministry of Justice.
Law Data are removed when the conviction is expunged under the Criminal Code, and on pardon, amnesty or the quashing of the judgment (art. 18(1)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110

Entry and admissibility

Law As a Schengen state, it applies the Schengen Borders Code. A traveller may be refused entry if considered a threat to public policy or internal security (art. 6(1)(e)).
Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Schengen Borders Code
Recheck: EUR-Lex returned a bot challenge to the build network; confirm the article text.
Law A foreign national is refused entry if they are entered in the list of foreigners whose stay in Poland is undesirable, if their data are in the Schengen Information System for refusal of entry, or if national defence, state security or the protection of public safety and order require it (Act on Foreigners art. 28(1)(7), (8) and (10)). The Act does not list specific offences.
Source: Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners), consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079
Law A conviction leads to entry in the undesirable-foreigner list only when it was handed down in Poland, for an intentional offence (art. 435(1)(2)(a)). The former grounds for foreign convictions have been repealed. A listing on security or public-order grounds remains possible (art. 435(1)(4)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners), consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079
Finding No published rule found as of October 27, 2026. No official report was found of Poland's Border Guard refusing entry to U.S. registrants.

Visa / travel authorisation

Policy U.S. passport holders who qualify as visitors for tourism or business can enter the Schengen area without a visa for 90 days within each 180-day period. The passport must be valid for at least 90 days beyond the planned departure from the Schengen area.
Source: U.S. Embassy in Poland: Services for U.S. and Local Citizens
Policy From October 12, 2025, most U.S. citizens visiting Poland for short stays have fingerprints and facial images collected at entry and exit under the EU Entry/Exit System.
Source: U.S. Embassy in Poland: Message for U.S. Citizens: New European Union Entry/Exit System (EES) (Sept. 26, 2025); European Union: Entry/Exit System (EES)
Policy The EU Entry/Exit System registers non-EU short-stay travellers at the external border. The ETIAS travel authorisation is announced but its start date could not be confirmed.
Source: European Union: Entry/Exit System (EES); European Union: ETIAS
Recheck: The EU travel pages render only with JavaScript; confirm EES and ETIAS status before travel.

Registration or reporting after arrival

Law The duty to report an address to police within 3 days, and every change of address, applies to people whose data are entered in the Polish register (art. 11(1)). Failing to report is punishable by detention, restriction of liberty or a fine of at least 1,000 zł (art. 23(1)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110
Law A registered person moving abroad must notify police before leaving, and report their address within 3 days of returning (art. 11(2)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110
Finding No published rule found as of October 27, 2026. No rule requiring a foreign visitor with a U.S. sex-offence conviction to register in Poland was found.

Residency, employment and housing

Law Before anyone is employed or admitted to activities involving the education, care, leisure, treatment, sport or other interests of minors, the employer or organiser must check the restricted register and the State Commission register (art. 21(1)–(2)). Doing so without the check is an offence (art. 23(2)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110; Ministry of Justice: Ogólne informacje o Rejestrze Sprawców Przestępstw na Tle Seksualnym
Law The person must present a Polish criminal-record extract covering listed offences (sexual offences, offences against life and health, human trafficking, family abuse and drug offences) and their equivalents under foreign law. A foreign national must also present a criminal-record certificate from their country of citizenship, issued for work with children where that country provides one, and declare every other country they lived in during the last 20 years, with certificates from those countries (art. 21(3)–(7)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 13 maja 2016 r. o przeciwdziałaniu zagrożeniom przestępczością na tle seksualnym i ochronie małoletnich, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 110
Law A temporary residence permit is refused where the foreign national is on the undesirable list, is listed in the Schengen Information System, or where security or public order requires it (Act on Foreigners art. 100(1)(2)–(4)). A national (type D) visa is refused on the same grounds (art. 65(1)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners), consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079

Removal, rehabilitation or waivers

Law A return decision is issued where national defence, state security, public safety and order or the interest of Poland require it, among other grounds (Act on Foreigners art. 302(1)(9)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners), consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079
Law A return decision includes a ban on re-entering Poland and the other Schengen states (art. 318(1)). The ban runs from 6 months to 3 years for most grounds, and from 5 to 10 years on security or public-order grounds (art. 319(1)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners), consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079
Law On application, the authority may withdraw the ban, for example if the person complied with the return decision or has humanitarian reasons to return. It may not withdraw a ban where entry could threaten security or public order (art. 320).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners), consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079
Law An undesirable-list entry made on security or public-order grounds lasts up to 10 years and can be extended for further periods of up to 10 years (art. 438(1)(8)).
Source: Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners), consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079

What U.S. rules still apply

Law U.S. law still applies to the trip itself: registrants must report international travel at least 21 days in advance, and the U.S. may notify the destination country before arrival. See the U.S. travel guide for the notice rule, the passport identifier and how notifications work.
Source: ComplianceAtlas: Traveling Abroad as a U.S. Registrant

Read Traveling Abroad as a U.S. Registrant before booking.

Sources

Legal Disclaimer

International laws, immigration policies, and registry requirements change frequently and may vary depending on citizenship, visa type, offense history, and purpose of travel. Entry decisions are made solely by each country's immigration authorities. Always verify current requirements using official government sources before traveling. This page is not legal advice.