Foreigners Buying Property: Notaries to Switch to CREWAN System

The government has prepared a draft law that introduces full digitalization of procedures related to the acquisition of real estate by foreigners. The new regulations mean the end of paper-based document circulation and the introduction of an electronic transaction reporting system. However, clients of notary offices will pay for the new service.

What’s Changing?

The amendment project from October 30, 2025, provides for changes to two key acts: the Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners from 1920 and the Notarial Law from 1991. The main objective of the reform is to implement a fully electronic mode of transmitting documents concerning transactions made by foreigners.

Under the new regulations, notaries will be obliged to place extracts of notarial deeds and other documents concerning the acquisition of real estate or shares in companies by foreigners in the Central Repository of Electronic Extracts of Notarial Deeds (CREWAN). These documents will be automatically transmitted to the Minister of Internal Affairs via a teleinformation system, for which the National Council of Notaries will be responsible.

Why Are These Changes Necessary?

Currently, notaries have 7 days to send paper documents to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Data from these documents are then manually entered into registers maintained in the IT system. This is a time-consuming and inefficient process, especially since notaries already prepare digital versions of documents for other systems, such as the National Court Register or the National Tax Administration.

The problem is growing with the increase in the number of transactions. Analysis of reports from 2022-2024 shows a significant increase in the number of applications for permits to acquire real estate by foreigners and the transactions themselves. This results in an avalanche of paper documents flowing to the ministry.

New Obligations and a New Fee

Key changes include:

Digital reporting – all documents concerning transactions involving foreigners must be entered into the CREWAN system.

Searchable format – documents will be saved in a format that enables electronic searching of content, which will facilitate the work of the minister responsible for examining the legality of transactions.

Automatic data transmission – the National Council of Notaries will ensure prompt transmission of documents from CREWAN to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

New fee – for placing a document in the system, the notary will collect a fee from the parties to the transaction, which will be transferred to the National Council of Notaries. The amount of the fee will be determined by regulation by the Minister of Internal Affairs after consulting the National Council of Notaries. It is intended to cover the administrative costs of operating the system and its development.

Security and Control

The legislators expect that digitalization will minimize the problem of non-submission or late submission of documents. The introduction of the requirement for searchable document content is expected to positively impact the performance of tasks by the minister responsible for examining the legality of acquisitions by foreigners. As a result, this should improve the security of real estate transactions in Poland and tighten the control system.

When Will the New Regulations Take Effect?

The amendment is to enter into force after three months from the date of announcement. Such a vacatio legis period is intended to enable the implementation of necessary technical changes in the CREWAN system. Previous regulations will continue to apply to documents prepared before the amendment enters into force – meaning they will be sent to the minister in paper form.

The new regulations represent another step in the digitalization of Polish administration and the simplification of procedures for notaries. For clients of notary offices, however, they mean an additional cost related to operating the new electronic system.