PESEL is a personal number in Poland which identifies you in any public institution, healthcare, social security system or with the fiscal office.

It is not mandatory to have PESEL if you were not born in Poland however it is way easier to get around many services if you obtain it.

If you plan to be in Poland for longer that 30 days and you have the place where you can register your residence (always check with your landlord first or the rental contract), you can obtain the PESEL number immediately.

In order to do that you cannot have the owner of the property to disagree that you register your residence. It can be a temporary (3 months) or permanent registration. Your landlord or the owner of the apartment needs to provide you with their signature and also documents proving their ownership of the property. You need to take the documents and also the application for residence registration with you to the respective municipality (where your residence is). If the authority accepts your application, you will be granted the PESEL number immediately.