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Tuition-free study at a Polish state university does exist, but by status rather than by citizenship: Article 324 of the law on higher education and science names a closed list of grounds on which no fee is charged (consolidated text of the law, Article 324, Verified: 2026-09-02). Three of them are realistic for a Kazakhstani: a state certificate of Polish at a level no lower than C1, the Karta Polaka or confirmed Polish origin, and NAWA scholarship holder status. The exemption is narrow: it removes the fee for full-time study in Polish and does not remove the fee for a program in a foreign language. For a graduate without one of these grounds, study in Poland is paid, and each university publishes its own fees, for a specific academic year.
One step in the Polish route is free, and it is the key one: recognition of the school certificate. The written information of the NAWA director about a foreign school certificate is issued free of charge and only online, through the SYRENA system. Without it, today you can neither enter the first year of a bachelor’s program nor obtain a student visa.
There is also a rule that requires neither a certificate nor Polish roots, but it belongs to another country: studying in Czech at public and state universities in Czechia is not subject to tuition, for citizens of any nationality. There is one condition: you have to study in Czech.
What actually costs nothing in the Polish route
Recognition of the school certificate is free. NAWA charges no fee either to the certificate holder or to the university. This is the biggest saving in the route compared to what families usually expect.
Another expense often turns out to be unnecessary: a sworn translation of the Kazakhstani school certificate is not required for the NAWA application if the document is in Russian, and an apostille is not needed for it either. The apostille is needed for the visa and is paid as a Kazakhstan state fee. The procedure and amounts: apostille for the school certificate and sworn translation.
Everything else in the Polish route is paid. What the year’s budget consists of: how much studying in Poland costs.
State and private universities: what is established and what is not
Admission rules, fees, and tuition rates are set by each university, for a specific year and program, and for international applicants it often runs a separate schedule. Some universities require the certificate recognition document even before enrollment.
Separately, there is an established payment arrangement that changes the schedule of payments. At least one non-state university, Kozminski University, requires foreigners who need a visa to pay tuition for the full year before it issues the invitation and the admission decision, that is, before the visa application. If the visa is refused, the tuition is refunded, the registration fee is not. This is the rule of one university, not a general one.
About the three grounds in Article 324, what matters is how they are built: the provision is worded not as “may be exempted” but as “no fee is charged”, so with a confirmed ground this is a right and not a decision of the university. But getting it in time for the application deadline is hard: the C1 certificate is taken in advance and separately, the Karta Polaka is a procedure of its own, and the NAWA scholarship is itself a competition. For an applicant without such a ground, no primary source removes the tuition, so the budget takes the full price of the program.
And one distinction where it is easiest to go wrong when searching: in Czechia, study in the state language at a state university carries no tuition for everyone, regardless of citizenship, under Act No. 111/1998 Sb. Poland has a similar provision, but it works only where there is a ground from Article 324. The two rules read the same and mean different things.
The role of the language of instruction
| Route | What verified sources establish | What it means for the budget |
|---|---|---|
| A program in Polish at a Polish state university | No fee is charged only on a ground from Article 324: a C1 certificate, the Karta Polaka or Polish origin, a NAWA scholarship. There is no general rate, fees are published by the university | Without such a ground, check the amount in the admission rules of the specific program for the specific year |
| A program in English at a Polish university | The Article 324 exemption does not extend to a foreign language of instruction. The language requirement is set by the university, and the consul may assess language proficiency at the application | The full fee plus the cost of a language certificate |
| A program at a Polish non-state university | Fees are set by the university. At least one requires payment for the full year before issuing the documents for the visa | A large payment in August or September, before the visa is received |
| A program in Czech at a public or state university in Czechia | No tuition is charged, for citizens of any nationality: Act No. 111/1998 Sb. § 58 and the Study in Czechia portal | Tuition-free study, but university fees and a paid language year remain |
| A program in a foreign language at a public university in Czechia | The university is obliged to set a fee, and no limits on its amount apply | There is no tuition-free English-language route at a Czech state university |
The fork runs not between a state and a private university, but between the language of instruction and the country whose law sets this rule.
Where zero tuition is confirmed directly
Only in Czechia and only for programs in Czech at a public or state university. The sources agree: the Study in Czechia portal of the Czech National Agency for International Education (DZS) and Act No. 111/1998 Sb. § 58, which lists the permitted fees, and tuition for studying in Czech is not among them. Hence the structure of the Czech route: first a paid language year, then admission, which is why you need to compare the full cost, not the “tuition” line.
A comparison of the three countries: Poland, Czechia, or Italy. The country’s logic: Czechia.
Scholarships: what can be claimed and what cannot
For a graduate of a Kazakhstani school without the Karta Polaka, the check established no NAWA scholarship program that would cover a bachelor’s program at a Polish university. For the second cycle the picture is different: in the 2026 call Kazakhstan is named in the list of countries of the Banach NAWA program, which gives tuition-free study at a public university and a monthly payment (ogłoszenie Banach NAWA 16/2026, Verified: 2026-09-02). The university’s own benefits, meanwhile, are not limited by citizenship, apart from stypendium socjalne: the provision and the amounts are worked through in scholarships in Poland for Kazakhstanis.
EEC’s position on grants does not change: grants are possible, but they cannot be sold as a guarantee. Decisions are made by universities, visa authorities, and grant committees.
A realistic plan if the budget is limited
- Start with the language, not the country. Zero tuition is confirmed only for the Czech language at a Czech state university. If the student is not ready for a year of Czech, the conversation is about comparing paid programs.
- Take the fee of a specific program, not an overview. The admission rules of your university contain both the application fee and the tuition fee.
- Count visa expenses separately from tuition. Insurance, funds in the account, and the consular fee are needed regardless of the program’s price: student visa to Poland.
- Check when the money leaves. If the university requires payment for the full year before the documents for the visa, the large payment falls in August or September. The month-by-month order: admission timeline.
Working out a specific budget starts with a consultation.