When you acquire the right of permanent residence

  • EU citizen - after 5 years of continuous residence in Poland during which they met the conditions of the right of residence, e.g. worked or had resources and insurance (Art. 42 of the Act on the entry of EU citizens).
  • Non-EU family member - after 5 years of continuous residence with an EU citizen or a Polish citizen (Art. 43).
  • Spouse of a Polish citizen - already after 3 years of continuous residence (Art. 43a).

A worker or self-employed person can acquire the right earlier, among others, after retiring or because of permanent incapacity for work (Art. 45).

Breaks in residence

Residence is continuous if breaks did not exceed 6 months in total in a year (Art. 47 para. 1). A longer absence does not interrupt residence if it resulted from compulsory military service or an important personal situation (e.g. pregnancy, illness, studies, posting), if it lasted no longer than 12 consecutive months (Art. 47 para. 2).

Document

  • An EU citizen gets, on application, a document certifying the right of permanent residence (Art. 48 para. 1 and Art. 49 para. 1).
  • A non-EU family member must obtain a permanent residence card (Art. 48 para. 2).
  • The application is submitted in person (Art. 49 para. 2). The document and the card are valid for 10 years (Art. 55).

The right of permanent residence counts towards recognition as a Polish citizen, like permanent residence - see recognition as a Polish citizen.