The rule

You must stay in Poland legally and continuously for at least 5 years directly before submitting the application (Art. 211 para. 1 of the Act on Foreigners). Residence on a temporary residence permit, e.g. for work or with family, usually counts in full. The exceptions are in Art. 212.

Counts by half

  • residence on a visa or temporary residence permit for studies,
  • residence on a visa or permit for vocational training,
  • residence during proceedings for international protection (Art. 212 para. 1 point 3). If these proceedings lasted more than 18 months, the whole period counts (Art. 212 para. 1 point 2).

Does not count at all

  • residence during a period of education (e.g. on a permit for education),
  • work as a worker posted by a service provider from abroad,
  • residence on a permit for an intra-corporate transfer and on a permit for a short-term stay,
  • residence during protection proceedings that ended with a refusal,
  • residence under local border traffic (Art. 212 para. 2).

Breaks and trips

Residence is continuous if no break lasted longer than 6 months and all breaks together did not exceed 10 months in the period of 5 years (Art. 212 para. 3 point 1). These limits do not apply if the trip resulted from work abroad for an employer based in Poland, from accompanying such a person as a spouse or minor child, from a special personal situation of up to 6 months or from internships or classes during studies at a Polish university (Art. 212 para. 4).

EU Blue Card

A holder of an EU Blue Card can add legal residence in other EU countries on the basis of a Blue Card. In total it must be at least 5 years, including at least 2 years in Poland directly before the application (Art. 212 para. 1 point 1). Breaks in residence in another EU country may then last up to 12 months, up to 18 months in total (Art. 212 para. 3 point 2).

When you cannot apply

The voivode does not open proceedings if on the day of the application you stay in Poland, among other things, for studies, vocational training or education, on the basis of temporary protection, a permit for humanitarian reasons or a tolerated stay permit, or illegally (Art. 213 para. 1). If you are studying, you first need another basis of stay, e.g. work.