Before submitting the application

  1. Starting too late. You submit the application no later than on the last day of your legal stay. To send it you need an MOS account, a signature, a photo, scans and - for work - the annex from the employer. Obtaining some of the documents may take weeks, for example when they have to be obtained in the country of origin.
  2. The wrong purpose of stay. The purpose chosen in the application determines the type of permit, and the office will not change it for you. Check whether you meet the conditions for that particular permit.
  3. False or concealed information. The application contains a statement that the data is true, made under pain of criminal liability. False data may end in a refusal or in the permit being withdrawn.
  4. An omitted criminal record. State convictions that have not been expunged - also those with a conditionally suspended sentence and convictions by summary order - and pending proceedings, for example concerning a fine that was not accepted. Paying a fine does not mean that you have no record.
  5. A fictitious address. State the place where you really live, not only a correspondence address.
  6. A bad photo or illegible scans. We describe the requirements in the guide photo and attachments.
  7. An e-mail address in the mail.ru domain. The MOS portal warns that messages from MOS are not delivered to mail.ru addresses.
  8. An application filled in or signed by another person. The application of an adult foreigner is signed by the foreigner personally. See: signature and proxy.

When you made a mistake in the application

Before sending, you can return to the application and change it. According to the guidance on the MOS portal, after sending, the application is corrected by hand on its printout: you sign each change by hand and put a date on it. You submit such a correction when you attend the office in person or as set out in the voivode's summons - by post or at the filing office.

After submitting the application

  1. Not attending the summons for fingerprinting - the voivode discontinues the proceedings. See: fingerprints.
  2. No reaction to summonses. You have at least 7 days to remove formal defects - otherwise the application is left without examination (Art. 64 para. 2 of the Code of Administrative Procedure). You have at least 14 days to deliver documents (Art. 106f of the Act on Foreigners). If a summons is unclear, ask the office for an explanation.
  3. An unreported change of address. During the proceedings you must notify the office of every change of address. Otherwise a letter sent to the old address is deemed to have been delivered (Art. 41 of the Code of Administrative Procedure).
  4. Working without authorisation. Submitting an application does not always give you the right to work. Check your situation before you start work - illegal work carries a fine and a decision obliging you to return.