The rule

If you submitted an application for a temporary residence permit on time, and the application has no formal defects or you removed them on time, your stay in Poland is deemed legal from the day the application was submitted until the day on which the decision on the permit becomes final (Art. 108 para. 1 point 2 of the Act on Foreigners). The same rules apply to an application for permanent residence (Art. 206 para. 1 point 2) and for EU long-term resident residence (Art. 222a para. 1 point 2).

Conditions

  • Deadline. You submit an application for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident residence no later than on the last day of your legal stay (Art. 105 para. 1, Art. 202 para. 1 and Art. 218a para. 1). The day the application was submitted follows from the UPO - see UPO and certificate.
  • No formal defects. If the voivode summons you to remove them, do so by the set deadline.

When the protection does not apply

  • the application was submitted late or the formal defects were not removed on time,
  • the proceedings were suspended at your request (Art. 108 para. 2),
  • the decision became final - from that moment you stay on the basis of the permit granted or, after a refusal, the protection ends.

A decision becomes final when it can no longer be appealed - for example when the time limit for appeal has passed or the second-instance authority has examined the appeal.

After a final refusal you have, as a rule, 30 days to leave Poland, and during that time your stay is legal (Art. 299 para. 6 point 1 letter a and para. 7). We describe the exceptions in the guide refusal - what next.

A certificate instead of a stamp

The legality of the stay is confirmed by the voivode's certificate of submission of the application - it contains the text of the provision on the legality of stay. See: UPO and certificate.

Work while waiting

A legal stay is not the same as the right to work. The Act on the Conditions for Permitting the Entrusting of Work to Foreigners allows work while waiting for the decision in certain situations - among others where, immediately before submitting the application, you had the right to work on specified terms. Check your situation before you start or change a job.

Travelling abroad while waiting

The certificate confirms a legal stay in Poland, but the provisions on it say nothing about crossing the border. If you plan to travel during the proceedings, first check on what basis you will return to Poland, and remember the summonses for which you must appear in person.