Renewal is a new application

The residence card is valid for the period for which the temporary residence permit was granted (Art. 243 para. 1 point 1 of the Act on Foreigners). The regulations do not provide for extending the permit or the card. If you want to stay in Poland longer, you submit a new application for a further temporary residence permit. According to the MOS portal, after a new permit is granted the card is, as a rule, issued without a separate application.

The existing permit expires by operation of law on the day you obtain the further permit (Art. 102).

When to submit the application

  • No later than on the last day of legal stay (Art. 105 para. 1). If you are in Poland only on the basis of the card, this is the last day of its validity. An application submitted later does not protect your stay, and submitting it during an illegal stay is a ground for refusal (Art. 100 para. 1 point 9).
  • The regulations do not set the earliest day. What matters is that you meet the conditions of the permit you are applying for.
  • An MOS failure. If because of an MOS failure it is not possible to submit the application on time, you submit it no later than on the 3rd working day after the failure is removed. The application is then deemed submitted on the first day of the failure (Art. 225c para. 1). The website of the Office for Foreigners announces when the failure has been removed (Art. 225c para. 2).

Do not wait until the last days. An application for residence and work needs an annex from the employer, and the signature requires a working Profil Zaufany (Trusted Profile) or a qualified signature. See: how to submit an application in MOS and the most common mistakes.

On what basis

The next application does not have to have the same purpose as the previous one. Choose the purpose that matches your situation on the day you submit the application - for example temporary residence and work or the EU Blue Card. The circumstances must justify a stay longer than 3 months (Art. 98 para. 1). We describe the list of documents in the guide documents for the application.

If you have lived in Poland for several years, check whether you can apply for an EU long-term resident residence permit or for permanent residence - see EU resident residence audit.

Note: the voivode may refuse a further temporary residence permit if you did not notify the voivode that the reason for the previous permit had ceased, and you submit the new application before 1 year has passed from the end of validity of the previous permit or from its final withdrawal (Art. 100 para. 2 and Art. 113).

Stay while waiting

If the application was submitted on time and without formal defects, your stay is legal until the day the decision becomes final (Art. 108 para. 1 point 2). This is confirmed by the voivode's certificate - see legal stay after submitting an application.

After the card expires, the certificate does not replace it when travelling. The MOS portal explains that you cannot use the certificate to leave Poland or to return to it. See: leaving Poland while waiting and working while waiting.

Permanent and EU resident card

A permit for permanent residence and a permit for EU long-term resident residence are granted for an indefinite period (Art. 195 para. 1 and Art. 211 para. 1). Only the card has a validity: 10 years for permanent residence and 5 years for EU resident residence (Art. 243).

Before the card expires you submit an application for the issue of a further card - at least 30 days before its validity ends (Art. 230 para. 2). You submit the application to the voivode competent for your place of stay (Art. 245 paras. 3 and 5) and you give your fingerprints (Art. 246 para. 1 point 2). The fee for the card is 100 PLN - see fees.