Leaving and returning to Poland

A valid residence card together with a travel document entitles you to cross the border many times without a visa (Art. 242 of the Act on Foreigners). Always take both documents when you travel: the passport and the card.

Travel in the Schengen area

With a valid residence card and a valid passport you can freely travel to other states of the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period (Art. 21 para. 1 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement). You do not need a visa for such a trip (Art. 6 para. 1 letter b of the Schengen Borders Code).

Conditions of such a trip:

  • you have a valid travel document - valid for at least 3 months after the planned departure from the Schengen area and issued within the last 10 years,
  • you can explain the purpose and conditions of the stay and you have the means for subsistence and return,
  • you are not a threat to public order or security and you are not entered in an alert for the purpose of refusing entry.

Basis: Art. 21 para. 1 of the Implementing Convention in conjunction with Art. 6 para. 1 letters a, c and e of the Schengen Borders Code.

This provision concerns short stays. Work or a longer stay in another state is governed by the law of that state.

How to count 90 days

For each day of stay you take into account the 180 days that precede it (Art. 6 para. 1 of the Schengen Borders Code). Periods of stay on the basis of a residence permit are not counted (Art. 6 para. 2). Time spent in Poland on the basis of the card therefore does not use up the 90-day limit. You count the days of stay in other states of the area.

Holders of residence documents are not registered in the Entry/Exit System (EES) (Art. 6a para. 3 letter c of the Schengen Borders Code). If you are not sure how many days you have left, see the 90/180-day stay analysis.

States outside the Schengen area

A Polish residence card does not give the right of entry to states outside the Schengen area. The rules of entry to such a state are set by its law - check them before you travel. You return to Poland on the basis of a valid card and passport (Art. 242).

Long trips

  • Temporary residence - the permit is withdrawn when the purpose of the stay has ceased (Art. 101 point 1). A long absence may call into question that you are pursuing the purpose of your stay in Poland.
  • Permanent residence - the permit is withdrawn if you left Poland for more than 6 years (Art. 199 para. 1 point 5).
  • EU long-term resident - the permit is withdrawn, among other things, after leaving Poland for more than 6 years or after leaving the EU for 12 consecutive months. For former EU Blue Card holders and their family members it is 24 months (Art. 215 para. 1 points 3 and 4).

When the card is not enough

  • The card has expired and you are waiting for a decision. The certificate of submission of the application confirms a legal stay in Poland. According to the MOS portal, you cannot use it to leave or to return. The Schengen Borders Code does not recognise as a residence document the temporary documents issued for the time of examining a first application (Art. 2 point 16 letter b). See: leaving Poland while waiting.
  • You lost your card. Report the loss to the authority that issued it within 3 days (Art. 232 para. 1). The card is invalidated on the day of the report (Art. 250 point 1). See: card replacement.
  • Your passport expires. The card alone is not enough to cross the border. See: expired passport.