What formal defects are

A formal defect is a situation in which the application does not meet the requirements of the regulations. It concerns the application itself, not the evidence in the case. Examples from the Act on Foreigners:

  • missing elements of the form, for example data on the travel document or a statement on the truthfulness of the data (Art. 106 para. 1),
  • a missing photo, a scan of all passport pages or an annex required for the purpose of stay (Art. 106d para. 1),
  • the application not signed with a trusted signature or a qualified electronic signature (Art. 106d para. 3).

A summons to submit documents that confirm the data in the application (Art. 106f) is something else - see summons to supplement. Do not confuse these deadlines.

The deadline for removing defects

The voivode sets a deadline of not less than 7 days and warns that failing to remove the defects will cause the application to be left unexamined (Art. 64 para. 2 of the Code of Administrative Procedure). The summons states how to remove the defects. The MOS portal reminds you that after the application has been sent you correct it by hand on a printout and sign each change.

Without a summons, left unexamined at once

  • an application without the applicant's address, when it cannot be established (Art. 64 para. 1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure),
  • a temporary residence application submitted otherwise than through MOS (Art. 106c para. 5). The exceptions are the paper applications described in the guide applications outside MOS.

The effect on the legality of your stay

Your stay is legal from the day the application is submitted until the final decision, if you submitted the application on time and without defects or removed them on time (Art. 108 para. 1 point 2). The 60-day deadline for the decision counts only from the day the application has no defects or they have been supplemented (Art. 112a para. 2 point 2).

If you do not remove the defects, the voivode leaves the application unexamined and you do not have the protection under Art. 108. You can submit a new application only during a legal stay (Art. 105 para. 1). When your legal stay has already ended, the voivode refuses the permit if you submitted the application during an illegal stay (Art. 100 para. 1 point 9).

The provision on 30 days to leave (Art. 299 para. 6 point 1 letter a) lists refusal, discontinuance and withdrawal of the permit. It does not list leaving the application unexamined. Do not count on an additional 30 days, then. An illegal stay is a ground for a decision obliging you to return (Art. 302 para. 1 point 1).

What to do

Reply at once and do not wait until the last day. If you do not manage it, you can ask for the deadline to be restored within 7 days from the cessation of the cause (Art. 58 of the Code of Administrative Procedure). We describe the typical mistakes in the guide mistakes in an MOS application.