What the decision contains

The permit is refused by the voivode, by a decision (Art. 104 para. 1 of the Act on Foreigners). The decision gives the legal basis, the ruling and the factual and legal reasons. It also contains instructions on whether and in what manner an appeal lies, and on the right to waive the appeal (Art. 107 para. 1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure). Write down the date of delivery - the deadlines run from it.

The appeal

  • The authority. The appeal is examined by the Head of the Office for Foreigners (Art. 22 para. 2 of the Act on Foreigners and Art. 127 para. 2 of the Code of Administrative Procedure). It lies to one instance only (Art. 127 para. 1).
  • The deadline. The appeal is filed within 14 days from the delivery of the decision, through the voivode who issued it (Art. 129 paras. 1 and 2).
  • The content. It does not need detailed reasoning. It is enough that it shows that you are not satisfied with the decision (Art. 128).
  • The effect. An appeal filed on time suspends the execution of the decision (Art. 130 para. 2). The Head of the Office ends the appeal proceedings within 90 days (Art. 112a para. 4).

If you are late through no fault of your own, you can ask for the deadline to be restored within 7 days from the cessation of the cause (Art. 58). Do not waive the appeal without checking the consequences: the decision then becomes final (Art. 127a para. 2). After the decision of the Head of the Office a complaint lies to the administrative court within 30 days from delivery, filed through that authority (Art. 53 para. 1 and Art. 54 para. 1 of the Act - Law on Proceedings Before Administrative Courts). The details are in the instructions in the decision.

Legal stay after a refusal

As long as the decision is not final, your stay is legal (Art. 108 para. 1 point 2). After a final refusal you have 30 days to leave, and your stay during that time is deemed legal (Art. 299 para. 6 point 1 letter a and para. 7). The deadline counts from the day the decision became final. For a decision of a higher-instance authority it counts from the day it was delivered to you.

You do not have these 30 days in two situations:

  • you submitted the application after the period of stay deemed legal had ended (Art. 299 para. 7),
  • before the refusal, proceedings to oblige you to return were initiated or such a decision was issued (Art. 299 para. 8a).

A new path

During these 30 days the voivode refuses to initiate proceedings on a new temporary residence application (Art. 99 para. 1 point 9). After 30 days without leaving, the stay is illegal, and an application submitted during an illegal stay ends in a refusal (Art. 100 para. 1 point 9). A decision obliging you to return may also be issued (Art. 302 para. 1 point 1).

A new basis of stay makes sense only if you really meet its conditions, for example for work: temporary residence and work. The stamp duty is not refunded after a refusal if you submitted the application on or after 5 March 2026 (Art. 113c). See: fees.