Before filing
- We match the type of permit
- A checklist in your language
- We fill in the MOS application with you
- We check every attachment
Guide · as of 23.09.2026
Residence card: what it is and how we run your case
Before a first visit, people check the card types, when the clock starts and what a card does not give you.
No guarantees: we do not promise deadlines the office sets, not us.
If you want help
We handle the case
Full set of documents, the application filled in with you in MOS (the online portal of the Office for Foreigners), deadlines watched and letters from the office answered.
See how we work → Ukrainian citizensCUKR card
UKR status exchanged for a three-year card. Applications accepted until 4 March 2027.
Conditions →Types of cards and how they differ
A residence card is the document confirming that a residence permit has been granted. The permits differ, not the cards: they set the length and what you may do.
Temporary residenceThe most common case. Up to three years, tied to a ground: work, studies, family, business.
Temporary residence and workOne permit instead of two. It names the employer and the terms, and changing either means paperwork.
Permanent residenceAn open-ended permit, with the card replaced every ten years.
EU long-term residentAfter five years of unbroken residence, subject to income and insurance conditions.
CUKR cardFor Ukrainian citizens holding UKR status. Three years, full access to the labour market.
Family memberA separate permit for a spouse and children, filed together or on its own.
What we do for you
We handle the case from the first conversation until you collect the card. The details of your permit are for the consultation.
After filing
- We book the visit and say what to bring
- We answer the office's letters
- We watch the deadlines until the decision
Where to start?
Describe your situation briefly. We will tell you which permit fits and what to gather.
Get advice on your caseHow long it takes and when the clock starts
The statutory limit is 60 days, but…
It runs not from sending the application but from the later of two events: an application free of formal defects, and filing the documents the voivode asked for (art. 112a of the Act on Foreigners). Two people who filed on the same day can therefore wait very different amounts of time.
In practice the large voivodeships take longer. An appeal is filed within 14 days. In a temporary residence permit case the Head of the Office for Foreigners has 90 days to decide it (Art. 112a(4) of the Act on Foreigners).
What speeds things up and what slows them down
- Slows: formal defects, because every request for more documents adds weeks
- Slows: an out-of-date income certificate or contract
- Slows: delaying the fingerprint appointment
- Speeds: a complete set at once and a quick reply to letters
The statutory deadline for a decision cannot be shortened. What can be shortened is the time lost to missing documents and summonses, and that is the one thing an honest agency promises.
The CUKR residence card for Ukrainian citizens
A separate route for people with UKR status: temporary protection exchanged for a three-year residence card. Applications accepted until 4 March 2027.
Conditions we check before filing
- A valid PESEL UKR on the day of filing
- A valid PESEL UKR on 4 June 2025
- A valid PESEL UKR also on the day the card is issued
- UKR status held without a break for at least 365 days
- A child born in Poland after 23 February 2022 needs a PESEL UKR on the filing day and on the issue day, and the mother must hold a CUKR card and have come to Poland after 23 February 2022. gov.pl/udsc
What you gain and what you lose
The card gives three years of residence and full access to the labour market without a separate permit. You visit the voivodeship office once, to collect the card: fingerprints are not taken in this procedure.
When you collect the card, your UKR status changes to CUKR. You then lose the support tied to UKR status, such as free accommodation and meals in collective accommodation centres. You are entitled to benefits under other laws, such as 800+, if you meet their conditions. We say this plainly before filing, so that the decision is an informed one.
With a CUKR card you work without a separate permit: see current job offers.
Hiring people with a CUKR card? This is how we work with companies.
Four sentences we hear from people, none of them true
“I filed, so I can work”Filing alone creates no right to work. You keep working on the basis you held immediately before filing: with a permit or declaration, for the same employer and on the same terms.
“With the stamp I will visit family in Germany”Your stay is legal because you applied while your stay was legal. The MOS certificate only confirms this, and only inside Poland: you cannot travel around the Schengen area on it, and on its own it does not let you return. You come back on the usual entry terms: a valid passport plus a visa if you need one, or visa-free travel.
“The agency will file it for me”You send the application from your own MOS account and sign it yourself, with a trusted profile or a qualified electronic signature. For a child, a parent or guardian signs. Someone can help; nobody can do it instead of you.
“A residence card is citizenship”They are two different things. The card confirms that a residence permit has been granted. Citizenship is granted by the President, while a voivode can recognise a person as a Polish citizen in a separate procedure.
Questions people type into a search box
How do I check what stage my application is at?
An application filed through the MOS portal shows its status in your own account. A paper case will not appear there: that leaves contact with the voivodeship office, and you need the reference number from the filing confirmation. Write it down straight away, because without it the office will not find the case quickly.
My card is expiring and there is still no decision. What now?
If you filed before your legal stay ended and the application had no formal defects, your stay remains legal until the final decision. For an application filed through MOS since 27 April 2026, a certificate downloaded from the system confirms it: this procedure has no passport stamp. People who applied earlier have the stamp. Neither the certificate nor the stamp lets you travel around the Schengen area or return from abroad.
I hold a card with work and want to change employer. Is a notification enough?
No. A single permit names a specific employer and specific terms, so a change requires the permit to be amended or a new application. Merely informing the office creates no right to work for someone else, and working without a ground hurts both sides.
What happens after a refusal?
You may appeal to the Head of the Office for Foreigners within 14 days of service. Only a final decision closes the case: the 30 days to leave run from service of the Head of the Office's decision, or, without an appeal, from the day the voivode's decision became final. An appeal makes sense when what was missing can still be supplied, and we say so openly.
Does a child need a card of their own?
Yes, every person has their own permit and their own card. For a minor the application is filed by a parent or legal guardian, usually together with their own. We prepare the child's paperwork together with yours.
Can the agency go to the office instead of me?
Not for a first card: the office takes fingerprints when you come in person, and no power of attorney replaces that. A representative can, however, receive letters, send in missing documents and handle correspondence, and that is usually the largest part of the work.
I am losing my job. How long do I have to notify the voivode?
With a temporary residence and work permit you notify the voivode in writing within 15 working days of losing the job (article 121 of the Act on Foreigners). The employer has a separate duty to notify the voivode within 15 days. Call us straight away: we help prepare the letter and check what happens next with your card.
Our guide sets out what to do after losing your job.
A question about your own situation?
Write two sentences: what document you hold now and what has changed. We reply during office hours.
Phone+48 574 679 797
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HoursMonday – Friday, 9:00 – 17:00
OfficeŻurawia 6/12 lok. 749, 00-503 Warsaw
Case handlingSee what we do, step by step