From 27 April 2026, applications for a temporary residence permit (karta pobytu) are filed only electronically, through the state portal MOS (Moduł Obsługi Spraw, mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl). Regional voivodeship generators, including Mazovia's InPol, no longer accept residence applications. Paper filing at the office window and submission by post have also been discontinued.

The application (wniosek) is now filled in, signed and submitted online — you no longer need to print it or come to the office in person. Let's go through it step by step, and through the spots where people usually slip up.

What has changed since last year

If you applied before, here is a short list of differences:

• One portal for all of Poland — mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl, not a separate voivodeship website.
• Login only via the trusted profile (profil zaufany) or a qualified electronic signature. Registration with just an email no longer exists.
• Electronic signature. You sign the application with a trusted profile, a qualified signature or a personal signature (podpis osobisty) and download the receipt confirmation — UPO (Urzędowe Poświadczenie Odbioru).
• The employer's annex goes through an email link. The employer fills in and signs their part online themselves, with their own trusted profile (or a qualified signature). A new application form has been in force since 1 December 2025, along with updated annex (załącznik) forms.
• Correspondence in your case goes through e-Doręczenia
• (electronic delivery). Decisions and summons from the office arrive in your electronic mailbox. (electronic delivery). Decisions and summons from the office arrive in your electronic mailbox.

What to prepare in advance

At the start, the portal itself reminds you what to gather. Prepare:

• A trusted profile (profil zaufany) in your name (or a qualified electronic signature / personal signature). Without it you cannot log in to MOS or sign the application. If you don't have a profile, set one up first — it's a separate, short procedure.
• A current photo as a file (required resolution — 684×893 pixels, JPG format).
• A valid identity document — a passport or another. You will need a scan of all passport pages in a single PDF file (up to 10 MB).
• Basic information about family members, staying in Poland
• Health insurance documents and documents confirming income..
• Information about your criminal record (karalność).
• The employer's email (or the internship/study organiser's), if your basis is work or study.
• Two proofs of the stamp-duty payment (opłata skarbowa): for processing the application and for issuing the residence card.

Attachments are accepted in JPG or PDF. Scan paper documents in advance, and combine multi-page ones into a single PDF of up to 10 MB.

Step-by-step instruction

Step 1. Log in via login.gov.pl

Go to mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl and log in via login.gov.pl with your trusted profile. The account is created by an adult applicant; related cases for children and a spouse are handled from the same account (for a minor, the application is filed by a parent or guardian).

Step 2. Choose the type of application

In the „Złóż wniosek online" section, select Zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy (temporary residence permit). Permanent residence, EU long-term resident and the CUKR application are also available here — don't mix them up.

Step 3. Confirm the oświadczenia (declarations)

Before filling in the form, the portal asks you to tick several declarations (oświadczenie): that you have read the information and that the application is completed in Polish. Until the boxes are ticked, the form sections are locked. Tick them all and click Przejdź dalej.

Important: the form is filled in in Polish. If you have no data for a field, don't leave it empty — write "brak" (none).

Step 4. Photo and the filing authority

Upload the photo (the „Prześlij fotografię" button, JPG 684×893). In the „Do:" field, choose the voivode for your place of stay — for example, Mazowiecki if you are in Warsaw.

You can keep the application as a draft: the wersja robocza mode saves what you've entered, and you can return to it later.

Step 5. Personal data (Dane osobowe)

This is part A of the form. Your surname and first name are pulled from the trusted profile. If you had a different surname before marriage, enter it in the previous-surnames field. Enter your father's and mother's names exactly as in their passports: this matters later for invitations and for umiejscowienie (transcription of civil-status records).

Enter the date of birth as year, month, day. Sex — „M" or „K". Choose marital status (stan cywilny) strictly from the options: panna, kawaler, mężatka, żonaty, rozwiedziona, rozwiedziony, wdowa, wdowiec. If you hold a Card of the Pole, nationality is Polak / Polka. Polak / Polka.

Step 6. Travel document and addresses

In part C, enter your passport details. If you have no valid passport and cannot obtain one, the details of another identity document are entered instead. Then come the addresses: country of origin, previous place of residence and place of stay in Poland — check that the Polish address has been filled in correctly.

Fill in "Adres w kraju poprzedniego zamieszkania" only if, before moving to Poland, you lived permanently or for a long time in another countrywhere you held a residence permit. If that wasn't the case, tick "Nie dotyczy" (not applicable).

Step 7. Family members in Poland

Enter all family members staying in Poland (not necessarily those living with you).

• Applicant is the mother: she enters the child and the husband.
• Applicant is the child (the application is filed for them): we enter the father, mother, brothers and sisters.

For each person you add a row (the „Dodaj" button): first name, surname, sex, date of birth and degree of kinship (stopień pokrewieństwa) from the drop-down list.

A common mix-up: there is no separate „żona" or „mąż" option on the list. For a spouse, choose „WSPÓŁMAŁŻONEK/WSPÓŁMAŁŻONKA". For a child — „SYN" / „CÓRKA", for parents — „OJCIEC" / „MATKA".

Step 8. Trips over the last 5 years

Indicate your stays in Poland and trips abroad over five years (country, period). If you don't have exact dates, you can give approximate ones.

Step 9. Funds and insurance

State the source of funds for your maintenance matching your basis: for work — the contract with the employer; for family reunification — for example, „UTRZYMANIE PRZEZ ŻONĘ" (maintenance by the wife). Next — health insurance: enter ZUS if contributions are paid for you, otherwise the number and name of the insurance. It must cover treatment in Poland for at least EUR 30,000 and be valid for at least a year.

⚠️ If you run a sole proprietorship (JDG) and at the same time have an employment contract, you cannot apply "on the basis of work" — only on the basis of business activity: it takes priority over the employment contract.

Step 10. Criminal record and justification

Answer the questions about your criminal record and pending cases (karalność) honestly. In the justification section (uzasadnienie), briefly explain the application for your basis.

Step 11. The employer's annex (załącznik)

If your basis is work or study, the required annex is filled in by the employer themselves (or the internship/study organiser), not by you. Which annex is needed depends on the basis:

• załącznik no. 1 — work, Blue Card, business activity, a position on a company's board;
• załącznik no. 2 — high qualifications / Blue Card long-term mobility;
• załącznik no. 3 — trainee or volunteer;
• załącznik no. 4 — scientific research;
• załącznik no. 5 — study.

How it works in practice (for annexes no. 1, 3 and 5):

1. You enter in the application the employer's email (or the organiser's).
2. MOS itself sends them a link through which they fill in their annex directly in the system.
3. The employer signs the annex with their own trusted profile (or a personal / qualified signature). For companies, a qualified signature is more often needed in practice — a qualified signature — it is applied by an authorised person of the company.

Important: you will be able to submit your application only after the employer has filled in and signed their part. Until they do, submission is blocked. So agree on the timing in advance and check that the employer has a means to sign (a trusted profile or a qualified signature).

Step 12. Signing and submission

On the final screen (the „Załączniki do wniosku" section) there are three buttons:

• Zapisz wersję roboczą — save the draft and come back later.
• Podpisz przez login.gov.pl i wyślij — sign and submit. The signature is applied with a trusted profile, a qualified signature or a personal signature.

Before that, in the „Skan dokumentu podróży" section, be sure to attach a scan of the passport as a single PDF file — with all pages of the document (up to 10 MB). The other attachments (the „Załączniki do wniosku" section) are optional but speed up processing: JPG or PDF, one file up to 10 MB, up to 50 MB in total.

After submission, download the UPO (Urzędowe Poświadczenie Odbioru). The day of filing is considered the date of successful submission in the system — keep the UPO; it's proof that you applied on time.

How long to wait for a decision?

Honestly: a long time. There are effectively no firm official deadlines right now — the standard administrative time limits in residence cases are suspended by law until 4 March 2027. This isn't a glitch at a particular office, but a rule in force.

In practice, in large voivodeships people wait for months. In Mazovia (Warsaw) — usually from 4–6 months and longer; from our audience's experience, an application filed in winter most often still has no decision by early summer. For some bases (for example, a type-A permit) the benchmark is the same — 4–6 months.

What matters while you wait:

• As long as the application is filed on time and you have the UPO (and later — a stamp in your passport), ), your stay in Poland is legal for the entire processing period.
• The office may send a wezwanie — a request to supply a document or correct a shortcoming. This is a routine situation, not a penalty; the key is to respond within the stated deadline, otherwise the case will be left without consideration.
• Correspondence goes through e-Doręczenia, so keep an eye on your electronic mailbox: both summons and the decision itself arrive there.

Why applications get refused

• An incomplete document package or a mismatch of data between the form and the attachments.
• An unconfirmed source of maintenance or insurance below the requirements.
• The wrong basis chosen (a common case — a sole proprietor applying "on the basis of work").
• Missed deadlines for supplementing materials after a summons from the office.

Since March 2026, the stamp duty is not refunded if you are refused — the cost of a mistake has gone up, so assembling the package by guesswork has become more expensive.

Frequently asked questions

Is InPol still needed?

No. From 27 April 2026, residence applications are filed only through MOS.

There's no „żona" on the kinship list — what do I choose for a wife or husband?

There is no separate „żona" or „mąż" option in MOS. For a spouse, choose „WSPÓŁMAŁŻONEK/WSPÓŁMAŁŻONKA" „WSPÓŁMAŁŻONEK/WSPÓŁMAŁŻONKA", for a child — „SYN" / „CÓRKA", for parents — „OJCIEC" / „MATKA".

I filled it in but attached the wrong documents — is that critical?

The system checks formal completeness and will flag shortcomings. Still, it's better to assemble the package carefully from the start, especially given that the fee isn't refunded on refusal.

A wezwanie came asking me to supply a document — is that a penalty?

No, it's an ordinary part of the procedure. Just supply what's needed within the stated deadline. The real danger is missing the deadline: then the case may be left without consideration.

What can I do while the card is "in progress"?

Your stay is legal under the stamp; you can live and work (if your basis gives access to the labour market). But note a practical snag: some banks (for example, PKO, Santander) sometimes restrict access to your account or services while the "card is in progress" — check with your bank in advance.

Can I stop and finish filling it in later?

Yes. Turn on the draft mode (wersja robocza) — what you've entered will be saved.

We'll help you file without mistakes

The residence card is our core service. If you'd rather not deal with MOS, the trusted profile, choosing the basis and assembling the documents on your own, we handle the filing end to end: we check the basis, prepare and submit the application, and stay with you until you receive the card.