In short
- File in MOS before your current visa or permit expires; paper is no longer accepted for most permits.
- Pay two fees separately: stamp duty (340 or 440 zł for most permits) and 100 zł for the card.
- After filing, the office invites you to give fingerprints; then you can download a certificate of legal stay.
Since 27 April 2026, an application for a temporary residence permit (zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy, the permit behind the karta pobytu) is filed online, in the government's MOS system. Paper applications for most permits are no longer accepted. This checklist walks you through the process as it works in October 2026.
Before you start
You need two things before you can open the form:
- A way to log in. MOS opens through login.gov.pl. You sign in with a Trusted Profile (profil zaufany), a qualified electronic signature or a Polish e-ID. Most foreigners use a Trusted Profile, which requires a PESEL number. See how to get a Profil Zaufany.
- Time. Do not wait for the last day of your legal stay. The office itself advises against it: gathering every document in one day rarely works.
Old MOS accounts were deleted on 17 April 2026, so everyone needs a new account, even if you used the portal before.
Which applications go through MOS
Temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident applications go through MOS. A few temporary residence cases still go on paper, under the old rules: intra-corporate transfers, long-term mobility, family reunification with a person who is still abroad, and certain family members of EU, EEA, Swiss and UK citizens.
Is this your situation? Two minutes will tell.
Step by step
- Open a new MOS account at mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl and log in through login.gov.pl. Never give anyone your login details.
- Fill in the form for your purpose of stay: work, studies, family, business or another ground. You can save a draft and come back to it within 45 days of your last change.
- Attach your documents. Scan every page of your passport, add a current photo and the documents for your purpose: for example an employment contract, an admission letter or a marriage certificate, with sworn translations where needed. A photo can be up to 2.5 MB, other files up to 10 MB each and 50 MB in total.
- Get the employer's part signed electronically. If you apply for a residence and work permit, the attachment your employer fills in must carry the employer's electronic signature. A scanned paper signature is not enough.
- Pay the two fees and attach both confirmations. They go to different accounts, and you cannot pay inside MOS.
- Sign and submit. Your application counts as filed when MOS sends it to the voivodeship office. Save the confirmation of receipt.
- Wait for the summons. The office invites you in person to give fingerprints and a signature specimen and to show your original passport. The date comes from the office, not through MOS.
- Download your certificate. Once the office has checked that you filed in time and without formal defects, you can download a certificate (zaświadczenie) confirming your application. It replaces the old passport stamp.
Fees in 2026
- Stamp duty (opłata skarbowa): 440 zł for a residence and work permit; 340 zł for most other purposes, such as studies or family; 640 zł for permanent residence and EU long-term residence.
- Residence card: 100 zł, a separate payment. Some applicants pay a reduced 50 zł, including students and children under 16.
For applications filed since 5 March 2026, the stamp duty is not refunded if the case ends in a refusal or is discontinued. One more reason to file a complete application the first time.
Mistakes that cost months
- A missing or unreadable attachment. The office sends a formal notice with a short deadline. If you miss it, the application is left unexamined, as if you had never filed.
- An employer attachment signed on paper. It has to be signed electronically.
- Filing a second copy on paper. Applications that belong in MOS are not accepted on paper, and a paper copy does not help.
- Moving without telling the office. Decisions and letters are sent outside MOS, to your address for service. Keep it up to date.
The decision, and if it goes wrong
The voivode sends the decision by post or to your e-delivery address, not through MOS. If you are refused, you have 14 days to appeal, also outside MOS. Read what to do in those 14 days, and if the decision is slow, how long a karta pobytu takes.
If you would rather not do this alone, we prepare the whole application, check every document and sit with you while you submit it. See our temporary residence permit service.
Questions
No. The MOS account belongs to you and is opened with your own Trusted Profile. A representative can prepare everything, check it and sit with you while you submit, but cannot file in your name.
Not for applications filed since 5 March 2026. The stamp duty is no longer refunded when the case ends in a refusal or is discontinued.
The voivodeship office for the place where you actually live in Poland.
Sources
Written by Legacy Advisory team
General information, not advice on your case. Rules change; check the date above.