Extension of a national visa

When should I apply?

You should apply for the extension of a national visa not later than on the expiration date of the visa that you already own.

The national visa can be extended only once. The period of the stay on the grounds of the extension in your visa cannot exceed the period that is specified for the national visa, i.e 1 year.

If you apply to extend your stay in Poland before the expiry date of your legal status, you can legally remain in Poland while your application is pending. Make sure you have submitted an error-free application. Your passport must be valid at this time.

The Governor allows the extension of the national and Schengen visa only in extraordinary situations, it is when the events that are the reason of the request for the extension of visa came out independently from your will, and it was impossible for you to forecast it. We will be looking for any crucial professional or personal reason, or any humanitarian reason, that you cannot leave Poland before the expiration date of your visa or before the period of stay, included in the visa.

Before you apply, please read our tips on completing the application forms.

Where should I apply?

You may apply in person at the Department for Foreigners in Poznań or one of the office's delegations: Book your visit 

If you can't apply in person before your current legal status expires, please send your application on paper by post to meet the deadline.

What counts is the date of postage at the post office.

What documents do I need?

Documents required for getting the stamp in the passport (so-called formal deficiencies):

  1. Application form for national visa extension in 1 copy - fill in the application form in accordance with the instructions
  2. your valid travel document, which validity expires not earlier than after 3 months from the visa expiration date, for which you apply, and it includes at least two available pages and it was delivered during last 10 years,
  3. your photography,
  4. any documents that confirm:
  • goals and conditions of the stay that you are planning,
  • sufficient financial means of support during the whole period of your planned stay in Poland and for the return travel to your country of the origin or inhabitancy or for transit to another country, which gives permission to enter or the possibility of gaining such means in accordance with the law,
  • health insurance,
  • the credibility of your declaration on the intention to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland before the expiration date of the visa,
  • other circumstances given in the application.
  1. Proof of the stamp duty payment

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Documents required for the visa extension:

Documents that confirm an extraordinary character of the stay in Poland, which could not be forecasted by yourself, when you applied for your visa.

All the documents should be submitted in original copy/accredited copy.

What should I know?

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FAQ

My visa expires soon, what can I do to extend it?

The extension of the visa is possible only if during the stay in Poland circumstances occur such that you could not possibly forecast them in the time of submitting for the visa to the consul (count in-hospital stay, humanitarian, personal or professional reason that makes your leave from Poland...

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What kind of visa can I extend?

Governor can extend the visa in extraordinary circumstances, the national as well as the Schengen visa. You need to remember that the visa should be extended just once (the exception exists only in the situation when the foreigner is staying in the hospital.

For how long can I extend this visa?

Period of the stay based on the extended visa cannot exceed the maximum period defined for the described kind of visa:

  • 365 days – national visa (the exception exists for visa symbolized as D/-5, where the maximum period of the stay based on this visa equals 180 days in the...
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Is Governor able to extend the visa assigned by another country than Poland, in the Schengen-Zone?

Yes, Governor can extend the visa Schengen, also the visa which is extended by another country than Poland from the Schengen-Zone.

How will I know, whether the visa was extended, where can I pick it up?

In the moment of your request submission, you will receive a password and a login for an online application, in which you can track the progression of your case and where you can check, whether the decision on the extension of the visa has been delivered and whether it is ready. On the website,...

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