Internship

If you are planning to stay in Poland for a period longer than 3 months and your main purpose to stay in Poland is to serve an internship at the internship organizer, authorised by the minister competent for internal affairs, you should apply for temporary residence permit for an intern. Do have a look at the latest valid list of the authorised internship organizers that is announced in the official journal of the minister competent for internal affairs.

Internship means that you will perform tasks for the purpose of acquiring knowledge, practical skills and professional experience, but you will not perform work. Internship should be adequate to the field and level of the completed or ongoing studies.

The temporary residence permit for an intern can be granted for the period necessary for execution of the contract, which is the basis for your internship, but no longer than 6 months. Subsequent permit can be granted only once and for the period necessary for execution of the contract regarding internship, but no longer than 6 months.

If you submit your application on time and it does not contain any formal deficiencies — or if you correct any deficiencies within the deadline indicated by us — your stay in Poland will remain legal from the date of effective submission via MOS until the decision in your case becomes final.

Before you apply, read our tips on how to fill in an application form.

1. Go to mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl via login.gov.pl and create an account.
2. Read the requirements for the specific type of permit and purpose of stay, and gather all documents needed to complete the application in MOS.

3. Complete the application for a temporary residence permit by following the instructions displayed on the screen.
4. In the application, provide an email address where you will receive an access code to check the status of your case once your application has been registered by the Office.
5. You must attach a digital biometric photograph, scans/photos of all pages of your travel document, and confirmation of payment of the stamp duty fee.
6. Sign the application using a Trusted Profile and submit it in the MOS system.
7. After submitting the application, download the Official Acknowledgement of Receipt (UPO), which confirms that your application has been submitted. Keep this document safe.

The next step will be an in-person appointment to submit your fingerprints. During the visit, you will also complete other documents required to obtain a stamp in your passport.

Learn how to submit fingerprints.
Learn how to track the status of your case.

• Online application completed in the Case Handling Module,

• 1 digital photograph,

• Scans/photos of all pages of a valid travel document (original available for inspection). In particularly justified cases, if you do not possess a valid travel document and are unable to obtain one, you may scan another document confirming your identity,

• confirmation of the payment of stamp duty. 

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Documents necessary to be granted a temporary residence permit for an intern:

• Confirmation of graduating from university within 2 years directly prior to submitting the application for temporary residence permit for an intern (e.g. diploma certifying completion of university) or a document confirming ongoing studies at the university located outside of the European Union,

• Written contract concluded between you and the internship organizer, 

• Written declaration of an internship organizer of coverage the costs of issuing and implementing the decision on obliging the foreigner to return,

• Health insurance,

• Confirmation of having sufficient funds to cover the costs of your stay in Poland and return ticket to the country of origin for the period of the internship (after deducting the housing costs),

• house costing declaration.

• a document that confirms that you have guaranteed residence in Poland (residence provided)

• confirmation of completing a course in Polish or another language in which the internship takes place

Read our guide

Temporary residence permit for an intern or a volunteer does not give you the right to perform work without obtaining an additional work permit.

Please remember that you are obliged to inform the appropriate province Governor that granted your temporary residence permit if the reasons for giving it no longer apply. You must do so within 15 business days. 
If your residence permit was granted by the Head of the Office for Foreigners (the second instance authority), this information should be sent to the province Governor, the first instance authority examining your application.
If you do not fulfill this obligation, you might be refused a subsequent residence permit, if your application for the subsequent temporary residence permit was made before the end of a year before the expiration date of the previous residence permit or by the day in which the decision to withdraw the temporary residence permit has become final.

The residence card is issued after you have received your decision with your permit. Read how to receive residence card.