Dictionary

A family member who is not an EU citizen with the right to reside in Poland

A family member who is not an EU citizen retains the right of residence in Poland in the case of:

1) the death of an EU citizen, if he stayed with him on the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period of not less than a year before the day of the death of the EU citizen;

2) divorce or annulment of a marriage with an EU citizen if:

  • the marriage lasted at least 3 years before the initiation of proceedings for divorce or marriage annulment, including one year during the EU citizen's stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
  • as the former spouse of an EU citizen, he/she is caring for their children, based on an agreement between former spouses or on the basis of a court decision, or
  • this is supported by particularly important circumstances, including those related to being subject to domestic violence during the marriage, or
  • as a former spouse of an EU citizen, he / she has the right to visit a minor child, based on an agreement between former spouses or on the basis of a court decision, when the agreement or decision indicates that the visit takes place on the territory of the Republic of Poland.

In the event of the death or departure of an EU citizen from the territory of the Republic of Poland, the child of an EU citizen staying and studying or studying in Poland and the parent caring for him, regardless of his/hers citizenship, retain the right to stay until the child completes their education or studies.

A household/a shared household

To a household belong persons who live together at the same address and share their costs of living, e.g. spouses and their children. 

A single person, who lives independently, creates a single household.

Access to the labour market

The Access to the labour market is an annotation to be found on the residence card if you are entitled to work in Poland or you are exempted from having a work permit. This annotation does not mean that you have full access to the Polish labour market. Your access may be limited, e.g. if you have received a temporary residence and work permit, you are allowed to work for a particular employer doing specific work, which is detailed in your decision. 

Act on foreigners

It is the legal act regulating the conditions of foreigners' entry and residence in the territory of Poland and the criteria for issuing particular residence permits.

Address/place of residence

Your place of residence while living in Poland is your usual location, where you normally spend the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for recreation, holiday, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage or, in default, the place of legal or registered residence.

Remember to give us your exact address. If you change your address, you have to inform us about that fact. Having your current residence address, we can contact you while the application is being processed. Your place of residence should be confirmed in writing by the authority (e.g. landlord), who lets you a house or a room. Check when we may ask you for a legal title to the premises.

Amendment of the decision

Change of employer or useremployer, obtaining special privileges to perform work without a work permit or change of the conditions specified in the decision on granting the permit for temporary residence and work conditions concerning position, amount of salary, working time, type of contract based on which the work is performed or the user's employer. Only a foreigner may apply for an amendment of the decision. The amendment of the decision is subjected to stamp duty. Detailed information can be found on the website.

Annex No 1 to the application for a temporary residence permit

An additional form for the application for a temporary residence permit, which you must submit if the purpose of your stay in Poland is to perform work, work in a profession requiring high qualifications, running a business. Annex 1 to the application for a temporary residence permit is completed and signed by your employer.

Annex No 1 download 

Appeal

It is your official disagreement with the issued decision. Your appeal must be submitted no later than 14 days after you have received the decision. You must submit it in a written form and signed, in Polish language or together with certified Polish translation. If you submit the appeal within 14 days period, the decision that you disagreed with will not be final, which means that your case will be still in the process until the appeal procedure is considered.

Applicant

An applicant is a person who signs the application. In the case of a minor, the application signed their parent or statutory representative.

Application for temporary residence due to studies

Temporary residence permit due to studies

Application form

A formal request for entry and remain in Poland needs to be signed and submitted to the competent authorities on a valid application form. The form is specified by law. A current application form you will find on our website: files to download

An application submitted on not valid/current application form and/or not signed is considered as a formal error/formal deficiency.

Application return

Your application will be returned to you, and your case will be closed if you fail to pay or prove that you have paid the stamp duty for your application. In such a case, your application will not be examined. We will issue a provision on its return. You have the right to complain if you do not agree with the provision.

Ascendant

An ascendant is your direct ancestor: your parent, grandparent, great grandparent, etc.

Attorney-in-fact/representative

It is a person specifically named by another through a written power of attorney to act for that person in particular activities. e.g. filing applications, documents, collecting personal mail etc. The scope of a power of attorney depends on your personal preference or trust. The attorney-in-fact will be able to act on your behalf after submitting a power of attorney to the office. Power of attorney is subject of the stamp duty (17PLN). There is no fee applied if the attorney-in-fact is spouse siblings, ascendants and descendants for the person giving the power. 

Authorisation to receive information on the status of the case

A written statement authorising a designated person to obtain information on the state and course of your case. The scope of authorisation covers only access to information. To authorise a person to receive information is not the same as the power of attorney.

Average gross salary in the national economy

It is the amount of income determined based on statistical data from a given year for the entire country or province announced by the President of the Central Statistical Office. Check the amount per province here.