Fast residence permit in Poland – is it possible?

This article will tell you how long the procedure for issuing a residence permit in Poland should take and what you can do if the procedure takes longer.

Problems with the prolonged duration of procedures for obtaining a residence permit in Poland have been going on for many years.

A few years ago, on behalf of a client who is a US citizen, I filed a reminder regarding the protracted processing of her residence permit application, followed by a complaint to the Voivodeship Administrative Court. The result? The court acknowledged the complaint and a residence permit for the client was quickly issued.

Would such action be possible today, in 2025? You will find out in the article below. I invite you to read it!

 What are the official statutory deadlines for processing applications for residence permits?

The Foreigners Act specifies how long the procedure for granting a residence permit in Poland should take. According to these provisions, you should receive a temporary residence permit within 60 days of submitting your application. In turn, you should receive a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU resident’s residence permit within 6 months of submitting your application.

Sounds like an utopia? If you have already had contact with the authorities dealing with the legalisation of foreigners’ residence in Poland, then unfortunately yes. That’s how it sounds. It would be really good if foreigners’ cases were considered within these statutory time limits. Unfortunately, it is not how it works.

Why are the deadlines for granting residence permits not being met?

Before I explain what you can do now to speed up the process of obtaining a residence permit, you may be interested in knowing what is causing such a long wait.

In Poland, there is a stereotype of a slow-moving civil servant, leisurely drinking coffee in the morning and just waiting until 3 p.m., when they can happily and not too tired with their work go home. However, this is a myth. A myth that is unfair to civil servants. I have been observing their work for many years and I absolutely cannot confirm this.

So what are the reasons for these delays? The answer to this question can be found in a report by the polish Supreme Audit Office (NIK).

Between 2021 and 2023, the NIK audited five voivodeship offices with regard to the issuance of residence permits for foreigners. The NIK revealed many irregularities, the most serious of which concerned inactivity and, in some cases, gross delays. The longest processing time revealed during this audit was 2,700 days!

The reason for such large delays are staff shortages. The offices are receiving an increasing number of cases concerning residence permits, and staff capacities are insufficient.  The NIK report revealed that the number of applications per employee in 2023 ranged from 189 in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship Office to 500 in the Łódzkie Voivodeship Office. In Wielkopolska, on the other hand, there were 982 cases per employee in the first half of 2023 alone.

Negative consequences of long waiting times for residence permits

If you have submitted a valid application for a residence permit – i.e. you have submitted a complete application or an application completed in accordance with the authority’s request and you have submitted this application on time, i.e. no later than on the last day of your legal stay in Poland, you will remain in Poland legally for the duration of the entire procedure.

In such a situation, the voivode will place a stamp in your passport confirming that you have successfully submitted an application for a residence permit. This stamp will also mean that your stay in Poland is legal until the day on which the decision on granting a residence permit becomes final.

This is good news, because it means that while you are waiting for your residence permit, you are staying in Poland legally, regardless of how long the wait may be.

Unfortunately, however, such a stamp in your passport is not a basis for crossing the Polish border, i.e. you can leave Poland, but (without another basis for doing so, e.g. a visa) you will not be able to return to Poland. Therefore, such delays in proceedings often affect your private, family and professional life. While waiting for a residence permit, in many cases you cannot without consequences leave Poland to visit your family or go on a business trip.

Reminder and complaint to the administrative court regarding the excessive length of proceedings – can they currently be submitted in cases concerning residence permits?

Residence permits are issued under administrative procedures to which the Polish Code of Administrative Procedure applies, among others. It provides legal remedies for a party if their case is being dealt with longer than necessary (excessive length) or if their case has not been dealt with within the prescribed time limit (inaction). This measure is a reminder, which the party may submit to a higher authority.

The party that has submitted the reminder may also lodge a complaint with the competent Voivodeship Administrative Court against the inaction or excessive length of the proceedings conducted by the authority.

Everything sounds wonderful, and indeed, a few years ago, such measures were submitted by foreigners (or representatives acting on their behalf).

Unfortunately, however, this is no longer possible. Foreigners have been deprived of these legal remedies. Theoretically, this is temporary, as it is currently valid until 30 September 2025, but a law is currently being debated in parliament that may extend this period.

The provision that deprived foreigners of the right to file reminders and complaints to administrative courts in connection with the delay of authorities is Article 100d of the Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens in connection with the armed conflict in that country. This provision suspends the deadlines for issuing residence permits, while stipulating that despite the suspension of the deadline, the authorities may take action within the framework of the proceedings. At the same time, this provision indicates that if, in the period until 30 September 2025, the authority ceases to take action in the cases it is handling, or does so with a delay, no legal measures related to its inaction or delay, i.e. the above-mentioned reminders or complaints to the administrative court, may be taken on this basis.

If not by means of a reminder and a complaint to the administrative court, how else can you speed up the process of obtaining a residence permit?

Until the suspension of the provisions on reminders and complaints to the court regarding inaction in matters of legalising the stay of foreigners remains in force, you can try other measures that may speed up the processing of your case.

One such measure is to write to the authority handling your case, requesting that the proceedings be accelerated. In such a letter, you can indicate how long you have been waiting for your case to be considered (this will be a good argument, especially if the delays are already significant). You can also point out your personal situation, which is made more difficult by the long wait for a permit, e.g. illness of a close relative abroad, the need to go on a business trip abroad, etc. Remember to keep the letter polite but also assertive. Ultimately, since it is not possible to take formal legal action at this time, you can try such a ‘soft’ letter.

Is it possible to receive compensation for prolonged proceedings for granting a residence permit?

The possibility of obtaining compensation is related to a court ruling upholding a complaint of inaction or excessive delay. In other words, by filing a complaint to the Voivodeship Administrative Court regarding inaction or excessive delay, you can obtain a ruling in which the Court will admit that you are right and indicate that the deadlines in your case have been unreasonably exceeded. One of the elements of such a ruling may be  granting of compensation from the authority that exceeded the deadlines. The compensation may amount to a maximum of five times the average monthly salary in the national economy in the previous year (the amount of this salary is announced by the polish Central Statistical Office). Remember that the award of such compensation is not an obligation of the court, but depends on its decision. In addition, the amount of compensation indicated above is the maximum amount, which means that the court could also adjudge a lower amount.

Unfortunately, at this point, foreigners cannot file complaints regarding excessive length of proceedings or inaction, as this possibility has been excluded by Article 100d of the Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens in connection with the armed conflict in that country. At the time of publication of this article, this provision is valid until 30 September 2025. Therefore, unfortunately, the exclusion of the possibility of filing complaints to the Court also means the exclusion of the possibility of obtaining compensation in this procedure.

Frequently asked questions

How long will I have to wait for my application for a residence permit in Poland to be processed?

According to Polish regulations (the Foreigners Act), you should wait no longer than 60 days from the date of submitting your application for a temporary residence permit to be issued. On the other hand, you should receive a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU resident’s residence permit within 6 months from the date of submitting your application. Unfortunately, in practice, these time limits are much longer.

What can I do to speed up the processing of my case? 

Currently, you cannot file a reminder or a complaint to the Voivodeship Administrative Court, i.e. legal remedies provided for in the event of excessive delay or inaction of the Authority. At present, the possibility of using these remedies is suspended until 30 September 2025.  However, you can write a letter to the Authority handling your case and request it to be dealt with as a priority. In such a letter, you can indicate how long you have been waiting for your case to be processed and point out personal circumstances that are in favour of faster processing.

Can I get a compensation if my case is taking too long?

Unfortunately, the possibility of obtaining compensation in connection with a successful complaint about inaction or excessive delay is currently (until 30 September 2025) excluded by law.

Julia Dolińska
radca prawny 

Photo by Metin Ozer 

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