The Polish Minister of the Interior has announced that government has announced that the full functionality of the MOS system, (Case Handling Module), enabling the electronic submission of applications for a temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit, and EU long-term resident permit, will be made available to users on April 27, 2026.
What to Expect
- From that date, applications for temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits, and EU long-term resident permits may be submitted only electronically, via the MOS portal.
- Applications for the following temporary residence permits cannot be submitted via the new MOS portal. (These applications should still be submitted in paper form under the existing rules.)
- For the purposes of work as an intra-corporate transferee;
- For the purposes of long-term mobility of a manager, specialist or graduate trainee, under the intra-corporate transfer;
- For the purposes of family reunion – when a foreigner concerned resides outside Poland;
- For a family member of a citizen of Poland, of an EU Member State or of the United Kingdom, referred to in Article 10(1)(b) and (d) of the Withdrawal Agreement – when the foreign national concerned resides outside Poland;
- For a foreign national having a family life in the meaning of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms with a citizen of Poland, of an EU Member State or of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, referred to in Article 10(1)(b) and (d) of the Withdrawal Agreement – when the foreign national concerned resides outside Poland.
Persons whose legal stay expires before April 27, 2026, or approximately within two weeks after this date, are advised not to delay submitting their application for a residence permit in Poland and to submit it as soon as possible in paper form. Paper applications must be received by the Voivodeship Office before the launch date of the new MOS portal, i.e. by April 26, 2026. If an application is received after this date, it will not be processed (it will be left without consideration) – the date of posting will not be taken into account.
In the new MOS portal, it will be necessary to create a new user account. User accounts from the current version of MOS will not be transferred to the new MOS portal. The current version of the MOS portal will be disabled on April 17, 2026. User data will be deleted.
The applicant must sign the application electronically. For this they will need to have a trusted profile, qualified electronic signature or personal signature.
Access to the MOS system will be free of charge. Users can apply themselves, without the paid services of an agent. The only costs are the stamp duty at the time of applying (in the amount depending on the type of permit – between PLN 340 and 640) and a fee for issuing a residence card (PLN 100).
Following the verification and approval of the application by the voivodeship officer, the applicant will be able to download and print the certificate of application for a residence permit in Poland, which will replace the existing stamp in the passport. The services responsible for controlling legality of residence will receive information on the application submitted.
The voivod handling the case will request the applicant to appear in person to provide their fingerprints and specimen signature and present the original passport and, if needed, supplement information provided in the application or attach additional documents.
The voivod handling the case will send the decision to the delivery address provided by the applicant. Further official information is available here, here and here.
Erickson Insights & Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue monitoring developments and sharing updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or if you have case-specific questions.