The EU long-term residence permit (zezwolenie na pobyt rezydenta długoterminowego UE) is issued on a third-country national’s demand if he or she:[1]
- Resides in Poland legally and continuously for at least five years immediately prior to the submission of the application for the EU long-term residence permit,
- Has stable and regular resources which are sufficient to maintain him or herself and the dependent family members;
- Has appropriate medical insurance;
- Has confirmed knowledge of the Polish language (the documents confirming having this knowledge are required). Knowledge of the language should be confirmed by a certificate of Polish language proficiency of at least the B1 level.[2] In 2023, the rules concerning the language requirement were changed. More possibilities to confirm knowing the language proficiency at the B1 level were introduced and are specified in the Ordinance of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration of 31 May 2023, in force since 24 June 2023.[3] As a result, knowledge of the Polish language on B1 level can be demonstrated, among other ways, through TELC and ELC certificates.[4] Alternatively, knowledge of Polish can be confirmed by a certificate of completion of a school or university in Poland or a certificate of completion of a school or university with Polish as the language of instruction abroad.[5] However, legislative changes in this matter are planned. According to proposed amendments, certificates of completion of post-secondary schools with Polish as the language of instruction will no longer be sufficient documentation to confirm knowledge of the Polish language.[6] As of 9 April 2025 the law has not been yet adopted.
Resources are considered sufficient, if for 3 years immediately before the submission of the application a third-country national had an income higher than the income threshold for obtaining social assistance in Poland.[7]
The entire period of a refugee’s stay in Poland during the asylum procedure is taken into account in the calculation of the 5-year period if the asylum procedure lasted more than 18 months. In other cases, half of this period is considered.[8] If the previous asylum procedure ended with a refusal of international protection, the period of this procedure is not taken into account at all.[9] A procedure for an EU long-term residence permit cannot be initiated if a foreign national is a humanitarian protection beneficiary or is seeking asylum.[10]
Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection may also apply for a permanent residence permit (zezwolenie na pobyt stały) if they continuously stayed in Poland for at least 5 years immediately before the submission of the application. The asylum procedure is taken into account in this calculation.[11] The same rules apply to beneficiaries of humanitarian protection but the asylum procedure is not counted to the 5 years period.
The fee for an EU long-term residence permit and a permanent residence permit is PLN 640 / approx. EUR 148.
The authority responsible for the issuance of the EU long-term residence permit and a permanent residence permit is Voivode having jurisdiction over the current place of stay of the applicant.[12] The Head of the Office for Foreigners is a second instance administrative body competent to handle appeals against first instance decisions.
Since 29 January 2022, the procedure should last 6 months (instead of 3) at the first instance and additionally, a maximum of 3 months (instead of 2) if an appeal was lodged.[13] In 2024, the proceedings regarding the EU long-term residence permit lasted, on average, 300 days, and the proceedings concerning the permanent residence permit 234 days.[14] Thus, these proceedings often take many months, if not years. The backlog of cases before the Voivodes is still rising, leading to significant delays in decision-making. Thus, administrative courts have to deal with rising number of complaints on the excessive proceedings. One court – in Łódź – intervened in this regard before the respective Voivode, indicating on the constant violation of rights of third-country nationals.[15] In 2023, the Supreme Audit Office confirmed the deepening inefficiency of the Voivodship Offices.[16]
Moreover, in reaction to the war in Ukraine and the large numbers of people seeking temporary protection in Poland, all the time limits in the cases already considered by Voivodes were suspended. In new cases, the time limits did not start to run.[17] Questions arose whether the suspension applies to all foreigners or only Ukrainian citizens, but in 2024, the Supreme Court confirmed that these regulations apply to all foreigners, regardless of their nationality.[18] In 2024, this suspension was prolonged until 30 September 2025.[19] This affected the third-country nationals’ right to complain regarding the excessive length of their proceedings.[20]
The Commissioner for Human Rights, for several years, has observed the issue of delays in administrative proceedings by the Voivodes in matters of foreign nationals’ residence legalisation, including EU long-term residence permits and permanent residence permits.[21] In response to these delays, changes to the law are planned. One of the proposed solutions is to change the method of submitting applications for temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits, and long-term EU resident permits. Applications could be submitted exclusively in electronic form through a dedicated portal. As of April 9, 2025, the law has not yet been adopted.[22] According to the Commissioner for Human Rights, the changes may not lead to improvements due to staff shortages and the simultaneous increase in case workloads. They may also lead to digital exclusion for some third-country nationals who are unable to submit their applications electronically.[23]
Since 2017, no data was made available on the number of beneficiaries of international protection granted EU long-term resident status. In 2024, 489 beneficiaries of international protection were granted permanent residence permit.[24]
[1] Article 211(1) Law on Foreigners.
[2] Article 211(1)(3) and (3) Law on Foreigners.
[3] Office for Foreigners, ‘Zmiany w przepisach regulujących udzielanie zezwoleń na pobyt rezydenta długoterminowego UE’, 28 June 2023, available in Polish here.
[4] The Regulation of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of May 31, 2023, on the list of certificates of Polish language proficiency confirming the required knowledge of the language for granting a long-term EU resident permit.
[5] Article 211(3) (2) and (3) Law of Foreigners.
[6] Article Article 6(16) of the Draft Law on Amending Certain Laws in Order to Eliminate Irregularities in the Visa System of the Republic of Poland, available in Polish here.
[7] Article 211(2) Law on Foreigners.
[8] Article 212(1) (2) and (3c) Law on Foreigners.
[9] Article 212(2)(8) Law on Foreigners.
[10] Article 213(1)(e)-(f) Law on Foreigners.
[11] Article 195(1)(6) and Article 195(3) Law on Foreigners.
[12] Articles 201 and 218(1) Law on Foreigners.
[13] Articles 210 and 223 Law on Foreigners.
[14] Information provided by the Office for Foreigners, 19 February 2025. In some voivodships, the waiting period may be as long as 12-15 months, see e.g. Fundacja EMIC, ‘Czekając na zwykłe życie – legalizacja pobytu migranta/migrantki w Polsce’, available in Polish here 11 August 2023.
[15] Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Rzecznik: przewlekłość załatwiania spraw cudzoziemców może jeszcze bardziej się wydłużyć. Odpowiedź MSWiA’, July and November 2023, available in Polish here.
[16] Supreme Audit Office, ‘Obsługa obywateli polskich i cudzoziemców w jednostkach administracji publicznej’, 28 November 2023, available in Polish here.
[17] Article 100c of the Law on assistance to Ukrainian nationals.
[18] See judgments of the Supreme Administrative Court no. II OSK 644/24, 25 July 2024, no. II OSK 1720/24, 05 December 2024.
[19] Article 100d of the Law on assistance to Ukrainian nationals, added by the amendment of 13 January 2023 and changed by the Law amending the Special Law of 15 May 2024, in force since 1 July 2024.
[20] Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Rzecznik: przewlekłość załatwiania spraw cudzoziemców może jeszcze bardziej się wydłużyć. Odpowiedź MSWiA’, July and November 2023, available in Polish here.
[21] Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Opóźnienia i błędy w sprawach legalizacji pobytu cudzoziemców. Odpowiedź MSWIA’, October and November 2024, available in Polish here.
[22] Draft law of 04 December, available in polish here.
[23] Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Składanie przez cudzoziemców wniosków pobytowych wyłącznie przez Internet. Opinia Rzecznika’, 9 January 2025, available in Polish here.
[24] Information provided by the Office for Foreigners, 19 February 2025.