A karta pobytu cannot be extended. You file a new application for the next temporary residence permit through the MOS portal no later than the last day of your legal stay, which is usually the last day the card is valid (art. 105(1) of the Act on Foreigners). If the application is on time and has no formal defects, or you fix them within the deadline set, your stay is legal until the decision becomes final (art. 108(1)(2)). Temporary residence cases before the Mazowiecki voivode took 394 days on average in 2026, so you will spend much of that time on a certificate, not on a card.
There is no "45 days before expiry" rule
You will find a rule online that you must apply 45 or 30 days before the card expires. The law has no such deadline. An application filed on the card's last valid day is on time.
There are still four reasons not to wait until the last day:
- For a work-based permit you cannot send the application without Załącznik nr 1 (annex no. 1) signed by the employer. MOS sends the employer a link valid for 30 days and blocks filing until it is signed.
- If the portal itself is down on your last day, you may file up to the 3rd working day after the outage ends (art. 225c). The exception does not cover your own problems: a missing employer signature, an expired Profil Zaufany, the wrong photo.
- Art. 108 protects you only if the application has no formal defects or you fix them on time. An application left unexamined does not protect your stay.
- While the card is valid you can travel within Schengen. After it expires you are left with a certificate that gives no such right.
A calendar for the card's last months
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 4 months before | Check whether your basis has changed. After 5 years of legal stay consider permanent residence or EU long-term resident status. Check your passport's validity. |
| 3 months before | Collect documents and order translations in electronic form. Agree the salary and period of work for Załącznik nr 1 with your employer. |
| 6-8 weeks before | Fill in the MOS application. A draft is kept for 45 days from the last change. Enter the employer's e-mail and pay the fees. |
| 2-3 weeks before | Send the application and download the UPO. This is our advice, not a legal requirement: it leaves time to fix something that goes wrong. |
| Last day the card is valid | Statutory deadline. |
Salary in 2027: a trap for applications filed in autumn
From 1 January 2027 the minimum wage is PLN 4,950 gross (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1213); in 2026 it is PLN 4,806. The Mazowiecki office stresses that the terms in Załącznik nr 1 must be current on the day the permit is issued and the salary cannot be below the minimum wage. With average processing above a year, an application filed in October 2026 with PLN 4,806 will almost certainly be decided in 2027. It is better if the employer states at least PLN 4,950 from the start, or is ready to send an update when asked.
What happens after you send the application
- You download the UPO. The application counts as filed once it is signed and the system has generated the UPO (art. 106d(6)).
- An official checks the application and MOS issues a zaświadczenie (certificate of filing) with a QR code. It replaces the old passport stamp (art. 108(1)(1)) and is free.
- The Mazowiecki office e-mails you the case number and a code for the inPOL foreigner portal, where you follow the status.
- You receive a summons to appear in person: fingerprints, signature sample, original passport. Fingerprints are taken for every new application (art. 106b). If you do not appear, the voivode discontinues the case (art. 106i) and the fee is lost.
- Documents the office asks for go through e-Doręczenia. The deadline for them cannot be shorter than 14 days (art. 106f).
- After the decision the office tells you by SMS or e-Doręczenia when and where to collect the card.
How to get through the form itself is shown in our step-by-step MOS guide.
Can you keep working
Yes, if you file for the next residence and work permit while the current one is valid, in order to continue the same job. That work on the existing terms is then legal until the decision becomes final (art. 21(1) and (3) of the Act of 20 March 2025 on entrusting work to foreigners).
This protection does not cover a new employer. If the new application names another company, until the decision you work there only with a separate basis: a work permit, an oświadczenie or, for Ukrainian nationals, a powiadomienie filed by the employer with the labour office (until 5 March 2029). Deadlines when you change jobs are covered in our article on changing employer.
People who had free access to the labour market, for example because of studies, marriage to a Polish citizen or family reunification, keep it while waiting for the next permit if they filed on time (art. 3(1)(18)).
Travel while you wait
Once the card expires you have the certificate. The MOS portal describes its effect plainly: it does not allow travel within the Schengen area. You may leave for your country of origin or permanent residence, but to come back to Poland you need a visa if your country is visa-required, or you must meet the visa-free entry conditions. If you return visa-free, you may stay in Poland until the decision becomes final, even beyond 90 days.
Suspension of the proceedings at your own request ends the legal stay under art. 108 (art. 108(2)). Do not ask for a suspension without advice.
How long the decision takes
Average processing time for temporary residence cases, in days, from the Interior Ministry's reply to parliamentary question no. 18089 (as of 6 July 2026):
| Voivode | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mazowiecki | 153 | 200 | 271 | 394 |
| Małopolski | 128 | 145 | 183 | 242 |
| Dolnośląski | 401 | 472 | 273 | 303 |
| Wielkopolski | 329 | 302 | 344 | 339 |
| Łódzki | 336 | 284 | 336 | 386 |
| Pomorski | 314 | 383 | 544 | 598 |
| Śląski | 427 | 481 | 637 | 658 |
The ministry also gave the breakdown of 26,877 decisions by the Mazowiecki voivode in 2023-2026: 11% within 6 months, 48% in 6-12 months, 29% in 12-18 months, 9% in 18-24 months and 3% after more than two years. The statutory deadline is 60 days from a complete application (art. 112a). If the office exceeds it, you can file a ponaglenie (complaint about delay), described in our article on speeding up a karta pobytu.
What to check before the next application
Your employer changed while the card was valid. Check whether there was a decision changing the permit. If you worked for the new company without a change and without another basis, that was illegal work, and the voivode will see it in the next application.
You married a Polish citizen. A permit based on marriage gives free access to the labour market and does not tie you to an employer.
Five years of legal stay have passed. Instead of another temporary card you may qualify for permanent residence or EU long-term resident status.
You moved. The office must have your current address for delivery, otherwise letters are treated as delivered to the old one.
If only days are left or the card has already expired
A few days before expiry: file straight away, even if some documents that are not mandatory attachments are missing. Evidence can be sent when the office asks for it. Without Załącznik nr 1 signed by the employer, however, you cannot send a work-based application, so sort that signature out first.
The card has expired: art. 108 does not protect your stay, because the application was not filed during legal stay. What to do then is in the article my karta pobytu has expired.
What it costs
The stamp duty is PLN 440 for work and the EU Blue Card and PLN 340 on most other grounds, plus PLN 100 for the card. Since 5 March 2026 the duty is not refunded after a refusal or a discontinuation (art. 113c). The full table, bank accounts and family examples are in how much a karta pobytu costs.
Handling the next card with us costs from PLN 2,000 plus official fees. A consultation with an action plan costs PLN 300 and counts towards the fee.
Your next karta pobytu with LegalWin
This article is for information. A refusal of the next permit can be appealed with an odwołanie within 14 days of delivery: we draft it, and you file it yourself.
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