Wezwanie do uzupełnienia braków: residence permit letter

A wezwanie do uzupełnienia braków is the voivode's request to fill gaps in your temporary residence (karta pobytu) case. Formal gaps get at least 7 days, supporting documents at least 14, counted from delivery. For applications filed through MOS, the Mazowiecki Voivodeship Office in Warsaw takes replies only through e-Doręczenia. Miss a formal-gap deadline and the application is dropped unexamined.

Since 27 April 2026 every temporary residence application in Poland goes through MOS (Moduł Obsługi Spraw, the online filing portal), and everything that follows in Warsaw is electronic too. That's where the most common mistake we've seen this autumn comes from. People log into MOS looking for an "upload more documents" button. There isn't one. The Office for Foreigners (UdSC) says so plainly in its MOS Q&A: you can't communicate with the voivode through the portal, and MOS won't tell you that documents are missing either.

Which letter did you get?

"Wezwanie" (summons, request) appears on several different letters, and they don't carry the same risk. Look at the article of law the letter cites and at the phrase "pod rygorem..." ("on pain of...") in the instructions: that's the consequence if you stay silent.

KPA is the Code of Administrative Procedure. The Warsaw office usually sends one combined letter: a summons for fingerprints plus a list of documents. Article 106e(2) allows that, but the deadlines inside one letter can differ, 7 days for the visit and 14 for the documents. Work to the shorter one.

The last row deserves a second look. A notice that evidence gathering is complete isn't a refusal yet. Under art. 79a KPA the office has to list the conditions you haven't proven, and you may send more evidence within the time given. We've seen cases rescued at exactly this step.

Deadlines: 7 and 14 days, and how to count them

Seven and fourteen are minimums. The office can give you more, and then the date in the letter controls. Article 106f even tells the voivode to consider how long a particular document takes to obtain, which helps if you need a certificate from your home country.

Counting starts the day after delivery (art. 57 § 1 KPA). If the last day lands on a weekend or public holiday, it moves to the next working day (art. 57 § 4). A real example from this calendar: open a wezwanie on Wednesday 4 November and day seven is 11 November, Independence Day, so your deadline becomes Thursday 12 November.

Now e-Doręczenia (Poland's official electronic registered mail), where most people slip. A letter counts as delivered when you open it. If you never open it, art. 42(2) of the Electronic Delivery Act treats it as delivered on the day after 14 days from arrival:

1. Thursday 1 October: the wezwanie lands in your mailbox, unopened.
2. Friday 16 October: it's deemed delivered anyway.
3. Friday 23 October: your 7 days for formal gaps run out.

The Warsaw office also says it may send summonses by e-mail as well as e-Doręczenia. If the same letter reaches you in both places on different days, count from the earlier one. Arguing about the delivery date on day eight is a poor strategy.

How to reply: e-Doręczenia, not MOS

Here's the procedure the Mazowiecki office describes for MOS cases, with what we've learned applying it:

1. Wait for your case number (sygnatura sprawy). It arrives by text or e-mail once the office registers the application, and it asks you not to send documents before that.
2. Open your e-Doręczenia mailbox. You need a PESEL number and a profil zaufany (Poland's free trusted e-ID); our guide to PESEL, profil zaufany and mDowód covers both.
3. Put the case number and the applicant's full name in the subject line. In the body, add date of birth, citizenship and current address.
4. One message per case. A family of three with three applications sends three separate messages, even if the documents overlap.
5. Attach a cover letter (pismo przewodnie) listing what you're sending, point by point against the wezwanie. The office's own template, "Pismo przewodnie do wysyłanych dokumentów do WSC", is in the downloads section of migrant.wsc.mazowieckie.pl.
6. Sign the cover letter with your profil zaufany and send it. Keep the proof of sending and proof of receipt: under art. 57 § 5 KPA you've met the deadline if the message reached the office's address in time and you got that proof.

The rule that catches people out is the format of evidence. Warsaw accepts documents only as electronic originals, signed by whoever issued them with a qualified signature, profil zaufany or personal signature. An electronic certificate from eZUS works, and so does a sworn translator's electronic translation with their qualified signature. A phone photo of a paper contract doesn't. A paper original first has to become an electronic copy certified by a notary, or by an advocate, legal adviser (radca prawny) or tax adviser acting as your representative in the case. We explain translation formats in our piece on translating documents for karta pobytu.

What about post? Under art. 57 § 5 KPA a letter handed to Poczta Polska before the deadline counts as on time, and UdSC's Q&A mentions paper letters for things outside MOS. Still, the Warsaw office asks people with MOS cases not to post paper, and its counters now only take fingerprints and check passports. We keep post as an emergency exit for the night login.gov.pl goes down, then resend electronically.

No e-Doręczenia and no quick way to set it up? A representative (pełnomocnik) can reply from their own address. After filing, they're allowed to submit letters and documents in the case within their power of attorney.

What Warsaw asks for most often

In our cases this year the list repeats itself: a current employment contract (umowa o pracę) or an annex if pay or position changed after filing; a corrected employer annex (Załącznik nr 1) when the PKD code or job title doesn't match the contract and the company register; last year's PIT-11 or PIT-37 and a ZUS contributions certificate; a photo that failed the check (684 × 883 px, up to 2.5 MB, no older than 6 months); a scan of every passport page, blank ones included; and for family cases, birth or marriage certificates with an apostille and sworn translation.

Here's how it plays out. Say a cook at a Mokotów restaurant filed a work-based application in May. The wezwanie sits unopened in e-Doręczenia for 12 days because he's waiting for something to appear in MOS. He opens it on day 13, two days before deemed delivery, which still leaves the full 7 days after it. The list is short: a contract annex after a pay rise and a fresh ZUS certificate. The certificate can be ordered electronically through eZUS and the annex signed electronically (qualified signature for the employer, profil zaufany for him), so the reply goes out within days. Had he opened the letter when it arrived, one evening would have been enough.

You've missed the deadline. Now what?

For formal gaps the result is harsh. The application is left without consideration, and your legal stay goes with it: under art. 108 of the Act on Foreigners, stay during the case counts as legal only if formal gaps were fixed on time. If your visa or previous card has already expired, you're now in Poland illegally, and a new application filed in that position runs into a refusal under art. 100(1)(9).

Your options:

1. Ask for the deadline to be restored (przywrócenie terminu, art. 58 KPA). You have 7 days from the moment the obstacle ended, you must send the missing documents with the request, and you need to show credibly that it wasn't your fault. A hospital discharge note works. "I didn't check the mailbox" doesn't.
2. If you did reply on time and the office dropped the application anyway, or called a substantive question a "formal gap", that's not a decision, so there's no appeal (odwołanie). The route is a ponaglenie (formal reminder) followed by a complaint about inaction to the administrative court (WSA); see our article on ponaglenie and the WSA.
3. If you're still legally in Poland on another basis, filing a fresh application in MOS is often faster than fighting for the old one.

Missing an evidence deadline under art. 106f doesn't end the case; the voivode decides on what's there, which usually means a refusal. You then have 14 days to appeal to the Head of UdSC through the same voivode, as described in our guide to a karta pobytu refusal; we prepare these appeals through our appeals service. Missing the fingerprint visit leads to discontinuance, also a decision with 14 days to appeal; more in our article on fingerprints for karta pobytu.

Can I get more time to reply?

You can ask before the deadline runs out, through e-Doręczenia, with a reason and proof. It works best for documents from abroad: attach confirmation that you've already ordered the certificate and when it's due. Until the office agrees, treat the original deadline as live and send what you already have. For formal gaps we wouldn't count on an extension; Warsaw calls that deadline "nieprzekraczalny", final.

What if I'm abroad when the letter arrives?

You can reply from anywhere, since e-Doręczenia works worldwide. The catch is the fingerprint summons, which usually comes in the same letter: you have to attend in person, and the UPO receipt or the filing certificate won't get you back into Poland. You need a visa or visa-free entry. For a longer absence, appoint someone in Poland to receive mail for you (pełnomocnik do doręczeń); the office's template is on migrant.wsc.mazowieckie.pl. Our article on the passport stamp and waiting for the card covers travel during the case.

You can track your case in inPOL (the voivode's case-status portal), using the code Warsaw e-mails after registration, or by phone on 22 695 67 73. If nothing has moved for months, check for an unanswered wezwanie first; our case status guide for Mazowieckie explains the next steps.

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