Do I need Polish B1 for PR?

No. None of the permanent residence grounds requires a language exam. B1 comes later, when you apply for citizenship.

Can I skip TRC and apply directly for PR?

Yes - with Karta Polaka, as spouse of a Polish citizen after 3 years of marriage + 2 years of residence, or as a refugee after 5 years of status.

What happens when the card expires but status is indefinite?

Your status stays. You simply reissue the card - 100 PLN fee, apply a month before expiry.

When can I apply for citizenship after PR?

After 3 years of uninterrupted PR + Polish B1 + stable income + housing. Some paths are faster (spouses).

Do I lose my first citizenship?

Poland allows dual citizenship. But your home country may require renunciation - check separately.

How long does a PR decision take in Warsaw?

At the Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki in 2026, 6-14 months on average, and marriage-based cases can take longer. The first response, a confirmation or a wezwanie, usually arrives within 14 days of filing. If the statutory deadline is long past and nothing moves, you can file a ponaglenie.

What should I do if my PR application is refused?

Note the date the decision was delivered: from then you have 14 days to appeal (odwołanie) to the Head of the Office for Foreigners (Szef Urzędu do Spraw Cudzoziemców). It is filed through the voivode who refused, with no fee. While the appeal is pending the refusal is not enforced and your current residence ground stays valid. The points most often overturned are miscounted trips abroad and documents the office ignored. If the refusal is upheld, you have 30 days to file a complaint with the WSA.

Can I leave Poland while the PR case is pending?

While your temporary residence card is valid, you can travel on it. If it expires during the procedure, the UPO and the zaświadczenie o złożeniu wniosku confirm legal stay in Poland only, and you will need a visa or visa-free entry to come back. Long trips are best postponed until the decision, and while abroad keep checking eDoręczenia: you normally get 7 days to answer a wezwanie.

Permanent Residence Poland (Warsaw)

Status

indefinite

card reissued every 10 years

Official fees

640 + 100 PLN

application + card, only 100 PLN with Karta Polaka

Decision

6-14 months

Mazowieckie in 2026, longer for marriage cases

Outcome

near-citizen rights

excluding voting

Who qualifies for PR

01 / 06

Spouses of Polish citizens

After 3 years of marriage and 2 years of continuous TRC residence.

02 / 06

Persons of Polish origin

With evidence of Polish roots (parents / grandparents) and intent to settle.

03 / 06

Karta Polaka holders

Can apply straight for PR, no prior TRC needed.

04 / 06

Refugees & humanitarian status holders

After 5 years of refugee status or protection.

05 / 06

Children born in Poland

Minor children of PR holders born in Poland.

06 / 06

Trafficking victims

After at least 1 year on a temporary permit for trafficking victims, if they cooperated with law enforcement and have well-founded fears of returning home.

How the case runs

01
Ground assessment
30 min
We check if your case fits any PR ground.
02
Documents
2-4 weeks
Certificates, translations, proof of Polish roots if applicable.
03
Filing via MOS v2.0
1 day
Online application, no appointment. The 640 PLN stamp duty goes to the city office (in Warsaw, Urząd m.st. Warszawy), not the voivode. Karta Polaka holders don't pay it.
04
Biometrics
1 visit
Fingerprints at the voivode.
05
Review
6-14 months
We respond to requests via eDoręczenia.
06
Card collection
7 days
+100 PLN. After PR - citizenship application in 3 years.

/ documents

Document pack for PR

Wniosek o udzielenie zezwolenia na pobyt stały - prepared by us01
Passport + domestic documents02
Digital colour photo uploaded in MOS, not older than 6 months03
Ground-specific proof (marriage certificate, Karta Polaka, refugee decision)04
Polish-roots evidence - for the origin ground (archival records, ancestors' birth certificates)05
Income sources for the last 2 years (PIT, bank statements)06
Lease agreement or zameldowanie07
Health insurance08
Proof of the 640 PLN stamp duty (not needed with Karta Polaka)09

From our case files

What actually decides a permanent residence case at the Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki.

01

A break in residence nobody noticed

The most common reason for refusal. The applicant is sure the residence was unbroken, then the office checks the passport stamps and finds too much time away: more than 6 months abroad in a single year, or more than 10 months in total. Sometimes the gap is just a few days between one card expiring and the next application, and the chain snaps. Time on UKR temporary protection doesn't count. So before filing we rebuild every trip from stamps and tickets and match each card and decision.

02

One address across every document

Meldunek at one address, the lease at another, a third on the employment contract. To the inspector that signals you don't live where you say you do. It is the most frustrating kind of refusal: the person really does live in Poland, the paperwork just doesn't line up. Before filing we check the address on every document and, if needed, update the meldunek or the lease first. That takes a day or two, while challenging a refusal takes months.

03

Marriage is tested on daily life, not the certificate

For permanent residence through marriage to a Polish citizen, the voivode checks whether the marriage is genuine. If the spouses have no shared meldunek, joint account or joint lease, and they trip over everyday details at the interview (rozmowa), a refusal follows. Divorce before the decision removes the ground altogether. We gather evidence of life together in advance and attach it to the application from the start, rather than waiting for the office to ask.

04

What the urząd asks for

Within about 14 days of filing you usually get either a confirmation or a wezwanie do uzupełnienia braków. The most common requests: copies of every previous card and decision to cover each day of residence, PIT returns for recent years, contracts and bank statements if income is irregular, sworn translations and an apostille on the marriage certificate. The letter arrives only through eDoręczenia, and you normally have 7 days to reply. Miss it and the application is left unexamined.

05

How long a decision takes in Warsaw

In 2026 a permanent residence decision in Mazowieckie takes 6-14 months on average, and marriage cases often run longer, up to a year and a half. The fingerprint date comes through MOS or eDoręczenia. If you filed before your previous card expired, your stay is legal the whole time. When the statutory deadline is long past and the status won't move, we check for an unanswered wezwanie and then prepare a ponaglenie.

06

What MOS 2.0 changed

Since 27 April 2026 permanent residence applications go online through MOS only, and paper is refused. You log in through login.gov.pl with a profil zaufany, and every adult needs their own account: a husband cannot file for his wife from his login. The portal takes no payments: the 640 PLN fee goes by bank transfer with the applicant's name in the reference, and the receipt is attached. The passport stamp is gone, replaced by the UPO and the zaświadczenie o złożeniu wniosku, so save both straight away.

Our fee

Consultation

300 PLN

Document review and written plan · credited towards the service

PopularEnd-to-end PR handling

from 2,000 PLN

Turnkey

Polish-origin confirmation

from 2,000 PLN

Archival research billed separately

* You pay official fees yourself: 640 PLN stamp duty to the city office (in Warsaw, Urząd m.st. Warszawy), 100 PLN for the card to the voivode. Karta Polaka holders pay no stamp duty. The final fee is quoted after we review your case.

Legal basis

§01Law on Foreigners - Section IV (permanent residence)
§02Karta Polaka Act of 7 September 2007
§031951 Geneva Convention on refugee status

/ questions

Frequently asked

No. None of the permanent residence grounds requires a language exam. B1 comes later, when you apply for citizenship.
Note the date the decision was delivered: from then you have 14 days to appeal (odwołanie) to the Head of the Office for Foreigners (Szef Urzędu do Spraw Cudzoziemców). It is filed through the voivode who refused, with no fee. While the appeal is pending the refusal is not enforced and your current residence ground stays valid. The points most often overturned are miscounted trips abroad and documents the office ignored. If the refusal is upheld, you have 30 days to file a complaint with the WSA.