Poland has become an attractive place to both live and do business, but the rules for legalising your stay depend heavily on one thing that’s easy to overlook: whether you’re an EU/EEA/Swiss national or not. This guide walks through both tracks: the light-touch registration process for EU nationals, and the permit system for everyone else, plus what changed in the procedure in 2026.

EU vs. non-EU: two different legal regimes

When people say “residence permit,” they usually mean any document that lets them stay in Poland legally for longer than a short visit. In practice, though, two completely separate laws govern this, depending on your citizenship.

EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals (and their family members) fall under the Act of 14 July 2006 on the entry, residence, and exit of citizens of EU member states and their family members. Everyone else falls under the Foreigners Act (Ustawa o cudzoziemcach). The two regimes have almost nothing in common: different documents, different offices, different deadlines. So the first thing to establish is which one applies to you.

If you hold citizenship of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, or you’re the spouse of someone who does, skip ahead to the EU section below. Everyone else should go straight to the non-EU section.

Rules for EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals

If you’re coming from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you don’t need a visa or a residence permit to enter or initially stay in Poland. You can stay for up to 90 days without any formality (180 days if you’re job-seeking, or longer if you can justify it to the authorities).

Once that period is up, you’re required to register your stay with the local voivodeship office. This is a separate step from zameldowanie (address registration): registering your stay and registering your address are two different formalities, and one doesn’t replace the other.

To register, you need to confirm you fall into one of these categories:

  • an employee of a Polish company;
  • self-employed, or running a business in Poland;
  • the spouse of a Polish national;
  • a student enrolled to study in Poland;
  • someone with sufficient funds to support themselves.
Remember: staying in Poland without the proper registration isn’t legal, even if you’re an EU citizen: the free-movement right doesn’t remove this formality.

If your spouse is not an EU/EEA/Swiss national, they’ll need a different document: a “Residence card of a family member of an EU citizen” (Karta pobytu członka rodziny obywatela UE).

After 5 years of continuous residence in Poland, an EU national acquires the right of permanent residence and can apply for a confirming document (“Dokument potwierdzający prawo stałego pobytu”). The same applies to family members after 5 years of continuous residence: they can apply for the family-member equivalent card. To keep your residence “continuous” for this purpose, you can’t be outside Poland for more than 6 months at a stretch, or more than 10 months total across the relevant period.

Rules for non-EU nationals

If you’re not an EU/EEA/Swiss national, the path is more structured. Poland issues three main types of long-term document to non-EU foreigners:

  • Temporary residence permit: zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy;
  • Permanent residence permit: zezwolenie na pobyt stały;
  • EU long-term resident permit: zezwolenie na pobyt rezydenta długoterminowego UE.

Most people reading this guide (employees, students, entrepreneurs) are looking at the temporary residence permit. We cover the specific requirements for work-based, business-based, and study-based temporary permits in detail in a separate article, “Temporary Residence Permit in Poland Based on Work or Study”.

Permanent residence is not the default path for most foreigners. It’s realistically available only if:

  • you’ve been married to a Polish national for at least 3 years, or
  • you hold a valid Pole’s Card (Karta Polaka), or
  • you’re of Polish descent and can document it, or
  • you meet one of several less common conditions (the full list is available here for the Mazowieckie voivodeship).

Without one of these, there’s no shortcut: you go through the temporary permit route first.

Regardless of which specific permit you’re applying for, every applicant needs to:

  • submit the application in person (or, since 2026, exclusively online via the MOS portal, see below);
  • fill in the form in Polish only;
  • provide fingerprints;
  • prove they have a place to live in Poland: a lease agreement or proof of registered address.

What changed in 2026: MOS and the end of the passport stamp

Since April 27, 2026, applications for temporary and permanent residence permits, and for EU long-term resident status, must be filed exclusively online through the MOS (Moduł Obsługi Spraw) portal, with narrow exceptions for intra-corporate mobility cases, some family cases, and applicants currently outside Poland. Paper applications submitted after that date simply aren’t processed; what matters is when the application physically reaches the office, not the postmark.

This also changes how you prove legal stay while your case is pending. Under Article 108 of the Foreigners Act, if your application was filed on time and without formal deficiencies, your stay is legal from the day you filed until the decision becomes final, regardless of how long the process takes. This was previously proven with a physical stamp in your passport. As the shift to MOS becomes complete, you instead receive an electronic certificate carrying a qualified electronic seal of the head of the Office for Foreigners (UDSC). The legal substance is unchanged; only the proof format changes, and since the rollout is phased, a transitional period may still apply to some procedures or voivodeships at the time of reading.

Officially, the voivode has 60 days to decide on a temporary residence application. In practice, due to case volume and cross-checks with other agencies (Border Guard, police, the ABW), actual waiting times vary a lot by voivodeship: anywhere from roughly 2-4 months in smaller offices to 8-14 months or more in Mazowieckie (Warsaw), based on public sources as of early 2026, so it’s worth checking current backlogs before applying.

Costs

  • PLN 340 for study, business, or family-related permits;
  • PLN 440 for work-related permits (the “single permit,” high-qualification roles, intra-corporate transfers);
  • PLN 100 for the physical card itself, once you get a positive decision (this replaced the earlier PLN 50 fee).

B2B/JDG residence permits and the PIP 2026 reform

If your temporary residence permit was granted specifically for running a business (Article 142 of the Foreigners Act, the JDG/B2B basis), it’s worth understanding how it interacts with the PIP 2026 reform. Since July 8, 2026, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) can decide, on its own and without going to court, that a B2B contract with a client is in substance an employment relationship.

That decision doesn’t automatically cancel your residence card: cancellation is a separate administrative step handled only by the voivode, and it’s only a realistic risk if your business genuinely stops operating after the reclassification (no other clients, no other income). If you have other clients meeting the Article 142 income thresholds, the card itself isn’t at risk from a single reclassified contract.

For the full breakdown of risks, transitional deadlines, and what to do if your contract gets reclassified, see our dedicated article “Temporary Residence Permit in Poland Based on Work or Study” and the PIP 2026 series here.

FAQ

I’m an EU citizen. Do I really need to do anything? Yes, after 90 days you need to register your stay with the local voivodeship office. Free movement doesn’t remove this formality, even though it’s a lighter process than the non-EU permit system.

Can I apply for permanent residence right away as a non-EU national? Only in specific situations: 3+ years of marriage to a Polish national, a valid Pole’s Card, documented Polish descent, or a handful of other listed conditions. Otherwise you need to go through the temporary permit first.

Can I still submit a paper application? No, not as a general rule: since April 27, 2026, applications go through the MOS portal only, with narrow exceptions.

Does running my business as a JDG/B2B put my residence card at risk under PIP 2026? Only if your card is specifically based on Article 142 (running a business) and your whole income depended on one contract that gets reclassified. If you have other clients or income, there’s no automatic risk.

Bibliography

This article was prepared by the MojaFirma team based on the Foreigners Act (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1079) and the PIP 2026 act (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 473). Last reviewed: July 27, 2026. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice: every situation is different. If you still have questions, feel free to book a free consultation with our team.