If you’re a foreigner planning to work, run a business, or study in Poland for longer than 90 days, a visa isn’t enough: you need a separate document confirming your right to stay long-term. Here’s how to get a temporary residence card (karta pobytu) based on employment, running your own business (JDG/B2B), or studies: the legal basis, the cost, how long it takes, and what changed in 2026.

What is a Karta Pobytu

A karta pobytu is not the residence title itself: it’s the plastic ID card issued alongside a residence permit, confirming your identity and legal stay in Poland. There are several types of permit: temporary (zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy), permanent (zezwolenie na pobyt stały), and EU long-term resident. This article covers the temporary permit, by far the most common route for people who come to Poland to work, run a business, or study.

With the card, you can cross the Polish border multiple times, buy property, and stay in other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, as long as that’s consistent with the basis of your card.

Looking into permanent residence instead? See our separate article “Getting a Permanent Residence Permit in Poland”.

What changed in the procedure in 2026

The biggest change in 2026 isn’t in the eligibility requirements: it’s in how you apply.

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. Paper applications submitted after that date (with a handful of exceptions: intra-corporate mobility, some family cases, and situations where the applicant is outside Poland) are simply not processed. What matters is the date the application physically reaches the office, not the postmark.

The digitalisation also affects the famous “passport stamp” described below. Instead of a physical stamp, the system now issues an electronic confirmation. The underlying rule (legal stay while the case is pending, Article 108 of the Foreigners Act) hasn’t changed: only the way it’s confirmed has.

If your card is based on your own JDG/B2B business, read the dedicated section below on how the PIP 2026 reform affects it. This is relevant to a large number of IT contractors.

Residence permit based on work: the “single permit”

If you’re employed (under an umowa o pracę, employment contract) or working under a civil-law contract (umowa zlecenie, umowa o dzieło) for a Polish company, the standard route is the jednolite zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy i pracę: the “single permit” for residence and work, under Article 114 of the Foreigners Act. “Single” means one decision from the voivode gives you both the right to stay in Poland and the right to work for a specific employer in a specific role: you don’t need a separate work permit on top of it.

Key requirements:

  • your salary cannot be below the national minimum wage: in 2026 that’s PLN 4,806 gross for full-time work (pro-rated for part-time);
  • the employer fills in and submits their part of the application (Annex 1): this is also done electronically now, signed with a trusted profile or a qualified signature;
  • for some roles, you also need an opinia starosty (“labour market test”: confirmation from the local labour office that no suitable local candidate was found). The test isn’t required for people who’ve lived in Poland legally for 3+ years, graduates of Polish universities, or a list of professions set by a separate ministerial regulation: most IT roles are on that list (computer systems analysts, application designers, application developers, database administrators and designers).

The single permit is granted for a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 3 years, and it cannot be extended: once it expires, you file a brand-new application. How long you’ll actually be granted depends on your contract: if your contract runs for 16 months, you won’t get a 3-year card.

Residence permit based on running a business (JDG/B2B)

If you’re self-employed rather than an employee, you register a JDG (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, the Polish sole trader) and invoice clients under a B2B arrangement. The legal basis is different: Article 142 of the Foreigners Act (residence “for the purpose of running a business”).

For this card, you’re not proving a salary. You’re proving your business genuinely operates: either income no lower than 12 times the average monthly wage in your voivodeship for the previous quarter, or employing at least two full-time staff for at least a year. You’ll also need health insurance, a stable source of income for your own upkeep, and housing in Poland.

For the details of registering a JDG itself, ZUS contributions, and tax options, see our article “Business in Poland”.

Residence permit based on studies

Students admitted to a Polish university can apply for a residence card on the basis of studies (Article 144 of the Foreigners Act). You’ll need three groups of documents:

  • proof of enrolment: a certificate of admission from the institution (the Polish equivalent of “immatriculation”), stating the form and duration of study; if the course is fee-paying, also a statement of the tuition amount;
  • health insurance valid in Poland;
  • sufficient funds: in 2026 that means at least PLN 1,010 net per month if you’re supporting yourself alone (or PLN 823 per person if you’re supporting a family), the amount left over after deducting your real housing costs, plus funds for a return ticket home (PLN 200 for countries bordering Poland, PLN 500 for other EU countries, PLN 2,500 for the rest of the world) and tuition, if applicable.

The first study-based permit is usually granted for 15 months, renewable each academic year. One nuance that matters for a future EU long-term residence application: time spent on a study-based card counts towards the legal-residence clock half speed: 3 years of study only counts as 1.5 years, whereas time on a work-based card counts 1:1.

How to apply: the voivode, MOS, and waiting times

You can file your application any time up to the last day of your current legal stay (visa or previous card): you don’t need to wait until the last moment; filing early is fine. Since April 27, 2026, applications go through MOS only: you create an account via login.gov.pl, fill in the form, attach a passport scan, a digital biometric photo, and proof of payment, then sign with a trusted profile or qualified signature.

The decision is made by the voivode (wojewoda) for the region where you actually live. The statutory deadline under the Foreigners Act is 60 days, but in practice, given the volume of applications and the need to query other bodies (Border Guard, police, the internal security agency ABW), actual waiting times vary enormously by voivodeship: from roughly 2-4 months in less busy regions to 8-14 months or longer in the Mazowieckie voivodeship (Warsaw). These are estimates from public sources as of March 2026; the exact wait depends on the current backlog at each office.

The “passport stamp” (Article 108 of the Foreigners Act). As long as your application was filed on time and with no formal deficiencies, your stay in Poland is legal from the day you filed until the day the decision becomes final, no matter how long the process takes. This was previously confirmed with a physical stamp in your passport; once the shift to the fully electronic procedure is complete (from April 27, 2026), you instead get an electronic confirmation issued through MOS, carrying a qualified electronic seal of the head of the Office for Foreigners (UDSC). The substance of the rule hasn’t changed: only the form of proof has. As of writing, the rollout is happening in phases, and a transitional period may still apply for some procedures and voivodeships

While you’re in this “legal waiting” status, you can’t cross into other Schengen countries (except to return home), but you can freely stay and work in Poland.

Cost of getting the card

When you file, you pay a stamp duty (administrative fee):

  • PLN 440: the single permit for residence and work, plus permits for highly qualified specialists and intra-corporate transfers;
  • PLN 340: other grounds: running a business, studies, family reunification.

Once you get a positive decision, you additionally pay PLN 100 for the physical card itself (up from PLN 50 previously). If your application is refused, the stamp duty is refunded on request.

How long the card is valid for

The maximum length of a temporary permit is 3 years. What you actually get depends on your specific case: the single work-and-residence permit cannot be extended: you must reapply once it expires; for a JDG/business-based card, the length is usually tied to how stable your business looks.

JDG/B2B residence cards and the PIP 2026 reform

If your card is issued on the basis of Article 142 (running a business), it’s worth understanding how it connects to the PIP 2026 reform: since July 8, 2026, the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP, Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy) has the power to decide, on its own and without a court ruling, that your B2B contract with a client is, in substance, an employment relationship.

A PIP decision reclassifying one of your contracts does not automatically cancel your residence card: it’s a decision about an employment relationship, not about your right to stay. Cancelling a residence card is a separate administrative procedure carried out solely by the voivode, not by a labour inspector. The risk is real, but it isn’t automatic: it arises if your business activity effectively stops after the reclassification (no other clients, no income), at that point, the very “purpose of stay” your card was granted for has genuinely disappeared, and the voivode can refuse your next renewal application. If you still have other clients and income meeting the Article 142 thresholds, there’s no risk to the card itself.

There’s also a separate obligation: if your business activity has genuinely stopped, the law requires you to notify the voivode within 15 working days of the date the basis for your stay disappeared. One detail that’s easy to miss: if you switch from a JDG to a regular employment contract, any work permit or entry in the notification register you already held (for those who had one separately from the card) remains valid automatically: no new document is required.

For a detailed breakdown of the risks, scenarios, and rules of PIP 2026 for B2B contractors, see the article in our series here.

FAQ

Can I file my application by post? No. Since April 27, 2026, temporary residence applications go through MOS only (with a few narrow exceptions). Before that date, filing in person or by post was allowed, but you still had to appear before an inspector with your original documents.

What happens if my visa expires while my application is being decided? Nothing to worry about: as long as your application was filed on time and without deficiencies, your stay in Poland is legal until the final decision (Article 108 of the Foreigners Act).

Can I leave Poland while my application is pending? Not into other Schengen countries: the legal-stay protection under Article 108 only covers Poland. You can go home, but you’ll need a visa to re-enter Poland.

Does the type of contract (JDG/B2B vs. employment) affect the risk of losing my card under PIP 2026? Only if your card is specifically based on running a business (Article 142) and your entire income depended on the one reclassified contract. If you have other clients, or your card is based on an employment contract, there’s no risk to the card itself.

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.