Residence permit refused in Poland: appeal within 14 days

Who this is for

The voivode (wojewoda) refused your temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit or EU long-term resident permit, in a decision (decyzja). You can appeal it once (art. 127 § 1 k.p.a.); the appeal is an odwołanie.

If the paper says postanowienie o odmowie wszczęcia postępowania (a refusal to open your case), the remedy is a zażalenie, within 7 days (art. 61a § 2 and art. 141 § 2 k.p.a.).

A refused CUKR card goes the same way: 14 days, to the Head of the Office for Foreigners, through the voivode (art. 42o ust. 3–4 of the Ukraine special act; art. 129 k.p.a.).

You have 14 days from delivery

You have 14 days from the day the decision was delivered to you (art. 129 § 2 k.p.a.), not from the date printed on it. Count from the day after delivery: delivered on 5 October, your last day is 19 October. A last day on a Saturday or public holiday moves to the next working day (art. 57 § 1 and § 4).

The end of the decision, the pouczenie, must say whether and how you can appeal (art. 107 § 1 pkt 7). Trust it over any general rule, including this one. If it is wrong and you followed it, that cannot harm you (art. 112).

When the decision counts as delivered

• MOS does not deliver decisions, even if you applied through it: the law sends only the certificate there (art. 108 ust. 6 of the Foreigners Act; mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl).
• If you have an e-Doręczenia address, the decision goes there (art. 39 § 1 k.p.a.). Unopened, it counts as delivered on the day after 14 days from its arrival (art. 42 ust. 2 of the e-delivery act).
• Otherwise it comes on paper, usually by post (art. 39 § 2–3 k.p.a.). If you are out, the post office keeps it for 14 days and leaves a notice (awizo). Uncollected, it counts as delivered on the last of those 14 days (art. 44).
• If you moved without telling the office, a letter to your old address still counts (art. 41).

Where the appeal goes

To the Head of the Office for Foreigners (Szef Urzędu do Spraw Cudzoziemców), the higher authority over the voivode in these cases (art. 22 ust. 2 of the Foreigners Act; art. 127 § 2 k.p.a.). It goes through the voivode who decided (art. 129 § 1 k.p.a.): you address it to the Head and file it with that voivode’s office.

How to send it

• By post, at Poczta Polska: posting before the term ends keeps it (art. 57 § 5 pkt 2 k.p.a.). Send it registered and keep the receipt.
• In person, at the voivode office’s filing desk. Ask for a stamp on your copy (art. 63 § 4).
• By e-Doręczenia, to the office’s e-delivery address, signed with your trusted profile (Profil Zaufany) or a qualified electronic signature (art. 63 § 1; art. 14 § 1a and § 1d). Sending it in time keeps the term once you get the proof of receipt, the dowód otrzymania (art. 57 § 5 pkt 1).
• Not through MOS: the portal does not take appeals (mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl).
• Not by ordinary email: a letter sent to the office’s email address is not examined (art. 63 § 1).

What to write

It is enough that the appeal shows you disagree with the decision (art. 128 k.p.a.). Reasons and documents still help. Write:

• your name, address and case number (znak sprawy);
• the date of the decision and the day you received it;
• that you appeal to the Head, through the voivode;
• the reason the voivode gave in the justification (uzasadnienie), and why it is wrong;
• new documents, if you have them: the Head can take more evidence (art. 136 § 1);
• your request: overturn the decision and grant the permit (art. 138 § 1 pkt 2).

You can read your case file at the office first (art. 73 § 1). Appealing costs nothing: an appeal carries no stamp duty (art. 1 ust. 1 of the stamp duty act).

Respubliko writes this letter in Polish from your answers. You check it, sign it and send it yourself.

Your stay while you appeal

Your stay is legal from the day you applied until the decision is final, if you applied while your stay was legal (at the latest on its last day) and the application had no formal defects, or you fixed them in time (art. 105 ust. 1 and art. 108 ust. 1 pkt 2 of the Foreigners Act; for a permanent permit art. 206; for an EU long-term one art. 222a, or art. 206 through art. 223 if you applied before 27 April 2026). A decision is not final while you can still appeal, or while your appeal waits (art. 16 § 1 k.p.a.). So appeal on time. This does not apply if your case was suspended at your request (art. 108 ust. 2).

• The stamp is now a certificate. If you applied from 27 April 2026, through MOS, you got a free certificate (zaświadczenie) in MOS instead of a stamp in your passport (art. 108 ust. 1 pkt 1, ust. 5 and ust. 6, as amended by Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1794; M.P. 2026 poz. 370). Earlier applications keep the stamp (art. 12 of that act).
• Travel. Neither is a travel document. You may leave Poland, but to come back you need a visa or visa-free entry. Trips can slow your case; if you go, name a representative (mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl).
• Work. If you have a work permit or a registered work declaration (oświadczenie) and could work right before you applied, you can keep working under it (art. 3 ust. 3 pkt 2 of the act on employing foreigners). If your earlier permit gave you free access to work, for example as the spouse of a Polish citizen, you keep it (art. 3 ust. 1 pkt 15 and 18). Both end with this legal stay.

If the refusal becomes final: 30 days

Then you must leave Poland within 30 days: from the day the voivode’s decision became final if you did not appeal, or from the day the Head’s refusal was delivered (art. 299 ust. 6 pkt 1 lit. a of the Foreigners Act). If you had applied on time, your stay in those 30 days is legal (ust. 7). The rule does not apply if you hold another valid document to stay, or another law makes your stay legal (ust. 8). A new permit application filed in those 30 days is not examined (art. 99 ust. 1 pkt 9, art. 196 ust. 1 pkt 5, art. 213 ust. 1 pkt 6).

A return decision is a different decision

The voivode’s refusal is not a return decision. A return decision (decyzja o zobowiązaniu cudzoziemca do powrotu) comes from the Border Guard (art. 310 ust. 1), for example after the office tells it that your refusal is final (art. 299 ust. 10–11). It gives you 8 to 30 days from delivery to leave on your own, unless there is a risk you will abscond or a security reason (art. 315 ust. 1–2), and it usually bans entry to Poland and the Schengen area (art. 318 ust. 1). You have only 7 days to appeal it, to the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard (art. 321). Get free legal help the same day.

How long the Head takes

First, the voivode can change its decision if it fully agrees with your appeal; if not, it must send the appeal and your file to the Head within 7 days (art. 132 § 1 and art. 133 k.p.a.).

The Head has 90 days (art. 112a ust. 4 of the Foreigners Act for a temporary permit; art. 210 ust. 3 for a permanent one; art. 222d ust. 3 for an EU long-term one, or art. 210 through art. 223 if you applied before 27 April 2026). If the appeal had formal defects, the 90 days run from the day you fixed them (art. 112a ust. 5). The pause in art. 100d of the Ukraine special act, until 4 March 2027, covers only cases the voivode handles (art. 100d ust. 1), so it does not stop these 90 days.

If the Head is late, ask free legal help about a ponaglenie (art. 37 k.p.a.): until 4 March 2027, art. 100d ust. 3–4 switch off delay remedies in the cases they name, and it is unclear whether that covers the Head.

After you appeal, send further letters straight to the Office for Foreigners: Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców, ul. Taborowa 33, 02-699 Warszawa (mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl; gov.pl/web/udsc).

The Head can uphold the refusal, overturn it and grant the permit, or send the case back to the voivode (art. 138 § 1–2 k.p.a.).

If the Head refuses too

You can complain to the administrative court in Warsaw (WSA w Warszawie), where the Head has its seat, within 30 days of delivery, through the Head (art. 13 § 2, art. 53 § 1 and art. 54 § 1 p.p.s.a.). The court fee (wpis) is 300 zł (§ 2 ust. 3 pkt 8 of the court fee regulation), and the decision must state it (art. 107 § 1 pkt 9 k.p.a.). If you cannot pay, ask for prawo pomocy: exemption from court costs, a free lawyer, or both, on the official form (art. 243–246 and art. 252 § 2 p.p.s.a.). The complaint does not by itself stop the 30 days to leave (art. 299 ust. 6 of the Foreigners Act; art. 61 § 1 p.p.s.a.). We do not write the complaint yet. Free legal help can.

Get free legal help at once if

• you received a return decision: you have 7 days;
• the refusal is about security or public order (e.g. art. 100 ust. 1 pkt 4 of the Foreigners Act);
• you missed the 14 days. If it was not your fault, ask to restore the term within 7 days of the obstacle ending, and send the appeal with the request (art. 58 k.p.a.). The Head decides (art. 59 § 2).