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Residence permit for a specified period of time

You can apply for residence permit for a specified period of time if circumstances justifying residence in the Republic of Poland for a period longer than 3 months occur.

Such circumstances are:

acquiring a promise or extension of promise for issuance of a job permit or a written statement by the employer that a foreigner will be entrusted with performance of work, if job permit is not required,
conduct of economic activities on ground of regulations binding in the Republic of Poland, which are beneficial to national economy, and in particular contribute to growth of investments, transfer of technology, implementation of profitable innovations or creation of new jobs,
continuance of artistic activities in the Republic of Poland by a foreigner with recognised achievements,
participation in professional trainings and probation carried out within UE programmes,
the intention of family members to reside together with a migrating employee referred to in the European Social Charter signed in Turin on 18 October 1961. (Journal of Laws of 1999, No 8, item 67),
marriage with a Polish citizen,
intention to enter as foreigner's family member referred to in Article 54 of the Act on Aliens of 13 June 2003 into the territory of the Republic of Poland or staying in this territory in order to reunite with the family;
residence in the territory of Poland of foreigner's minor child that was born in this territory and remains without custody;
spouse or an adult child of a foreigner referred to in Article 54 of the Act on Aliens, staying in the Republic of Poland for at least 5 years on the basis of settlement permits or residence permits for a fixed period, granted due to circumstances referred to in point 7;
staying in the Republic of Poland on the basis of a settlement permit or a residence permit for a fixed period, granted due to circumstances referred to in point 7 in the case of becoming a widow or a widower or in the case of divorce, separation, death of ascendant or descendant of the first degree, if particularly important interest of a foreigner is at stake;
staying in the Republic of Poland on the basis of a residence permit for a specified period, granted due to circumstances referred to in point 6 in the case of becoming a widow or a widower or divorce, if particularly important interest of a foreigner is at stake;
being a minor child of a foreigner with a residence permit for a fixed period, born in the Republic of Poland;
possession of a residence permit for a long-term EC resident, issued by another UE Member State and intention to perform work or economic activities on ground of regulations within this area effective in the Republic of Poland, taking up or continuing studies or vocational training or demonstration that other circumstances justifying his/her residence in the territory of Poland occur;
accompanying or intention to unite as a family member with a foreigner referred to in point 13, with whom the family member stayed on the territory of another European Union Member State;
being a victim of trafficking in human beings in the meaning of Council Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings if a foreigner:
a) resides in the Republic of Poland,
b) has undertaken collaboration with an authority competent for carrying out proceedings concerning trafficking in human beings,
c) has given up contacts with persons suspected of offences related to trafficking in human beings;
arriving in the Republic of Poland or staying in its territory in order to take up or continue higher or doctoral studies in the territory of the Republic of Poland, further referred to as studies, also in the case of taking up studies in the territory of another European Union country which are to be continued or complemented in the Republic of Poland;
being a scientist arriving in the Republic of Poland or staying in its territory in order to carry out scientific research based on a contract of employment for a research project implementation, concluded with a scientific institution approved by the minister competent for science;
possession of a residence permit referred to in Article 1 (2) (a) of the Council Regulation (EC) no 1030/2002 of 13 June 2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals (OJ L 137, 15.6.2002, pp 1-7) with an annotation "scientist", issued by another European Union Member State, if the contract of employment in a research project implementation concluded with a competent scientific institution of that country provides for carrying out scientific research also in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

A residence permit for a fixed period may be granted to a foreigner who:

intends to begin or continue education or vocational training in the Republic of Poland;
due to relationships of family nature intends to join a Polish citizen or a citizen of a European Union Member State, a member-country of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or of the Swiss Confederation, residing in the Republic of Poland, or s/he intends to stay with him/her;
is a clergyman, a member of an order, or a person performing religious duties in churches and religious associations whose status is regulated by an international agreement, by provisions of acts on relationships between the state and church or another religious association that acts pursuant to an entry to a register of churches and other religious associations, and his/her stay in the Republic of Poland is connected to duties performed by him/her or preparation to their performance;
proves that there arise other circumstances than those provided for in points 1-3 or in Article 53(1) of the Act on Aliens.

You may be granted a residence permit for a fixed period if the above circumstances justify your residence in the Republic of Poland for a period longer than 3 months.

A foreigner applying for a residence permit for a fixed period is in principle obliged to have:

a steady and regular source of income sufficient to cover the costs of living for the applicant and his/her dependant family members and
a health insurance as understood by provisions on common health insurance or documents confirming that the costs of medical treatment in the Republic of Poland will be covered by an insurer;

These requirements do not apply to spouses of Polish citizens, a minor child of a foreigner having a residence permit for a fixed period and born in the Republic of Poland, foreigners participating in trainings and professional practices within the European Union programmes and victims of trafficking in human beings.

Moreover, a foreigner referred to in the above points 16-18 and a foreigner intending to continue education should have financial resources to cover his/her costs of living and return.

A family member of a foreigner means:

a person in a marriage relation with him/her as recognised by the Polish law;
a minor child of the foreigner and the person in a marriage relation with him/her as recognised by the Polish law, including an adopted child;
a minor child of the foreigner, including an adopted child, dependant on him/her, over which the foreigner performs actual parental custody;
a minor child of a person referred to in point 1, including an adopted child, dependant on him/her, over whom s/he performs actual parental custody.

Ascendant of the first degree is also regarded as a family member of an under-age foreigner having a refugee status and staying in the Republic of Poland without custody.

Pursuant to Article 54 of the Act on Aliens, a residence permit for a fixed period in order to reunite with the family is granted to a family member of a foreigner residing in the Republic of Poland:

on the basis of a settlement permit;
on the basis of a residence permit for a long-term EC resident;
who has been granted a refugee status;
at least for two years on the basis of a residence permit for a fixed period, including directly before submitting an application for granting a residence permit for a fixed period for a member of his/her family, on the basis of residence permit granted for at least one year;
on the basis of a residence permit for a fixed period referred to in Article 53 (1) (17) and (18) of the Act on Aliens.

If you are staying abroad, an application for a residence permit for a fixed period should be submitted via a consul. If you are staying in Poland, an application should be submitted to the voivode competent for the place of your planned stay.

Applying for a residence permit for a fixed period you are obliged to submit:

filled-in form of application for residence permit for a fixed period,
four colour photographs sized 4,5 cm x 3,5 cm, undestroyed and clear, presenting a person without head covering and dark glasses in such a way that the head is shown in left semiprofile, with the left ear visible and the face evenly illuminated,
documents necessary to prove the data included in the application and circumstances justifying applying for a residence permit for a fixed period,
confirmation of the stamp duty payment or proof of consular fee payment,
certificate confirming the registration duty (if an application is submitted to a voivode).

A foreigner applying for a residence permit for a fixed period due to obtaining a promise of a job permit issuance, carrying out business activity, reunion with family and due to 5-year stay in Poland as a foreigner's family member, as well as because of the possessed residence permit for a long-term EC resident in another European Union Member State and accompanying or intending to reunite as a family member with a foreigner having a residence permit for a long-term EC resident in another EU Member state, and a foreigner referred to in Article 53a(1), (2) and (4) of the Act on Aliens is obliged to attach to the application also a legal title to the occupied flat in which s/he resides or plans to reside, as well as documents confirming the volume of living costs.

An agreement for lease of the flat in which the foreigner resides or plans to reside is not regarded a legal title, unless the lesser is his/her descendant, ascendant or spouse, the spouse's parents or the foreigner's siblings.

A foreigner applying for a residence permit for a fixed period pursuant to Article 53 (1) (17) and (18) of the Act on Aliens, i.e. a "scientist", is additionally obliged to deliver a contract of employment in a research project implementation concluded with a scientific institution and a written obligation of the scientific institution to bear the costs of the foreigner's stay and extradition covered from the public money no later than 6 months of the date of the agreement expiry, if the ground for the foreigner's extradition is his/her illegal stay on the territory of Poland.

The residence permit for a fixed period is each time granted for the period necessary to achieve the purpose of a foreigner's stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland, no longer than 2 years.

In the case where the circumstance of application for a residence permit for a fixed period is taking up or continuing studies or vocational training, or performing scientific duties, the permit is granted for one year; or in the case where the circumstance of the application for residence permit for a fixed period justifies the foreigner's residence in Poland for less than one year, the permit is granted for the period necessary to achieve the purpose of the stay.

A foreigner's family member is granted a residence permit for a fixed period up to the date to which the residence permit for a fixed period was granted to the foreigner to which the family member intends to join or has joined to unite with the family, and in the case where the foreigner has a settlement permit, a residence permit for a long-term EC resident or a refugee status granted in the Republic of Poland, the residence permit is granted for 2 years.

A minor child of a foreigner having a residence permit for a fixed period is granted such a permit up to the date to which his/her legal representative's permit is valid.

A residence permit for a fixed period is granted for six months to a foreigner who is a victim of trafficking in human beings.

If you are staying in the Republic of Poland, an application for a residence permit for a fixed period should be submitted to the voivode competent for the place of your planned stay at least 45 days before the end of your residence period based on visa or before the end of the period for which your previous residence permit for a fixed period was granted. If the voivode is unable to issue a decision before this deadline you will be granted a visa for the period until the proceedings of the first instance are closed.

If the application is submitted less than 45 days before the end of your stay period based on visa or the end of period for which your previous permit for a fixed period was granted and the proceedings have not been finished before the end of your residence permit validity period, you are obliged to leave the Republic of Poland and await the decision abroad. If you fail to leave the Republic of Poland, the voivode is obliged to refuse to issue a residence permit for a fixed period.

The decision on issuing or refusal of the residence permit for a fixed period is issued by the voivode competent for your planned place of residence. A residence card is a document confirming the obtaining of a residence permit for a fixed period.

A stamp duty of PLN 340 is charged for the issuance of residence permit for a fixed period.
A fee of PLN 50 is charged for the issuance of a residence card.

If your application for a residence permit for a fixed period has been submitted abroad, the decision of the voivode will be delivered to you via a consul. In the case of delivering the decision on the issuance of residence permit for a fixed period, a residence visa entitling to the arrival and stay in the Republic of Poland will be issued for you to enable the use of residence permit for a fixed period. A residence card will be issued by the voivode competent for the place of your planned stay.

A foreigner is obliged to receive the residence card personally, and in the case of a minor younger than 13 years of age, the residence card is received by his/her legal representative or legal guardian.

A foreigner is obliged to replace his/her residence card in the following cases:

change of data contained in it;
change of appearance rendering the identification of the owner difficult;
damage of the card to a degree obstructing its use;
loss or damage of the card.

The voivode competent for the foreigner's place of residence replaces the card.

A foreigner who has lost the residence card must notify the voivode that issued it within 3 days from the date of the card's loss. In the case the lost residence card is found, the foreigner must notify the voivode within 3 days from the date it was found and immediately return the recovered residence card if a replacement card has already been issued.

A foreigner is obliged to immediately return the residence card to the issuing authority upon delivery of a document confirming acquisition of Polish citizenship or a decision on withdrawal of residence permit for a fixed period.

A foreigner is obliged to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland before the expiry of the validity of the residence permit for a fixed period unless s/he has been granted a successive residence permit for a fixed period, a settlement permit or a residence permit for a long-term EC resident.

Staying in the Republic of Poland without required visa, residence permit for a fixed period, settlement permit or a residence permit for a long-term EC resident, as well as carrying out work or business activity against provisions in force means the risk of extradition from the Republic of Poland and lack of possibility of entry within the period of 3 to 5 years.

Source: http://www.udsc.gov.pl/index.php?documentName=main