Permanent residence in Poland and the EU long-term resident permit: the difference, the requirements and how to apply

When foreigners in Poland talk about "permanent residence" or "PR", they usually mean one of two different permits. Both are indefinite and both give free access to the labour market, but they are granted on different grounds.

The permanent residence permit (*zezwolenie na pobyt stały*) is granted on special grounds: Polish descent, the Card of the Pole (*Karta Polaka*), marriage to a Polish citizen, certain cases of work and international protection. The EU long-term resident permit (*zezwolenie na pobyt rezydenta długoterminowego UE*) comes after 5 years of lawful stay in Poland, with income above a threshold, Polish at B1 level and a legal title to housing.

If you have no Polish roots, no Card of the Pole and no Polish spouse — which is the position of most people who came to Poland on a work-based permit — your route to permanent residence is almost always EU long-term resident status. Below are both permits by article of the Act on Foreigners: the conditions, absences, applying through MOS, processing times, the cost and how each can be lost. Links lead to the sources page, with the text of each act and the date we read it. Every route to legal residence and what to do at each stage is on the overview page, Legalisation in Poland.

Permanent residence in Poland in 2026: the short version

• Two permits. Permanent residence — on special grounds; EU long-term resident — after 5 years of stay.
• EU long-term resident. 5 years of lawful, continuous stay, income above the threshold for the last 3 years, health insurance, Polish at B1, a legal title to housing.
• Absences. No single trip longer than 6 months, and no more than 10 months in total over the period that counts.
• Applying. Since 27 April 2026 — only through MOS, followed by an appointment for fingerprints.
• Processing time. 6 months by law, but at the voivode's office time limits are suspended until 4 March 2027.
• Cost. 640 zł stamp duty for either permit, with exemptions for certain groups.
• The card. The permits are indefinite; the residence card is valid for 10 years for permanent residence and 5 years for EU long-term residence.
• Property. 5 years after either of these permits is granted, a foreigner no longer needs the Interior Ministry (MSWiA) permit to buy a house or land.

Permanent residence card vs EU long-term residence card in Poland: the difference

The two permits do not stack: permanent residence expires on the day EU long-term resident status is granted, art. 200, and you cannot apply for permanent residence once you already hold long-term resident status, art. 196. So the choice is made once.

Free access to the labour market for both is in art. 3(1)(6) and (7) of the Act on the conditions for entrusting work to foreigners.

Permanent residence permit in Poland: who is eligible

Permanent residence is granted indefinitely, on application, if one of the grounds in art. 195 of the Act on Foreigners is met:

No Polish language exam is needed for permanent residence: art. 195 contains no language requirement. The exam is needed for EU long-term resident status and for citizenship.

Marriage carries a trap. If permanent residence was granted on the basis of marriage, it can be revoked if the couple divorces within 2 years of the grant, art. 199(3).

Permanent residence in Poland for foreigners without Polish roots

Whether permanent residence is possible without Polish roots is a common question, and the honest answer is short. Without Polish descent and without a Card of the Pole, permanent residence remains open in three cases: marriage to a Polish citizen, 4 years of work in an occupation sought after by the Polish economy, and international protection.

For everyone else — people working on an ordinary temporary residence and work permit, business owners, families — the law provides EU long-term resident status after 5 years. When a consultant promises "permanent residence" without one of the grounds in art. 195, what is meant is almost always the long-term resident card.

If you are not sure which ground fits your situation, describe it.

EU long-term residence permit in Poland: five requirements

EU long-term resident status is granted indefinitely, art. 211, if all of the following are met at the same time:

The income threshold is the eligibility threshold for social assistance, art. 140(2), set by a Council of Ministers regulation from 1 January 2025:

The threshold is reviewed every three years, so check it again before you apply.

Housing. Ownership, a lease or another right to use the property all qualify. A free-use agreement (*umowa użyczenia*) is accepted only if the home is provided by your children, parents, spouse, spouse's parents or siblings, art. 219a.

Which periods count towards the 5 years for EU long-term residence

Counted, art. 212(1):

• in full — lawful stay in Poland on temporary residence permits for work, business or family;
• at half — university study or vocational training on the corresponding visa or permit;
• in full if longer than 18 months, otherwise at half — the time an international protection procedure took;
• under separate rules — periods on an EU Blue Card in other EU countries.

Not counted, art. 212(2): stays as a posted worker, an intra-corporate transfer, local border traffic, a protection procedure that ended in refusal, and certain other cases.

If you are a citizen of Ukraine: UKR status. You cannot apply for EU long-term resident status while on temporary protection, art. 213. Art. 212 does not say expressly whether past time with UKR status counts towards the 5 years; the voivodeship offices in Gdańsk and Poznań state that it does not, and time on a CUKR card counts from the day you receive it.

Absences from Poland: how long you can be away

Your stay counts as continuous if no single absence was longer than 6 months and all absences together did not exceed 10 months in the period that counts. The rule is the same for permanent residence and EU long-term residence, art. 195(4) and art. 212(3).

An absence is not counted against these limits if it was due to:

• work abroad under a contract with an employer based in Poland;
• accompanying such a worker, as a spouse or a minor child;
• a special personal situation requiring presence abroad — for no longer than 6 months;
• a placement or classes abroad as part of study at a Polish university.

Count your trips before you apply: the application must list your journeys and stays abroad over the 5 years, art. 219.

How to apply for permanent residence or EU long-term residence through MOS

MOS is the Office for Foreigners' online case system (*Moduł Obsługi Spraw*).

1. Apply in time — no later than the last day of your lawful stay, art. 202 and art. 218a.
2. Fill in the form in MOS. Since 27 April 2026 the application is filed electronically only, art. 203c and art. 219c.
3. Attach a photograph and scans of every page of a valid passport; for EU long-term residence, also a scan of your legal title to housing. Documents on income, insurance and language can be attached straight away, art. 203d and art. 219d.
4. Sign with a qualified electronic signature or a trusted profile (*profil zaufany*). By law, only a parent or guardian signing for a child signs by hand.
5. Get the certificate (*zaświadczenie*) confirming the application through MOS: while the case is pending, your stay is lawful until the final decision, art. 206.
6. Attend when summoned — no earlier than 7 days after the summons is delivered — with your passport, and for EU long-term residence with your title to housing, to give fingerprints and a specimen signature, art. 203e and art. 219e.
7. Submit documents when asked — within a deadline of at least 14 days, art. 203f and art. 219f.

The main risk in the procedure is step 6. If you do not attend on a properly served summons, do not give fingerprints or a signature, or do not show your passport or housing title, the case is discontinued, art. 203i and art. 219i. Summonses arrive through e-Doręczenia (the state electronic delivery service) or by registered letter, and a letter you do not collect is treated as delivered after 14 days — more in how to check your case status.

How long a decision takes

By law, a decision is issued within 6 months of the latest of these events: a complete application filed, the documents submitted, or the deadline for them expired, art. 210. An appeal at second instance is decided within 90 days.

But for cases at the voivode's office (*wojewoda*) on permanent residence and EU long-term resident status, time limits are suspended until 4 March 2027, art. 100d of the Act on assistance to citizens of Ukraine. This applies to all foreigners, not only Ukrainians. A complaint about delay has no basis during this period.

Permanent residence card in Poland: how much it costs

Amounts and exemptions are set by the annex to the Stamp Duty Act. A separate fee is charged for issuing the residence card (*karta pobytu*).

How permanent residence or EU long-term resident status is lost

The permit is indefinite; the card is not. A permanent residence card is replaced every 10 years, a long-term resident card every 5 years. An expired card does not cancel the permit, but the document has to be replaced.

For an EU long-term resident, the 12-month rule is the most dangerous one. A year without a break outside the EU — back in India, Turkey, Ukraine or Belarus, for example — is grounds to revoke the status, however many years you have lived in Poland.

Refusal of the permit and refusal to open a case

A case will not be opened if on the day you apply you are, among other things, in Poland unlawfully, outside Poland, on temporary protection, or — for EU long-term residence — in Poland to study, art. 196 and art. 213.

The permit itself will be refused if the conditions are not met or on security grounds. For permanent residence the law also lists a sham marriage, false information, tax arrears and unpaid costs of a previous removal, art. 197.

An appeal is filed within 14 days of the decision being delivered, through the voivode, to the Head of the Office for Foreigners (*Szef Urzędu do Spraw Cudzoziemców*).

A refusal has arrived, or a summons you cannot meet in time? Describe the case.

Permanent residence or EU long-term resident: which to choose

Both permits lead to Polish citizenship in the same way: recognition as a Polish citizen is possible after 3 years of continuous stay on permanent residence or EU long-term resident status, with a stable income, a legal title to housing and Polish at B1, art. 30 of the Polish Citizenship Act. A presidential bill, print no. 1759 (*druk nr 1759*), proposes raising this period to 10 years and keeps the current wording for cases already started; as of 14 September 2026 it was still in committee.

How to check this yourself in five minutes

1. Open the consolidated text of the Act on Foreigners, Dz.U. 2025 item 1079: art. 195 — grounds for permanent residence, art. 211 — requirements for EU long-term residence.
2. In the same act, art. 212(3)–(4) — absences, art. 215 — loss of long-term resident status, art. 243 — card validity.
3. Open the amendment that introduced MOS, Dz.U. 2025 item 1794, art. 1 points 29–37: applying through MOS and discontinuation of the case for failure to attend.
4. Open the Council of Ministers regulation, Dz.U. 2024 item 1044: the 1010 zł and 823 zł thresholds.

Frequently asked questions about permanent residence in Poland

When permanent residence is not a simple case

Applying for EU long-term resident status on your own is realistic if your 5 years are unbroken, your income has stayed above the threshold, you hold a B1 certificate and your housing is documented. It is a different matter if:

• the 5 years include long trips abroad or a change in the basis of your stay;
• your income fell below the threshold in any year;
• you are choosing between permanent residence and EU long-term resident status;
• the ground is marriage, and questions about whether it is genuine are likely;
• the case was discontinued for failure to attend, or a refusal has arrived.

Here a mistake costs five years of waiting. Describe your situation in the form below; it goes to our partner in Poland, a consultancy that handles foreigners' residence cases.