MOS guide: how to apply for a Poland residence permit online
Short answer: Since 27 April 2026, temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident applications in Poland are filed only online through the MOS portal.
Since 27 April 2026, you can no longer hand in a residence application at a voivodeship office counter in Poland. Applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status go through one online portal only: MOS, the Case Handling Module of the Office for Foreigners. This guide explains who it covers, what to prepare, what your employer must do and the mistakes that get applications stuck.
What MOS is and when it became mandatory
MOS stands for Moduł Obsługi Spraw. It is the Office for Foreigners' online portal at mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl. The rule came from the amendment to the Act on Foreigners of 21 November 2025, and it applies from 27 April 2026.
The cut-off is strict. Paper applications that reached a voivodeship office after 26 April 2026 are left unexamined, and the postmark date does not count. The same applies to an application filled in on MOS but then sent to the office by e-mail or through e-Doręczenia instead of through the portal. Cases that began with an application received before 27 April 2026 simply continue, with no new application needed.
Using MOS is free. You still pay the stamp duty for the permit and the fee for issuing the residence card, both set by law and paid outside the portal. You attach the payment confirmation to your application. Accounts from the previous version of MOS were not migrated, so everyone starts with a new one.
Who must use it and who cannot
An adult foreigner creates the account personally. For minors or people under guardianship, a parent, guardian or curator does it. Everyone logs in through login.gov.pl, using the mObywatel app, online banking, an electronic ID card or a Trusted Profile (profil zaufany).
A representative cannot submit the application from their own account or use your login. They can help you fill in the form while you are logged in, but you still sign the application yourself.
A few cases are still filed on paper, outside MOS:
- temporary residence for an intra-corporate transfer and long-term mobility under that scheme
- temporary residence for family reunification when the foreigner is outside Poland
- some applications from family members of Polish, EU and UK citizens when the foreigner is outside Poland
- applications for a new residence card
What to prepare before you start
The form is in Polish. Personal data, including that of your parents and family members, must match your passport exactly, and place names are written in their Polish form, for example Kijów rather than Kiev. You can pause: a saved draft is kept for 45 days from the last change.
Have these ready:
- a MOS account and a login through login.gov.pl
- a way to sign: a Trusted Profile, a personal signature (podpis osobisty) or a qualified electronic signature
- a digital photograph taken within the last 6 months, as a JPG file up to 2.5 MB
- a scan or photo of every passport page, not just the data page
- proof of payment for the stamp duty and the residence card fee
- documents that confirm the purpose of your stay, as scans of up to 10 MB each and up to 50 MB in total
- if you apply for work-related residence, the employer's annex described below
The employer's annex
For a temporary residence and work permit, an EU Blue Card and long-term mobility of a Blue Card holder, the employer no longer issues a paper annex. The employer completes and signs it online in MOS. Some business-related applications also need it, for example when the foreigner sits on a company's management board or acts as a commercial proxy.
The process runs in four steps:
1. While filling in your application, you enter the employer's e-mail address.
2. A link to the annex form goes to that address straight away. It is valid for 30 days.
3. The employer, or an authorised representative or attorney if the employer is a company, completes and signs the form electronically. A scan of a hand-signed page does not replace an electronic signature.
4. You receive an e-mail saying the application can now be submitted, and you send it.
Without the signed annex, the system blocks submission. The employer cannot add documents to the annex, so you attach any extras yourself. Companies should decide in advance who signs in MOS and who watches the mailbox that receives the links, because a worker's legal stay can run out while a signature is missing.
After you submit
Your application counts as filed when you send it through MOS. You can then download the Official Acknowledgement of Receipt (UPO) and save the application as PDF and XML. Once the voivodeship office has checked it, a certificate confirming that you filed appears in MOS. For applications filed in MOS it replaces the old passport stamp, and the services that check whether your stay is legal can see it.
Only the filing happens online. The voivode will summon you to appear in person to give fingerprints and a specimen signature, show your original passport and, if needed, complete the application. If formal gaps are not fixed by the deadline, the application is left unexamined.
MOS is not a correspondence channel and does not show the status of your case. A change of employer or working conditions, a new correspondence address or an appeal go to the voivode on paper or through the voivode's e-Doręczenia address.
The most common mistakes
- Starting too late. As a rule you must file no later than the last day of your legal stay, and if an employer's annex is needed, you must leave time for the signature.
- Not paying the stamp duty. The application is returned and not examined. If you cannot file again during legal stay, you may have to leave and re-enter.
- Data that does not match your passport, including parents' and family members' details and any previously used personal data.
- A made-up address. Give your actual place of residence, not a correspondence address.
- Errors about criminal records, including leaving out a suspended sentence or a summary judgment that has not been expunged.
- False or concealed information, which can lead to a refusal and later to withdrawal of the permit.
- Sending the application outside the portal, or attaching a scan of a hand-signed annex instead of an electronic signature.
Frequently asked questions
Can a temporary residence application still be filed on paper?
No. As a rule, since 27 April 2026 applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status are filed only through MOS, and paper applications received after 26 April 2026 are left unexamined. Paper filing remains for a few cases, such as intra-corporate transfers, family reunification when the foreigner is outside Poland and applications for a new residence card.
Does the employer have to sign anything in MOS?
Yes, for a temporary residence and work permit and for the EU Blue Card, among others. The employer completes and electronically signs an annex, receiving the link by e-mail. The link is valid for 30 days, and without the signed annex you cannot submit the application.
Can someone else file the MOS application for me?
No. You log in personally through login.gov.pl and sign the application. A representative may help while you are logged in.
What if MOS is down on my last day of legal stay?
The authorities provide for this: file within 3 working days of the day the outage ends, and the first day of the outage is treated as the filing date. The Office for Foreigners publishes outage information on gov.pl.
Does MOS show the status of my case?
No. MOS is used to file the application. The voivodeship office sends requests for missing documents and decisions separately.
