Renewing your residence card: when and how to apply again
Updated 24.10.2026
A temporary residence permit and the card issued with it are not extended. When yours is coming to an end, you submit a new application in MOS, just like the first time, and you must do it no later than the last day of your legal stay, for example the last day your card is valid.
When to apply
The deadline is the last day of your legal stay. UdSC advises against waiting until that day, though, because in one day you may not manage to gather and attach all the documents, and if your permit is work-based, you also need to wait for your employer's signature.
If MOS is down on your last day, submit the application within 3 working days after MOS is back up, and the office will treat the first day of the outage as your submission date. UdSC posts outage information at gov.pl/udsc.
What to prepare
Everything is prepared again, as for your first application.
- Profil Zaufany must be valid. It lasts 3 years, so check the date.
- You need a new photo no older than 6 months and a passport scan.
- The stamp duty and the 100 zł card fee are paid again.
- If you are applying based on work, you will need a new annex from your employer (Załącznik nr 1).
- You will also need documents about the purpose of your stay.
If you have applied through MOS before, your account is still there, because MOS deletes accounts only after 12 years of inactivity. The application itself, however, is filled in from scratch.
What happens after you apply
If you submitted the application on time and without formal defects, your stay in Poland is legal until the final decision, even after your old card has expired. No stamp goes into your passport. The office checks the application, and a certificate of submission (zaświadczenie) appears in MOS.
You can't travel around the Schengen area with this certificate. You can leave for your home country, but you can only come back to Poland with a visa or visa-free, if that applies to you.
If your job changes while your card is valid
A job change while your card is valid is not a renewal. If you have a work-based card and change employer, position, pay, working hours or type of contract, you apply to change the permit (zmiana zezwolenia). That application is submitted on paper. The stamp duty is 220 zł. Some changes, however, such as a new company address or name, don't require changing the permit, and the employer notifies the office of them within 15 days.
If you lose your job with the employer named in your permit, inform the office in writing within 15 days.
Permanent residence and EU long-term resident cards
A permanent residence or EU long-term residence permit has no end date, but the card does, and a permanent residence card, for example, is valid for 10 years. A new card is not handled through MOS. You apply on paper, in person at the voivodeship office for where you live, at least 30 days before your card expires, and attach a current photo, proof of payment and proof of address registration.
How Ekspat helps
Ekspat reminds you when your documents expire, and closer to the end of your card's validity it will remind you to renew. Your answers from the previous questionnaire stay in the dashboard, so much of the new application will already be filled in.
