Step 1. Create a new MOS account
Go to mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl and log in via login.gov.pl — you need Profil Zaufany or another electronic signature. The old MOS portal was switched off on 17 April 2026 and previous accounts were deleted. An adult foreigner creates the account; for a child, a parent or guardian does.
Step 2. Prepare your files first
The form is completed in Polish. Prepare in advance:
- a scan of all pages of your valid passport in one file,
- a digital photo (up to 2.5 MB),
- proof of payment of the stamp duty and card fee,
- documents for your basis: contract, Annex 1, university certificate, civil records.
Limits: up to 10 MB per file and 50 MB in total. You can save a draft and return to it within 45 days of the last change.
Step 3. Pay the fees
You pay the stamp duty and card fee before filing, to the office's accounts. Temporary residence and work is 440 zł, other temporary permits 340 zł, permanent and EU long-term residence 640 zł, and the card 100 zł (students 50 zł). Since 5 March 2026 the fee is not refunded if refused.
Step 4. Annex 1 from your employer
For work-based permits, your employer completes Annex 1 (załącznik nr 1) and signs it electronically. It must be signed by a person authorised to represent the company in the KRS register, or by a proxy. A handwritten signature isn't accepted. The data must match the contract.
Step 5. Sign and send
You sign with Profil Zaufany, a personal signature or a qualified signature. After sending you receive a UPO — it only confirms submission, not legal stay. After review, the office issues a filing certificate (zaświadczenie), which replaced the passport stamp.
Step 6. Fingerprint appointment
The Voivode calls you in to give fingerprints and a signature sample and to show originals. The summons must arrive at least 7 days ahead. Not showing up can lead to the case being discontinued. In Wrocław this is the Wydział Spraw Obywatelskich i Cudzoziemców, pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1.
Step 7. Additions and the decision
After sending, you can't add documents through MOS — bring them in person, send them by post or via e-Doręczenia. The decision arrives by post or e-Doręczenia. Appeals are filed outside MOS.
Common MOS mistakes
- a passport scan missing some pages,
- a photo in the wrong format or too large,
- form data that differs from the passport (name transliteration),
- Annex 1 signed by someone without authority,
- missing proof of one of the two payments.
Each of these can lead to a request for missing documents, or even to the application being left unexamined.
Important: formal defects
MOS only checks technical correctness. An official reviews the content. If you're asked to fix formal defects and miss the deadline, the application will be left unexamined. You then have no legal stay based on that application.
Which applications are still on paper
Exceptions include intra-company transfers, some family reunification applications filed from abroad, and certain family members of Polish, EU and UK citizens who are abroad. An application to change a work and residence permit is also filed on paper.