EXPAT ESSENTIALSPOLAND
Residence permit deadline calculator.
Short answer: you must file your temporary residence application in MOS no later than the last day of your legal stay in Poland (art. 105(1) Act on Foreigners). That day depends on how you are staying now: visa-free days, a visa or a residence card, and your passport. This calculator works it out, warns you if your visa type blocks a work-based permit, and shows when a decision might come at your office’s own average.
- Visa-free, C and D visas, residence cards
- Warns if your visa blocks a work permit
- Calculated in your browser
Residence permits · Free tool · Last checked: 4 November 2026 · By the Expat Essentials Poland editorial team
Residence permit deadline calculator
Find the last day you can file your temporary residence application in MOS, based on how you are staying in Poland now.
Count each day. 0 if none. Not sure? Check with the EU calculator linked below.
The “Duration of stay” number on the visa sticker.
Not legal advice. A planning aid based on public gov.pl and UdSC sources (checked 4 Nov 2026). Your office decides your case. Calculated in your browser; nothing is sent.
Rules this calculator uses.
1. Deadline
The application is filed no later than the last day of legal stay in Poland (art. 105(1) Act on Foreigners).
2. MOS only
Since 27 April 2026, temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident applications are filed only online in MOS; paper applications are not examined, except a few listed cases filed from abroad (UdSC notice, 27 Apr 2026).
3. Visa-free stay
90 days in any 180-day period, counted back from each day of stay (Border Guard; Ministry of the Interior). We count conservatively; the EU short-stay calculator gives the exact figure if you had earlier trips.
4. Schengen visa (C)
Legal stay ends on the earlier of the visa’s end date and the end of the allowed number of days (Ministry of the Interior).
5. National visa (D) and residence permit
Legal stay ends on the last day of validity (Ministry of the Interior).
6. Passport
A valid travel document is a condition of legal stay (Lublin voivodeship office).
7. Visa types that block a work-based permit
Since 1 June 2025, visas issued for purposes 01, 02, 03, 07, 09, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 18, a long-stay visa from another Schengen country, and a tourist or visit visa from another Schengen country (art. 116 Act on Foreigners; Lublin voivodeship office notice, 27 Jun 2025).
8. MOS outage on your last day
File within 3 working days after the outage ends; the filing date is the first day of the outage (art. 225c; UdSC MOS Q&A, question 17; UdSC outage notices).
9. After filing on time
Your stay is legal until the decision is final if the application has no formal gaps (art. 108); the MOS certificate replaced the passport stamp (UdSC MOS Q&A).
10. Expected decision date (optional)
Your filing date plus your office’s own 2026 average from its official reply to us (10 offices, Oct 2026), or the UdSC 2026 average where the office has not replied. This is an estimate, not a forecast. See the waiting-times tracker.
Three worked examples.
Visa-free, entered 1 Sep 2026, no earlier Schengen days: last day to file 29 Nov 2026 (entry day + 89 days).
Polish Schengen visa for tourism (01), entered 10 Oct 2026, valid to 31 Dec 2026, 30 days’ stay: last day 8 Nov 2026, and a warning: this visa blocks a temporary residence and work application.
National D visa valid to 15 Jan 2027, passport valid to 20 Dec 2026: last day 20 Dec 2026, because the passport expires first.
Not covered
Special rules for citizens of Ukraine under the special act, international protection, tolerated stay, residence documents issued by another Schengen country, and people already waiting with a MOS certificate. Ask your voivodeship office or a lawyer.
Good questions. Straight answers.
What is the last day to apply for a temporary residence permit in Poland?
The last day of your legal stay in Poland. Art. 105(1) of the Act on Foreigners says the application must be filed no later than the last day of legal stay. Since 27 April 2026 it is filed online in MOS. Your legal stay ends when your visa, visa-free days or residence permit end, or earlier if your passport expires.
Can I apply for a karta pobytu while staying visa-free?
Yes, if you file in MOS before your visa-free days run out. Visa-free stays are limited to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted back from each day of stay (Border Guard). Some bilateral visa-waiver agreements allow longer stays; check yours.
Can I apply for a work-based residence permit on a tourist visa?
No. Since 1 June 2025 the voivode refuses to start proceedings for temporary residence and work if you are in Poland on a visa issued for tourism (01), visiting family or friends (02), studies (09) and several other purposes, on a tourist or visit visa from another Schengen country, or on a long-stay visa issued by another Schengen country (art. 116 Act on Foreigners; Lublin voivodeship office notice).
What if MOS is down on my last day?
Under art. 225c of the Act on Foreigners, file within 3 working days after the outage ends; the application counts as filed on the first day of the outage. UdSC publishes outages on its website, for example the outage of 27–28 October 2026.
Does a weekend or public holiday move my deadline?
Don’t count on it. Your legal stay ends on the date shown, and MOS works online every day. File earlier.
What happens after I file on time?
If you filed during your legal stay and the application has no formal gaps (or you fix them on time), your stay is legal until the decision is final (art. 108). After the office checks your application, MOS gives you a certificate of filing, which replaced the passport stamp. It is not a travel document.
General information, not legal advice. Rules checked against the official sources linked above on 4 November 2026. Your voivodeship office decides your case.