Long-term EU resident's residence permit
In accordance with article 211 of the Act on foreigners a long-term EU resident's residence permit is granted to a foreigner on his request, if he:
- has been residing uninterruptedly within the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 5 years,
- has had a stable and regular source of income for the previous 3 years (for „blue card” holders – 2 years),
- has health insurance.
Most often, for a long-term EU resident's residence permit apply people who work or conduct business activity in Poland, and their family members (before the 1st of May 2014 a temporary residence permit for the purposes of family reunification was included in the required period of five years' residence).
Required documents:
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Five-year residence
Residence documents, on the basis of which a foreigner can reside in Poland may be included to the five-year period in 100%, 50% or may not be included at all. Residence periods, which are included in the five-year period are listed in article 212 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners.
qualifying part of a foreigner's residence period |
Residence basic |
100% of legal residence within the territory of the European Unionj |
if the foreigner has resided in this territory legally and uninterruptedly for minimum 5 years on the basis of a residence permit issued by a European Union Member State, referred to in Article 1 section 2 letter a of Regulation No 1030/2002, with an annotation “Niebieska Karta EU” (“EU Blue Card”), also within the territory of the Republic of Poland – for minimum 2 years immediately before filing an application for a long term EU resident’s residence permit on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purposes of highly qualified employment (article 212 section 1 point 1) |
100% of the time in Poland |
during the proceedings on granting refugee status if this period has exceeded 18 months (article 212 section 1 point 2) |
50% of the time in Poland |
in case of a foreigner residing within the territory of the Republic of Poland:
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0 % |
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Aleksander arrived in Poland on the 1st of October 2011 on the basis of a one-year-long student visa (issued for 365 days), and for the next 2 years (from the 1st of October 2012 to 30 September 2014 – 730 days in total) was residing in Poland based on a residence card, issued in connection with full-time studies. Since the 1st of October 2014 he has had a residence permit for the purposes of work.
Assuming that up until the moment of applying for a long-term EU resident's residence permit Aleksander will be working, he will be able to submit such an application after 3.5 years (1,278 days) – on the 2nd of April 2018.
Method of calculation: 5 years (365 days x 5 years = 1,825 days) = 1,825 days – 182.5 days – 365 days = 1,227.5 days
Residence document |
Validity period/number of days |
What part of the period qualifies? |
Number of days qualifying for the five-year period |
Student visa | 365 | 50 % | 182,5 |
Residence card issued in connection with full-time studies |
730 | 50 % | 365 |
Residence card issued for the purpose of work |
1278 | 100 % | 1278 |
It has to be noted that during the proceedings it is the basis of issuing a visa or a residence card which is taken into consideration and not, for example whether a foreigner worked during the validity period of a visa granted for the purpose of studies (or the other way round – whether he was studying during the validity period of a residence card granted for the purpose of work). In the first case, included in the five-year residence period will be half of this period and in the second case – the entire period.
Uninterrupted residence
During the proceedings a voivode files a petition to the Border Guard to provide information on all arrivals and departures from Poland. Mainly on the basis of this information a decision is taken whether the residence was uninterrupted. An uninterrupted residence for 5 years does not mean that a foreigner cannot leave Poland during the whole period. It means that he has to have an uninterrupted right to reside in Poland during this period. Consecutive visas (e.g. one was terminated on the 12th of March 2014 and the next one is valid from the 13th of March 2014), as well as stamps in the passport confirming that an application was submitted qualify as uninterrupted residence.
During a five-year period qualifying to obtain a long-term EU resident\'s status a single departure from Poland cannot be longer than 6 months, while all periods of absence from the Republic of Poland cannot exceed 10 months in total within a five-year period necessary for obtaining a long-term EU resident\'s residence permit.
An exception to this rule are holders of a „blue card” in case of residence within the territory of another European Union member state – in their situation a single gap in residence cannot be longer than 12 months, while all absences cannot exceed 18 months in total within a five-year period
The period of residence outside of the Republic of Poland does not include a period of:
- performing professional duties or work outside the territory of the Republic of Poland, under an agreement entered into with an employer established within the territory of the Republic of Poland,
- accompanying a foreigner referred to above by his spouse or a minor child,
- exceptional personal situation requiring the foreigner’s stay outside the territory of the Republic of Poland for up to 6 months,
- departure outside the territory of the Republic of Poland for the purpose of internships or participating in classes provided for by the course of studies at a Polish university.
In the above mentioned cases proper documents have to be presented (e.g. a travel order and travel expenses).
Stable and regular source of income
As confirmation of fulfilling this condition a current work contract should be presented (an employment contract, a mandate contract, a contract for specific work), as well as PIT declarations on the value of the foreigner\'s income for the 3 years prior to submitting an application (in case of holders of a temporary residence permit for the purposes of highly qualified employment – for 2 years prior to submitting an application). The income during this period cannot be lower than:
- for a person keeping a single household – 543 PLN net per month;
- for a person in a family – 457 PLN net per month.
You can verify if you meet this criterion by analysing your PIT declarations. In case of PIT-37 the income, after all deductions, has to be divided by 12 months and then compared to the required minimum.
Additional documents
Presenting documents confirming that you have valid health insurance and a legal title to an apartment will be necessary. How much a foreigner spends on an apartment is not taken into account, and the legal title to an apartment may be a tenancy agreement or a deed of ownership, as well as a contract of lending for use from a descendant, an ascendant, a spouse, the spouse\'s parents or the foreigner\'s siblings.