How can legal residence be lost?

Impossibility to successfully end the proceedings on granting a temporary residence permit

Before the end of the legal residence period, namely if a foreigner plans to prolong his/her residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland and intends to submit an application for a temporary residence permit, the foreigner should make sure that all legal conditions necessary to obtain a temporary residence permit have been met.

First of all, you should make sure that your residential status allows you to file an application for a temporary residence. Remember that no proceedings on granting a temporary residence permit to a foreigner will be initiated if:

a foreigner has been granted a permanent residence permit or a long term resident’s EU residence permit (Article 99 sec. 1 item 1),
a foreigner resides in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a Schengen visa authorizing him/her only to enter the said territory only and issued for the purpose referred to in Article 60 sec. 1 item 23 (issuance purpose “21” – if the visa is issued to allow a foreigner to come due to humanitarian reasons, due to interests of the state or due to international commitments) (Article 99 sec. 1 item 2),
a foreigner resides in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a temporary residence permit granted in the cases specified in Article 181 sec. 1 (a temporary residence permit granted due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay [up to 3 months]) (Article 99 sec. 1 item 3),
a foreigner has been granted a permit for tolerated stay, a residence permit due to humanitarian reasons , asylum, subsidiary protection or temporary protection, or has been granted a refugee status in the Republic of Poland (Article 99 sec. 1 item 4),
a foreigner applies for a refugee status or seeks asylum (Article 99 sec. 1 item 5),
a foreigner has been detained, placed in a guarded center or a detention center for foreigners, or a preventive measure, i.e. a ban on leaving the country, has been applied to a foreigner (Article 99 sec. 1 item 6),
serves a sentence of imprisonment or is detained (Article 99 sec. 1 item 7),
a foreigner has been obligated to return and the deadline for voluntary return set out in a decision ordering a foreigner to return has not passed, also when the deadline has been extended (Article 99 sec. 1 item 8),
a foreigner is obligated to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland in the cases referred to in Article 299 sec. 6 (Article 99 sec. 1 item 9),
a foreigner resides outside the borders of the Republic of Poland (Note: This provisions shall no apply in the case of an application for granting a temporary residence permit to a foreigner in order to reunite the foreigner with his/her family) (Article 99 sec. 1 item 10),
a foreigner applying for a temporary residence permit has failed, although was obligated, to have his/her fingerprints collected, which was necessary for issuing a residence card (Article 99 sec. 1 item 3).

Apart from a residential status, a foreigner must meet other conditions. Failure to meet them may result in a refusal to grant a permit despite filing an application. A foreigner will be refused a temporary residence permit if:

he/she does not meet the requirements for being granted a temporary residence permit due to the declared purpose of stay or if the grounds for applying for the permit do not justify his/her stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period exceeding 3 months (Article 100 sec. 1 item 1),
his/her data have been entered in the register of foreigners whose stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland is undesirable (Article 100 sec. 1 item 2),
his/her data are entered in the Schengen Information System for the purposes of refusing entry (Article 100 sec. 1 item 3),
it is justified by national security or defense, or by protection of public safety and order (Article 100 sec. 1 item 4),
in the course of the proceedings on granting him/her a temporary residence permit, the foreigner:

in the course of the proceedings on granting him/her a temporary residence permit, the foreigner:

has filed an application containing false personal data or false information or has attached documents containing such data or information to the application (Article 100 sec. 1 item 5 letter a.),
has testified untruthfully or concealed the truth, or has forged or modified a document in order to use it as an authentic one, or has used such a document as an authentic one (Article 100 sec. 1 item 5 letter b.),

he/she is in arrears with any taxes unless he/she has been legally entitled to exemption, deferment, spread of outstanding payments into installments, or if the execution of a decision of a competent authority has been withheld in its entirety (Article 100 sec. 1 item 6),
he/she has not reimbursed the costs which relate to the issue and enforcement of a decision on imposing the return obligation on the foreigner and which were covered by the state (Article 100 sec. 1 item 7),
he/she is subject to obligatory treatment under Article 40 sec. 1 of the Act of 5 December 2008 on the prevention and control of infections and infectious diseases in humans but does not consent to such treatment (obligatory treatment applies to persons suffering from tuberculosis, syphilis and gonorrhea) (Article 100 sec. 1 item 8),
he/she has as filed the application during his/her irregular residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland or resides in that territory irregularly (Article 100 sec. 1 item 9). Note: The foregoing does not apply to a temporary residence permit due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay (up to 3 months) (Article 181 sec. 1).

Furthermore, a foreigner may be refused a consecutive temporary residence permit if he/she fails to notify the head of province (wojewoda) who has issued the permit, within 15 working days, on cessation of the reason for granting the permit (according to Article 113), and if the application for a consecutive temporary residence permit has been filed by the foreigner before the lapse of one year as from the expiration date of the last permit.

According to the Act in force, a foreigner can file an application for a temporary residence permit in person no later than on the last day of his/her legal stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland (Article 105 sec. 1). However, if the application is not filed by a foreigner in person, the head of province (wojewoda) will summon him/her to appear in person within 7 days under pain of not cognizing the application (Article 105 sec. 2). The obligation to appear in person and to have one’s fingerprints collected applies to all persons aged 6 and up.

Note: Do not wait with filing an application to the lat minute. Gather all documents necessary to file the application in advance. Get necessary documents from all institutions (e.g. Office of Vital Records and Statistics, banks, universities/academies, employers etc.).

Revocation or cancellation of documents

Even if a foreigner obtains a document that entitles him/her to enter and stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland, he/she can lose that right. The foregoing pertains to all documents that entitle foreigners to enter and stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland, except for residents subject to visa-free traveling regulations.

Visa	Situation and legal grounds
Revocation	A visa is revoked ex officio if the following circumstances that substantiate the refusal to issue a national visa occurred after the visa had been issued: foreigner\'s data has been entered in the register of foreigners whose stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland is undesirable (Article 65 sec. 1 item 1), a foreigner does not have sufficient financial means to cover the expenses to be incurred during the intended stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland and the costs of return to the country of origin or residence, or the costs of transit to a third country that will grant him/her a permit for entry, or he/she is unable to obtain such means lawfully (Article 65 sec. 1 item 3), a foreigner does not have any health or medical insurance (Article 65 sec. 1 item 4), it is justified by national security or defense, or by protection of public safety and order or the interest of the Republic of Poland (Article 65 sec. 1 item 5), The foreigner’s travel document does not meet one of the following criteria: validity period of the travel document shall expire no earlier than 3 months after the expiry of the visa a foreigner is applying for; the travel document contains at least two blank pages; the travel document was issued in the past ten years (Article 65 sec. 1 item 6). In the case of proceedings on issuing a national visa: a foreigner has filed an application containing false personal data or false information or has attached documents containing such data or information to the application, or a foreigner has testified untruthfully or concealed the truth, or has forged or modified a document in order to use it as an authentic one, or has used such a document as an authentic one (Article 65 sec. 1 item 7) a foreigner has not justified the purpose and conditions of his/her intended stay (Article 65 sec. 1 item 8), there are justified doubts as to a foreigner’s intention to leave the territory of the Republic of Poland before the expiration of the visa (Article 65 sec. 1 item 9), A visa will also be revoked if a visa holder request to do so (Article 90 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners).
Cancellation	A national visa will be cancelled if, at the time of its issue, there were grounds substantiating the refusal to issue the visa (Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners, Article 91 ).
Competent body	consul, head of a Boarder Guard branch office, or head of a Border Guard unit

Temporary residence permit	Situation and legal grounds
Revocation	A permanent residence permit granted to a foreigner will be revoked if: it is justified by national security or defense, or by protection of public safety and order (Article 199 sec. 1 item 1), it is required by the interest of the Republic of Poland (Article 199 sec. 1 item 2), In the course of the proceedings on granting him/her a permanent residence permit, the foreigner: has filed an application on granting a permit containing false personal data or false information or has attached documents containing such data or information to the application, or has testified untruthfully or concealed the truth, or has forged or modified a document in order to use it as an authentic one, or has used such a document as an authentic one (Article 199 sec. 1 item 3), has been convicted in the Republic of Poland by a final and non-appealable judgment for an intentional offence and sentenced to minimum 3 years of imprisonment (Article 199 sec. 1 item 4), has left the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period longer than 6 years (Article 199 sec. 1 item 5). Note! Where the decision on granting a foreigner a permanent residence permit was grounded on being married to a citizen of the Republic of Poland, the permit may be revoked if the foreigner has divorced within 2 years as from being granted the permanent residence permit (Article 199, Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners).
Expiration	A permanent residence permit expires by virtue of law on the day: on which a foreigner is granted a long-term resident’s EU residence permit or on which a foreigner acquires Polish citizenship (Article 200, Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners).
Competent body	head of province (wojewoda) competent for the place of residence of the foreigner, or, if the foreigner has left the territory of the Republic of Poland, head of province (wojewoda) who granted the permit (Article 201 sec. 3, Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners)

Long-term resident’s EU residency permit	Situation and legal grounds
Revocation	A long-term resident’s EU residency permit granted to a foreigner will be revoked if: the long-term resident\'s EU residence permit has been granted in breach of law (Article 215 sec. 1 item 1) a foreigner poses a real and serious threat to national security or defense or protection of public security and order (Article 215 sec. 1 item 2), a foreigner has left the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period longer than 6 years (Article 215 sec. 1 item 3), a foreigner has left the territory of the European Union for a period of consecutive: 12 months or 24 months, if he/she held a temporary residence permit granted to a foreigner to be employed as a highly qualified employee or is a member of the family of a foreigner who held such a permit (Article 215 sec. 1 item 4), a foreigner has obtained a long-term resident\'s EU residence permit in the territory of another European Union Member State (Article 215 sec. 1 item 5), a foreigner has been deprived of a refugee status or subsidiary protection under the Act of 13 June 2003 on granting protection to foreigners within the territory of the Republic of Poland if the long-term resident\'s EU residence permit has been granted in connection with his/her stay in this territory under a refugee status or subsidiary protection (Article 215 sec. 1 item 6) (Article 215, Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners).
Expiration	A long-term resident\'s EU residence permit shall expire by virtue of law as of the date of acquisition of Polish citizenship (Article 217, Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners).
Competent body	head of province