In many publications discussing issues related to the legalisation of foreigners’ stay in Poland, the notion “long-term resident’s EU residence permit” can be found. Then the question arises: “what is it?”. In our article, we will try to answer it. In addition, we will tell how to obtain this document.

1. What is it?

A long-term resident’s EU residence permit is a document that entitles to permanent residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland. A foreigner who has this authorisation is allowed to provide work in Poland, without the necessity to obtain documents legalizing his/her activity. Moreover, such a person may travel to other Schengen countries and the stay may not exceed 90 days in a 180-day period.

A long-term resident’s residence permit is issued for an indefinite period. On its basis, a residence card is issued. It’s valid for 5 years. Thus, the card must be replaced every 5 years. However, it isn’t necessary to reapply for the permit.

The rules for obtaining a long-term resident’s EU residence permit are specified in the provisions of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners (i.e. Official Journal of 2021, item 2354, as amended), hereinafter referred to as the Act.

2. Persons who may apply for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit

2.1 Conditions for applying for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit

A long-term resident’s residence permit may be applied for by a foreigner who has stayed in the territory of the Republic of Poland legally and continuously for at least 5 years immediately before submitting the request. The foreigner should also:

  1. have a source of stable and regular income sufficient to cover the costs of maintaining himself/herself and dependent family members;
  2. have health insurance within the meaning of the Act of 27 August 2004 on health care services financed from public funds (OJ 2004, No. 210, item 2135, as amended) or a confirmation of coverage by the insurer of the costs of treatment in the territory of the Republic of Poland;
  3. have a certified knowledge of the Polish language (Article 211 of the Act).

The foreigner must fulfil the above conditions jointly.

2.2 Condition: 5-year period of stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland

The basic condition for issuing a long-term resident’s EU residence permit is a sufficiently long period of the foreigner’s stay in Poland. In accordance with Article 211(1) of the Act, this period is 5 years. It includes:

  1. the total period of legal stay in the EU, if the foreigner has resided legally and continuously for at least 5 years in this territory, including the Republic of Poland, on the basis of a residence permit issued by an EU Member State with the annotation “EU Blue Card” – for at least 2 years immediately before submitting the application for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purposes of highly qualified employment;
  2. the entire duration of the foreigner’s stay in the territory of Poland in the course of proceedings for granting international protection, if it exceeds 18 months;
  3. half of the period of stay in the Republic of Poland – if the foreigners is in Poland:
    • on the basis of a visa issued for the purpose of first-cycle studies, second-cycle studies or uniform master’s studies or education at a doctoral school or vocational training, either
    • on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of studying or a temporary residence authorisation for undertaking or continuing education, either
    • in the course of proceedings for granting international protection (Article 212(1) of the Act).

The determination of the 5-year period of a foreigner’s stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland doesn’t take into account:

  1. the stay of a foreigner who is an employee posted by the service provider for the purpose of cross-border provision of services or who is a provider of cross-border services;
  2. the presence of a foreigner in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a Schengen visa authorizing him/her only to enter this country and stay there, issued for the purpose of arrival due to humanitarian reasons, in the interest of the state or by reason of international commitments;
  3. the period of the foreigner’s education in Poland;
  4. the period of stay of the foreigner in Poland who was obliged to return, but the deadline for voluntary return in the decision issued in this case hasn’t expired – also in the case of prolongation of this deadline;
  5. the stay in Poland of a foreigner who is obliged to leave the territory of this country in connection with:
    • the refusal to extend a Schengen visa or a national visa, to grant a temporary residence authorisation, to grant a permanent residence permit or a long-term resident’s EU residence permit, as well as the decision to discontinue the proceedings in the above-mentioned cases or the decision to withdraw a temporary residence permit, a permanent residence authorisation or a long-term resident’s EU residence permit either
    • the refusal to grant the foreigner refugee status or subsidiary protection, the recognition of the application for international protection as inadmissible, discontinuation of the proceedings on granting international protection or issuing a decision on the withdrawal of the foreigner’s refugee status or subsidiary protection, either
    • the withdrawal of a residence permit for humanitarian reasons,
    • the cessation of the reasons for not transferring the foreigner to a third country, referred to in Article 31(1) of the Act, i.e. for health reasons.
  6. the duration of the stay in Poland of a foreigner who is a member of a diplomatic mission or a consular post of a foreign country or another person assimilated to them on the basis of laws, international agreements or universally established international customs;
  7. the period during which the foreigner stayed in Poland on the basis of a temporary residence authorisation for the purpose of working in the framework of an intra-corporate transfer, a temporary residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of a manager, specialist or trainee employee, as a part of an intra-corporate transfer, a temporary residence authorisation due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay of the foreigner in Poland;
  8. the period of stay in the Republic of Poland in the course of proceedings for granting international protection to the foreigner in the event that this procedure ended with refusal to grant refugee status or subsidiary protection;
  9. the time spent in Poland under a local border traffic permit (Article 212(2) of the Act).
2.3 Condition: uninterrupted and legal stay in Poland

The 5-year period of the foreigner’s stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland should also be uninterrupted. The stay is considered to be continuous if none of the breaks that occurred in its course lasted more than 6 months, and all interruptions didn’t exceed a total of 10 months in a 5-year period. This period is modified in relation to a foreigner who stayed in another EU Member State on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purposes of highly qualified employment. In such a case, the interruption may not be longer than 12 months and all breaks may not exceed a total of 18 months in a 5-year period (Article 212(3) of the Act).

If the interruption is due to:

  • the performance of professional obligations by a foreigner or the provision of work by him/her outside the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a contract concluded with an employer whose head office is located in Poland, either
  • the fact that the spouse or a minor child accompanies the foreigner seconded abroad by a Polish employer, either
  • a particular personal situation that requires the foreigner’s presence outside the territory of the Republic of Poland lasting no longer than 6 months, or
  • the travel outside the territory of Poland in order to undergo apprenticeship or participate in courses planned during studies at a Polish university

maximum permitted break limits don’t apply (Article 212(4) of the Act).

The stay of a foreigner applying for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit should not only be uninterrupted. It should also be legal. This means that for the entire 5-year period of stay in Poland, the foreigner should have a document legalizing his/her residence. It should be noted here that the stay will be considered legal if the foreigner applies for permit on the last day of validity of the document legalizing his/her residence in Poland.

2.4 Condition: source of stable and regular income

A foreigner has a source of stable and regular income sufficient to cover the costs of maintaining himself/herself and dependent family members, if the amount of monthly income is higher than the amount of income entitling to cash social assistance specified in Act of 12 March 2004 on social assistance (OJ 2004, No. 64, item 593, as amended) with regard to a foreigner and each dependent family member (Article 211(2) of the Act in connection with Article 140(2) of the Act).

A foreigner who has stayed in the EU on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purposes of highly qualified employment should earn the income in the amount specified above for the period of 2 years of stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland immediately before submitting the application. However, in other cases, the foreigner should fulfil the requirement of regular and stable income for the period of 3 years of stay in Poland immediately before submitting the request (Article 211(2) of the Act).

2.5 Condition: knowledge of the Polish language

In accordance with Article 211(3) of the Act, knowledge of the Polish language should be confirmed by one of the following documents:

  1. an official attestation of knowledge of the Polish language (a certificate issued by the State Commission for the Attestation of Proficiency in Polish as a Foreign Language) at the language proficiency level of at least B1;
  2. a certificate of graduation from a school in Poland within the meaning of Article 2, point 2, of the Act of 14 December 2016 Education Law (i.e. OJ 2021, item 1082, as amended), hereinafter referred to as the Education Law, or from a university within the meaning of the Act of 20 July 2018 on higher education and teaching with the Polish language of instruction (OJ 2018, item 1668, as amended), hereinafter referred to as the Act on higher education;
  3. a certificate of graduation from a school or university abroad with Polish as the language of instruction, corresponding to a school or university within the meaning of Article 2, point 2, of the Education Law or the Act on higher education.

The requirement to confirm the knowledge of the Polish language doesn’t apply to a minor who, by the date of submitting the request for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit, hasn’t reached the age of 16 (Article 211(4) of the Act).

3. Procedure for granting a permit

A long-term resident’s EU residence permit is issued at the request of the person concerned. The application should be addressed to the voivode competent for the foreigner’s place of stay. This is because the voivode constitute the authority competent to taking a decision on granting a long-term resident’s EU residence permit (Article 218(1) of the Act).

The application for a long-term resident’s residence permit is submitted on an official form. It includes information allowing to determine whether the foreigner fulfils the conditions for issuing an authorisation (Article 219(1) of the Act). The administrative authorities also require the submission of appropriate documents. These include:

  • 4 photographs of the foreigner that fulfil the requirements specified by the administrative authorities;
  • a confirmation of payment of stamp duty;
  • a photocopy of a valid travel document;
  • documents confirming the legal title to the occupied dwelling in which the foreigner is staying or intends to stay;
  • a confirmation of the registered residence;
  • documents proving an uninterrupted 5-year stay in Poland;
  • documents confirming that the stay in the territory of Poland was uninterrupted or, alternatively, documents indicating the reasons for any breaks in the stay;
  • a certificate of no criminal record issued by the National Criminal Records Register in Poland;
  • a certificate from the Tax Office on the fulfilment of tax obligations to the Republic of Poland;
  • documents which confirm having health insurance;
  • documentary evidence of stable and regular source of income;
  • PIT declarations on the amount of the foreigner’s earned income or other documents confirming the sources of stable and regular income sufficient to cover the costs of maintaining himself/herself and dependent family members for the above-mentioned periods;
  • a document proving knowledge of the Polish language.

Moreover, the foreigner should submit fingerprints when making the request (Article 219(5) of the Act).

The decision on the application for a long-term resident’s EU residence permit is issued within 6 months (Article 223 of the Act in conjunction with Article 210(1) of the Act).

4. Decision on the case

After examining the foreigner’s application, the voivode takes a decision. If he/she finds that statutory requirements have been fulfilled, he/she grants the foreigner a long-term resident’s residence permit. The voivode will refuse to issue the authorisation if the foreigners doesn’t meet the appropriate conditions. The refusal to grant the permit also occurs when it’s required for reasons of defence or State security either of the protection of security and public order. However, these circumstances can’t be relied on for economic purposes.

5. Legal notice

The study is a work within the meaning of the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights (OJ 2006, No. 90, item 631, consolidated text, as amended). Publishing or reproducing this study or its part, quoting opinions, as well as disseminating in any other way the information contained therein without the written consent of Crede sp. z o.o. is prohibited.

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