Residence card via MOS: apply online and avoid delays

“I filled everything in on MOS, but the application still hasn't been sent” — one of the most common messages we have been receiving since spring. The reason is almost always the same: the system requires a signature, an annex from the employer or files in the right format, and won't let you continue without them.

Since 27 April 2026, applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status are submitted online only — through the MOS portal (Moduł Obsługi Spraw). Here is how to get through it without stress.

What you need before you even open MOS

• a signature: profil zaufany, a qualified electronic signature or podpis osobisty — without one the application simply won't be sent;
• a scan of every page of your passport and a digital photo;
• proof of payment;
• for a work-based card — an annex from your employer, which they sign electronically.

Trap no. 1: the system emails the link for signing the annex to your employer, and it is valid for 30 days. If they miss it, you start over. Warn your employer in advance and make sure the email hasn't gone to spam.

5 steps from application to decision

1. You fill in the application in MOS and attach the files.
2. You sign, send and save the UPO — this is your proof of submission.
3. After checking, the office issues a confirmation that replaces the stamp in your passport.
4. The voivode summons you in person — to give fingerprints and show your original passport.
5. The decision is sent to the correspondence address you provided.

Tip: give a correspondence address where you are sure to receive mail. A wrong address — and the letter from the office simply “gets lost”, while the deadline for replying keeps running.

What it looks like in practice

In February 2025 a client came to us for a work-based residence card. We contacted his employer ourselves, helped register his employment properly and collected all the documents — meanwhile the client kept working without worry. After submitting, he got a stamp in his passport and continued working legally.

Processing took 5.5 months: throughout that time we updated documents when contracts expired and monitored the case. The result — a positive decision for the maximum period, 3 years.

The most common mistakes

• the employer didn't sign the annex within 30 days;
• unreadable scans or a photo that doesn't meet the requirements;
• a wrong correspondence address;
• expecting MOS to let you book an appointment. It doesn't — the office notifies you of the appointment.

Want to apply without mistakes the first time?

We fill in the MOS application, arrange the annex with your employer ourselves, check the whole package before sending and support you at the fingerprint appointment. A work-based residence card — 2200 zł with full support until the decision.