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It is a profession that by law requires specific professional qualifications, e.g. a lorry driver, a teacher, a doctor.

If your application was not considered within the given time limit or it is being considered longer than necessary, you have the right to file a written complain called a reminder. The reminder should be directed to the second instance authority, but it should be submitted to the office that conducts your application. Reminder together with your application and documents gathered during proceedings will be sent to the second instance authority to be considered.

It is a document that you are issued with after granting you your residence permit.

A residence card, during its validity, confirms your identity throughout your stay in Poland.

Together with a valid travel document (passport), it entitles you to multiple crossing the Polish border.

You will be issued your residence card after you pay the stamp duty of 50PLN (25PLN in a case of a minor and a student), and submission of registered residence document, or a statement about residence card without an address stated on it (download it here)

Residence documents issued to the United Kingdom nationals and their family members until the end of the transition period will remain valid for the period for which they were issued, but no longer than until 31 December 2021.

Permanent residence permits (previously known as settlement permits) granted to the United Kingdom citizens under the Act on Foreigners also remain valid (indefinitely).

From 1 January 2021, beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement will be able to submit applications for a new residence document to voivodeship offices (competent for the place of stay). The documents will contain an annotation referring to the Withdrawal Agreement: “Article 50 TEU, Article 18 para. 4 of the Withdrawal Agreement”.

Proceedings in matters of the right of residence or the right of permanent residence of British citizens and their family members initiated and not completed before the end of the transition period will continue after the end of this period. These proceedings will also result in issuing new documents to the beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement. However, to obtain such documents, the applicant will have to provide their fingerprints.

After the end of the transition period, beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement will be able to use the following residence documents entitling them to travel within the Schengen area without a visa:

•  issued before the end of the transition period (these documents will remain valid for the period for which they were issued, but not longer than until 31 December 2021):
  • document confirming the right of permanent residence;
  • residence card of a family member of an EU citizen;
  • permanent residence card of a family member of an EU citizen.
• issued after the end of the transition period:
  • certificate of submission of an application for obtaining a residence document for the beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement, valid for 1 year;
  • certificate of registration of residence (in case of a British citizen in the case of having the right of residence; it will not apply to a certificate of registration of residence of a frontier worker);
  • document confirming the right of permanent residence (in case of a British citizen with the right of permanent residence)
  • residence card (in case of a family member who is not a British citizen and holds a residence right);
  • permanent residence card (in case of a family member who is not a British citizen and holds a permanent residence right).

Moreover, after submitting one of the residence applications' mentioned above, you will receive a certificate valid for one year, which also allows you - together with a valid travel document - to cross borders multiple times without the need to obtain a visa.

A humanitarian leave to remain is a type of authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons granted to a non-EU citizen who, for important reasons, cannot be obliged to return to their home country, e.g. an obligation to return would violate his/her right to family life. Permission to stay for humanitarian reasons is granted by the Border Guard.

A family member who is not an EU citizen retains the right of residence in the event of:

1) death of an EU citizen meeting the conditions of stay for more than 3 months, if he/she stayed with him/her on the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period of at least one year before the death of the EU citizen;

2) divorce or annulment of marriage with an EU citizen residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland and meeting the conditions of stay exceeding 3 months, if:

• the marriage lasted at least 3 years before the initiation of proceedings for divorce or annulment of marriage, including one year during the stay of the EU citizen in the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
• as the former spouse of an EU citizen, he/she has custody of the Union citizen's children, on the basis of an agreement between the former spouses or a court ruling, or
• it is justified by particularly important circumstances, including those related to the use of domestic violence during the marriage, or
• as the former spouse of an EU citizen, he or she has the right to visit a minor child, on the basis of an agreement between the former spouses or a court ruling, if the agreement or ruling indicates that the visits take place in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

In the event of the death or departure of an EU citizen who meets the conditions of stay for more than 3 months from the territory of the Republic of Poland, a child of an EU citizen residing and learning or studying in this territory and the parent taking care of him/her, regardless of their citizenship, retain the right to stay until the child completes education or studies.

The right of residence of a learning child of an EU citizen and his/her parent (Article 19a):

• A child of an EU citizen who was an employee on the territory of the Republic of Poland, but did not retain the right of residence under Art. 17, who is staying and learning or studying in this territory, has the right to stay until the end of education or studies.
• A parent caring for a child of an EU citizen who was an employee on the territory of the Republic of Poland, but did not retain the right of residence under Art. 17, who is staying and learning or studying in this territory, has the right to stay until the child reaches the age of majority; this right also applies after the child reaches the age of majority, if he/she still requires the presence and care of that parent in order to continue and complete education.