Appeals against residence permit refusals

Appealing a residence permit refusal in Poland

We help you appeal refusals to grant temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits and EU long-term resident permits. You can contact us after submitting your application independently or transfer your case from another representative. We work in Warsaw and accept documents remotely.

You can order appeal preparation alone or entrust us with the entire administrative appeal case. In the first option, you receive a completed document to submit yourself. In the second, we represent you until the appeal decision.

Appeal against the voivode’s refusal

We prepare an administrative appeal against a residence permit refusal with grounds specific to your case. We explain which findings of the voivode you disagree with and what evidence supports your position. If a missing document caused the refusal, we establish whether it was included in the case file and prepare the necessary supplements.

The appeal is addressed to the Head of the Office for Foreigners — Szef Urzędu do Spraw Cudzoziemców. It must be submitted through the voivode who issued the refusal. The deadline is 14 days from proper service of the decision; the day of service is not counted. The date on the decision and the date it is served are not the same. Legal basis: Article 57 § 1 and Article 129 §§ 1–2 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (KPA).

If the authority issued an order refusing to initiate proceedings rather than a decision refusing the permit, a different procedure applies: zażalenie within 7 days after service of the order. Legal basis: Article 61a § 2 and Article 141 § 2 KPA. Appeal rules ↗

Management of the appeal case

With full case management, we submit the appeal under a power of attorney and continue working after it is forwarded to the Office for Foreigners. We prepare responses to the authority’s requests and submit further evidence. We explain each decision you receive and the next steps.

Additional evidence may be submitted during the appeal proceedings. If the case file needs to be supplemented, the Office for Foreigners may conduct supplementary proceedings itself or instruct the voivode to do so. This is provided for in Article 136 § 1 KPA.

Following an appeal, the Office for Foreigners may uphold the refusal, overturn it and decide the merits of the case, or remit the case to the voivode where the statutory grounds are met. Remittal for reconsideration does not mean that a residence permit has already been granted. Legal basis: Article 138 KPA. Powers of the appeal authority ↗

Residence during the appeal

A timely, admissible appeal continues the case at second instance. Residence remains lawful until the final administrative decision if the conditions of the relevant procedure are met: the original application was submitted during lawful residence and had no formal deficiencies, or those deficiencies were remedied within the prescribed period. This rule does not apply where proceedings are suspended at the applicant’s request. Act on Foreigners ↗

Service of the final refusal from the Office for Foreigners changes the situation. A complaint to the administrative court does not extend lawful residence. If there is no other basis for lawful residence and Article 299(6) of the Act on Foreigners applies, there is a 30-day period to leave Poland. Following a refusal at second instance, this period runs from service of that decision. Separate statutory rules apply where return proceedings have already been initiated or a return decision has already been issued.

A new application submitted while an obligation to leave is in force does not automatically extend residence: the law provides grounds for refusing to initiate such proceedings. Judicial review is a separate stage.