Before you hand your case to someone

Who will handle your residence card better — an independent lawyer or your employer?

Both paths are legal. There is one, fundamental difference: whose interest the person handling your case represents. The residence card is your life in Poland — work, family, plans. See what each of these choices means.

Represents you

Independent lawyer

  • Acts solely in your interest — based on a power of attorney from you
  • All documents, logins and access to the case belong to you
  • Informs you of every deadline, summons and gap in the documents
  • Changing jobs doesn't threaten your case — we keep running it
  • The case proceeds regardless of where you currently work
Represents the company — not you

Employer / agency

  • By the nature of its role it acts in the company's interest — that's lawful, but it's not your interest
  • Documents and access to the case often stay with the employer
  • You learn about deadlines and summonses only if they pass them on
  • When changing jobs you may lose access to your own case
  • Sometimes the application is discontinued or left without examination
To be fair: many employers and agencies handle cases diligently. The problem starts when your paths part — because then the company's interest and yours stop being the same. That's when it matters most who holds the documents and who knows what is happening in the case.

The comparison above is general information about typical differences arising from the construction of the power of attorney and the parties' roles in the proceedings. It does not refer to any specific employer or agency and is not an accusation against any entity — it describes situations that may occur and whose risk is worth knowing before choosing a representative.

Your rights when your card is handled by your employer or an agency

Even if someone else filed the application — these are proceedings in your case. Specific rights follow from that:

✓ You have the right to know the stage of your casethe case number, the office handling it, the deadlines — you can check this yourself, including in the MOS system
✓ You have the right to copies of the documentsthe application, attachments, summonses and decisions concern you — no one may deny you access to your own case
✓ You can revoke the power of attorney at any timeand take over the case yourself or hand it to a representative independent of your employer
✓ Changing jobs need not mean losing the casebut it requires quick action — notifying the office and updating the application on time

How to take over your case — step by step

If you want control over your own residence card, four steps are usually enough:

1
Establish the state of the case

the case number, office, filing date, whether there were summonses. If the employer won't tell you — that's a warning sign.

2
Ask for copies of the documents

the application with attachments and the confirmation of filing (UPO). You have a right to them — it's your case.

3
Revoke the power of attorney (if you wish)

a short letter to the office is enough. From that moment correspondence comes to you or to your new representative.

4
Secure the case when changing jobs

notify the office of the change of employer on time — then the application will not be discontinued or left without examination.

Is your card being handled by your employer or an agency?

We will analyse the documents you have free of charge — your passport with stamps, filing confirmations, letters from offices and from the employer — and tell you what they show and what is worth doing next. A formal check of the case at the office requires a power of attorney and stamp duty — if it proves necessary, we will prepare it for you.

Check your case — free of charge →

The content of this page is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different — if in doubt, consult your situation individually.

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