Step-by-step guide · MOS

Temporary residence and work — how to file the application in MOS step by step

We show exactly where to click and what to enter in the MOS system. Without official jargon.

Published: 19 August 2026 · Author: Dariusz Włodarczyk Kancelaria TRC · Reading time: about 8 min
440 złstamp duty
+100 złfor the residence card
3 yearsmaximum period of the permit
Onlinefiling the application itself
1Prepare
2MOS account
3Application
4Attachments
5Send
6Authority
Table of contents
  1. Is this your application?
  2. Prepare everything before you start
  3. Steps in the MOS system
  4. How much you will pay
  5. Frequently asked questions
  6. When it is better not to do it alone
  7. Legal basis and sources

1. Is this your application?

Choose this application if you work for a Polish employer — under an employment contract or umowa zlecenia — and want to settle two things with one decision: the right to live in Poland and the right to work.

The authority calls it a single permit. You then do not need a separate work permit.

This is your application if: you have a specific employer in Poland · you work or are about to start · you have somewhere to live and health insurance.
This is NOT your application if: you run your own company · you study · you are coming to join family · you work seasonally a few months a year. Check the other types of application →
The latest moment to file At the latest on the last day of your legal stay. If you file it on time and it has no formal defects, your stay is legal until the day the decision becomes final — even if the case takes long. But do not wait until the last day: the employer's annex takes time.

2. Prepare everything before you start

Do not open MOS until you have these things. Otherwise you will get stuck halfway.

3. Steps in the MOS system

  1. Create your MOS account

    • Go to mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl
    • Click the Zaloguj (Log in) button
    • The site will take you to login.gov.pl — choose Profil zaufany (trusted profile)
    • Log in exactly as you log in to your bank
    • Fill in the registration form and click Zatwierdź (Confirm)
    • Open your mailbox and click the activation link
    Did you have an account in the old MOS?It no longer works — the old portal was shut down and the accounts deleted. You must create a new account.
    Never give anyone your login details.A representative cannot log in to your account. They can, however, help you fill in the application while you are the one logged in.

  2. Ask your employer for the annex — do it now, not at the end

    • Warn your employer that they will receive an e-mail from the MOS system with a link
    • In that link the employer fills in the information about your work
    • The employer signs the annex electronically — with a trusted profile or a qualified signature
    • Once they sign, you will receive an e-mail „Wniosek jest już możliwy do złożenia” (The application can now be filed)
    Without the signed annex the system will NOT let you send the application.The link for the employer is valid for 30 days. This is the most frequent reason why people do not make it before their legal stay ends.

  3. Fill in the application

    • After logging in, click Złóż wniosek online (File an application online)
    • Choose from the list: zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy (temporary residence permit)
    • As the purpose of stay choose: wykonywanie pracy (performing work — temporary residence and work)
    • Fill in the form in Polish
    • Copy your first name, surname, date of birth and passport number letter by letter exactly as in the passport
    • In the address field give the place where you actually live and receive letters
    • In the employer's details enter their e-mail address — this triggers sending the link from step 2
    You can stop at any momentSave the draft and come back later. The draft waits for you 45 days from the last change. Fill it in calmly, bit by bit.
    Your Polish is not good?You can ask for help from someone who knows the language or use a free online translator. What matters most is that the personal data match the passport.

  4. Add the attachments

    • Photograph — JPG, min. 684 × 883 px, max. 2.5 MB
    • Scan of all passport pages — one file of max. 10 MB
    • Confirmation of the 440 zł stamp duty
    • Confirmation of the 100 zł payment for the residence card
    • The contract with your employer and other documents, if you have them
    • Check whether the employer's annex has already been signed
    LimitAll files together may not exceed 50 MB. If the scans are too heavy, scan them at lower quality or take clear photos with your phone.

  5. Check, sign and send

    • Read the whole application from top to bottom
    • Check in particular: passport number, date of birth, spelling of the surname, address
    • Sign the application electronically — with the trusted profile
    • Click Wyślij (Send)
    • Download and save on your computer the UPO (official confirmation of receipt) and the application in PDF
    • Once an official approves the application, download the certificate of filing the application — it replaces the former passport stamp
    After clicking „Wyślij” you can no longer correct anything.A sent application cannot be withdrawn or edited. A typo in the passport number means a summons to correct it and several weeks lost.

  6. Visit to the authority and the decision

    • Wait for the summons to appear in person from the voivode handling your case
    • At the office you will leave your fingerprints and specimen signature and show the original passport
    • The authority will send the decision to the indicated address for service — yours or your representative's
    • After a positive decision you collect the residence card
    MOS will not remind you of anythingThe portal does not inform you about the state of the case or the need to complete documents — an official of the voivodeship office does. If the authority calls on you to remedy defects, you will have at least 7 days for it. An unremedied defect means the application is left unexamined — and then the legality of your stay ends as well.
    Changing employer or address during the case?You notify the voivode outside the MOS portal — by a paper letter or to the office's e-Delivery address.

4. How much you will pay

What you pay forHow much
Stamp duty for the temporary residence and work permit440 zł
Issuing the residence cardPLN 100
Issue of the residence card — child under 16, pupil, student50 zł
Power of attorney, if you appoint someone17 zł
Change of the residence and work permit (e.g. change of employer)220 zł
Where to payThe amounts are the same throughout Poland. Only the account numbers differ — you take them from the website of the voivodeship office that handles your case. You pay the stamp duty and the residence card fee separately. You cannot pay them in the MOS portal.

5. Frequently asked questions

Do I have to go to the office to file the application?

No. You file the whole application online. You do not book an appointment and do not queue. You will go to the office only when summoned — for fingerprints, the specimen signature and to show the original passport.

Can I stop filling it in and finish tomorrow?

Yes. Save the draft — you can come back to it for 45 days from the last changes.

Can someone file the application for me?

No. You log in and sign in person. The portal's rules forbid using someone else's account. A representative may help you fill in the application while you are logged in and run the case afterwards — including receiving letters from the authority on your behalf.

What if I change employer during the case?

You have to notify the voivode — by a paper letter or electronically to the e-Delivery address, because the MOS portal does not support it. The single permit is tied to a specific employer and specific working conditions.

What if the MOS portal is down on the last day of my legal stay?

File the application at the latest within 3 working days after the day on which the system's unavailability was removed. The first day of unavailability is taken as the date of filing.

Will I get a stamp in my passport?

No. After an official approves the application you download from MOS the certificate of filing the application. It replaces the former stamp, and the services checking the legality of stay see your application in the system.

For how long will I get the permit?

For a maximum of 3 years. The authority may grant a shorter period — usually as long as your employment contract lasts.

6. When it is better not to do it alone

You can fill in the application yourself — the system is free and designed so that anyone can manage it. But in these situations one mistake costs several months and the legality of your stay:

Why it is worth having a representative even if you file the application yourself The authority is obliged to serve letters on the representative. Your lawyer learns about the summons the same day — and you do not lose the case because you happened not to be at home when the postman came. No honest person will promise you the content of the decision, because it is the authority that issues it. What the representative is responsible for is that the application is complete, the deadlines are met and your rights in the proceedings are respected. Choose a person operating in Poland whom you can identify — name, seat, registration number.

Do not want to keep an eye on it alone?

We will check your situation and tell you plainly whether the application can be filed safely.

Book a free consultation

Legal note: this article is informational and does not constitute legal advice. Legal status: 19 August 2026. Every case is different. Data controller: Dariusz Włodarczyk Kancelaria TRC.

Legal basis and sources: art. 98, art. 105, art. 108 ust. 1 and art. 225a ust. 1 ustawy z 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach (Act on Foreigners, Dz.U. 2013 poz. 1650 ze zm.); art. 64 § 2 ustawy z 14 czerwca 1960 r. — Kodeks postępowania administracyjnego. How the portal works: Office for Foreigners (Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców) — MOS, questions and answers. Fee rates: fee table of the voivodeship office. Own commentary of the Centre for Foreigners' Affairs Services.