Residence card in Gdańsk and Słupsk: how the Chmielna office works

Chmielna or Słupsk: where your case goes

Decisions for residents of Pomorskie are issued by the Pomeranian Voivode, and one department does all the work: the Wydział Spraw Cudzoziemców. There is no separate office for Gdynia, Sopot, Tczew or Wejherowo. Everything runs through Gdańsk, and people in the western part of the region can handle some steps in Słupsk.

A classic mistake is posting letters to Chmielna, which is the customer hall, not the registry. The department's e-Doręczenia (electronic delivery) address is on its contact page.

From sending the application to your office visit

1. MOS instead of a queue. Temporary, permanent and EU long-term resident applications are filed online, so there is no appointment for filing in Gdańsk. Your employer or university signs its attachment through a link from MOS, which stays valid for 30 days. Full walkthrough: filing in MOS.
2. UPO and certificate. The UPO (proof of receipt) arrives at once. The certificate of filing (zaświadczenie) appears in MOS after an officer has checked the case, and it replaces the old passport stamp.
3. Summons. The department sets the date and place for fingerprints, a signature sample and showing your passport, with at least 7 days' notice. The same letter often lists missing documents, with at least 14 days to provide them.
4. Hand-ins with a ticket. The department reminds people that tickets for handing in documents or getting information are available throughout opening hours, not only in the morning. If you have a booked time, arrive no more than 15 minutes early.
5. Decision. Sent by post or e-Doręczenia, not through MOS.
6. Card. Collected where and how the office tells you; in Słupsk, without booking on working days 12:00–14:45.

Missing the summons gets the case discontinued (umorzenie). If the date clashes with work or travel, call 58 30 77 466 at once.

The Słupsk branch: walk-in versus booked visits

Słupsk has one simple rule. Ready documents (residence cards, Polish travel documents for foreigners, invitations) are released without registration every working day from 12:00 to 14:45 in room 416 on the 4th floor. Every other visit has to be booked online, and the office explicitly asks people not to turn up without one.

With a booking in Słupsk you can

• apply for a card to be issued or exchanged after your case has ended;
• apply to change a temporary residence and work permit;
• extend a visa or visa-free stay, or register an invitation;
• hand in documents for an open case, or ask about its status.

It saves people in Słupsk, Lębork or Ustka hours of travel, but in a MOS case the summons decides where you appear.

Desk 10, the open day and other local changes

• Since 4 May 2026, invitation applications and registration of EU citizens, their families and UK nationals are handled in Gdańsk at desk (stanowisko) 10, Monday to Thursday only, 8:00–15:00, with a ticket from the machine. The desk is closed on Fridays. Ready invitations are released on Mondays 15:00–17:30 and Thursdays 8:00–11:00.
• Open day on 10 October 2026, 8:00–13:00, in the ground-floor hall at Chmielna. Ask your questions, but attending does not speed up your application.
• The wsc.gdansk.uw.gov.pl portal has document checklists, notices of information meetings for foreigners, and separate pages on MOS and CUKR cards.

Two transfers before you file

Pay both fees before sending the MOS application, to separate accounts, and attach the confirmations. You cannot pay inside MOS.

Since 5 March 2026 the stamp duty is not refunded after a refusal or discontinuation, so make sure your legal basis is right before you pay.

Check the numbers on the Gdańsk office fees page before transferring.

When the case stalls: deadlines, court complaints and file access

On paper the voivode has 60 days for temporary residence and 6 months for permanent or EU long-term residence. Until 4 March 2027, though, those deadlines do not run: Article 100d of the special act on Ukrainian citizens, as amended by Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203, says so, and it applies to foreigners of every nationality. In practice a formal reminder (ponaglenie) or an inactivity complaint will not force a decision right now, so plan job moves or relocations with plenty of slack. Your stay remains legal if you filed on time and without formal defects.

The Gdańsk department flags a consequence many people miss. If a complaint goes to the Voivodeship Administrative Court (WSA), the case file is sent to the court, and the office resumes work only after it comes back with a final judgment. During that time you also cannot inspect the file at the department. More: refusals and appeals and processing time.

Gdańsk pitfalls, and how we can help

• Letters to Okopowa, visits to Chmielna — never the other way round.
• In Słupsk the only walk-in service is collecting a ready document; for anything else, book first at kolejka.gdansk.uw.gov.pl.
• Desk 10 does not take invitations or EU registrations on Fridays.
• Working at the port, a shipyard or in logistics? The employer's MOS attachment is the usual bottleneck; see temporary residence and work, and HR teams can read the employers' page.

MaViAl is based in Wrocław and handles cases from the Tricity and Słupsk remotely: we pick the legal basis, check documents, fill in MOS with you (you log in and sign yourself) and help you answer a summons from Gdańsk. We can also travel there when needed. Full support starts from 1490 zł, with details on our prices page; see also contact and our Wrocław office.

Frequently asked questions