Residence card in Kraków: inside the Lesser Poland Voivodeship Office

infoopt.pl – where every Kraków case starts

The Lesser Poland office has a separate Foreigners' Department and runs the infoopt.pl portal, which the Office for Foreigners (UdSC) also links to. You will find notices about changes (MOS, for instance), booking forms, account numbers and contacts there – usually faster than on the office's general website.

Jurisdiction follows your place of residence, so the portal concerns everyone living in the Małopolskie voivodeship: Kraków and the surrounding municipalities, but also Tarnów, Nowy Sącz, Oświęcim or the Podhale region. If you live in Jaworzno or Chrzanów, check the voivodeship – Jaworzno belongs to Śląskie, so your office would be the one in Katowice.

Three MUW numbers and what each is for

Ukrainian citizens applying for the CUKR card (in MOS until 4 March 2027) have their own line, which spares them the general queue. The conditions are in our article on the CUKR card. All numbers can be checked on the MUW contact page.

What you book in Kraków, and what comes in a summons

On 15 April 2026 MUW announced that from 27 April 2026 e-mail bookings are suspended, with one exception: card exchange is still booked by e-mail (the address is on the “umów wizytę” page). Through infoopt.pl/umow-wizyte you can book:

• residence card pickup – only after the SMS, using the pickup booking form;
• residence card exchange;
• Karta Polaka matters;
• collecting a decision.

What you cannot book: the fingerprint visit for a MOS case. The office sets that date in a summons sent at least 7 days ahead.

A MUW case in stages

1. Fees – stamp duty to Kraków City Hall, the card fee to MUW (accounts below); confirmations are attached in MOS.
2. MOS application with an attachment from your employer or Kraków university (link valid 30 days). Students at UJ, AGH and other universities: tell the international office the link will come by e-mail – more in residence card for studies.
3. UPO and certificate – the certificate appears in MOS after verification and replaces the stamp.
4. Summons – passport, fingerprints, signature specimen; the office may request documents at the same time (at least 14 days).
5. Decision – by post or e-Doręczenia. If you prefer to collect it in person, decision pickup is also booked on infoopt.pl.
6. SMS → form → Hall A. After the SMS that your card is ready, book a slot and collect it at ul. Przy Rondzie 6.

Card pickup in Hall A, and Kraków's fee exception

Cards are issued in service Hall A, Monday to Friday 7:00–15:00, at your booked time. Details are on the card pickup booking page.

The MOS rule is that both fees are paid before you send the application. Kraków's card pickup page, however, allows someone who did not pay the card fee earlier to show the confirmation at pickup. Treat this as a safety net for an oversight, not a way to postpone payment – paying straight away is safer.

Tarnów and Nowy Sącz: information closer to home

Both points explain the procedure, but the office does not confirm that fingerprints or documents are taken there. For the appearance and card pickup, residents of eastern and southern Lesser Poland travel to Kraków unless the summons says otherwise.

MUW accounts and waiting times

• Stamp duty (340 zł for general temporary residence and CUKR, 440 zł for residence and work or an EU Blue Card, 640 zł for permanent residence and EU long-term resident): UMK Kraków, PKO BP, 49 1020 2892 2276 3005 0000 0000.
• Card (100 zł; 50 zł for, among others, children under 16, pupils and students): MUW, NBP O/O Kraków, 08 1010 1270 0051 2222 3100 0000.

Check the numbers on the MUW fees page. Since 5 March 2026, stamp duty is not refunded after a refusal or discontinuation.

MUW publishes no average processing times. Because of art. 100d of the special act (extended by Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203), time limits in residence cases do not run until 4 March 2027 – for every foreigner – so a reminder based only on the 60 days is unlikely to help. An application filed on time and without defects keeps your stay legal until the case ends, but it is not a travel document – more on timing.

How MaViAl helps people in Lesser Poland

MaViAl's office is in Wrocław, and we handle cases from Kraków and the region remotely – in English, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian. Most often we help students at Kraków universities, employees, and Ukrainian citizens moving to the CUKR card: choosing the legal basis, checking documents, preparing the MOS data with you (you sign yourself), chasing the university's or employer's attachment and, within the agreed scope, answering MUW summonses.

Packages start from 1490 zł; the full list is on the prices page. Write via contact. We do not guarantee decisions or deadlines.

Frequently asked questions