Filing a residence card application through MOS — complete guide since 27 April 2026

Which applications go through MOS and which stay on paper

MOS (Moduł Obsługi Spraw, the case-handling module) is the Office for Foreigners’ (UdSC) system for residence applications. Electronic filing became mandatory on 27 April 2026 under the Act of 21 November 2025 amending the Act on Foreigners. The previous MOS was switched off on 17 April 2026 and its accounts were deleted, so if you used it before, you need a new account.

A paper application for temporary residence, permanent residence or EU long-term resident status that reached the office after 26 April 2026 is not examined. The postmark date did not count.

What to prepare before you open the form

You can fill in the form in stages, but you can only submit it once everything is there. The slowest parts are usually the ones outside your control: the employer’s or university’s signature on the attachment and sworn translations.

• Access to login.gov.pl. You log in to MOS through login.gov.pl. An account is opened by an adult foreigner, a parent, a guardian or the curator of an unaccompanied minor, using a profil zaufany (trusted profile). If you do not have one, sort that out first.
• A way to sign — a qualified electronic signature, podpis zaufany or podpis osobisty.
• A digital photo for the card — recent and matching your current appearance.
• Passport scans — in colour and legible. We recommend scanning every page with entries, visas and stamps, because the office reviews your travel history.
• Proof of two payments — the stamp duty and the card fee (details below).
• Documents proving the purpose of stay, with translations. The list depends on the ground — see residence card documents.
• The e-mail address of the person at your employer, university or internship organiser who will sign the attachment.
• A working e-mail and ideally an e-Doręczenia (e-delivery) box. Some offices, for example in Mazowieckie, send summonses by e-mail or e-Doręczenia.

Filing in MOS step by step

1. Account and login

Go to mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl and sign in through login.gov.pl. A child’s or ward’s application is filed by the parent or guardian from their own account using sub-accounts, which UdSC introduced in a notice of 7 October 2026. The account and the signature must belong to the person filing.

2. Type of application and purpose of stay

This is the choice with the biggest consequences. It determines the conditions you must meet, the attachment, the fee and sometimes whether proceedings are opened at all. For example, the voivode refuses to initiate single-permit (residence and work) proceedings if on the filing date you are in Poland on, among others, a tourist or visiting Schengen visa issued by another country or on certain types of Polish visa. If you are unsure about the ground, start with a diagnosis.

3. The form

Enter your data exactly as in your passport: spelling of names, dates, document number. The form covers personal details, your address in Poland, the purpose of stay and previous stays and trips, among other things. The forms changed with MOS (for example the Interior Ministry regulation of 10 April 2026, Dz.U. 2026 item 553, for temporary residence), so old templates found online are not a reliable guide.

4. Employer, university or internship attachment

If your purpose requires an attachment (such as Załącznik nr 1 for residence and work), you enter the entity’s e-mail in MOS. The system sends it a link; the entity fills in the attachment and signs it electronically. The link is valid for 30 days, and you cannot submit until the attachment is signed. Warn HR or the dean’s office early, especially if your legal stay is about to end.

5. Fees before submission

The stamp duty (opłata skarbowa) and the card fee are paid by bank transfer before you file, to two different accounts. There is no payment inside MOS. You attach the proof — an e-confirmation, a scan or a photo.

6. Attachments

Upload the digital photo, passport scans, payment proofs and the documents on your purpose of stay. A formal defect triggers a request to fix it; a defect not fixed on time means the application is left unexamined (pozostawienie bez rozpoznania).

7. Signature, submission and UPO

Sign the application and attachments with a qualified e-signature, podpis zaufany or podpis osobisty, then submit. The application is filed when you receive the UPO (official confirmation of receipt), which the system issues immediately. Download and keep it: it proves your filing date.

Fees: how much and to which account

Stamp duty goes to the city office of the city where the voivodeship office has its seat, and the card fee goes to the voivodeship office itself. In Lower Silesia these are the accounts of Gmina Wrocław and the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Office (DUW); the current numbers are on the DUW page — check them right before you pay. UdSC keeps an overview for all voivodeships.

For applications filed from 5 March 2026, stamp duty is not refunded if the voivode refuses the permit or discontinues the case. If the fee is missing, the office asks you to pay it (usually within 7–14 days) and returns the application if you do not.

After submission: certificate, summons, fingerprints

A certificate instead of a passport stamp

Once an office employee has verified the application, you can download a zaświadczenie o złożeniu wniosku (certificate of filing) from MOS. It replaced the passport stamp: it is free, carries the Head of UdSC’s qualified e-seal and a QR code, and can also be handed over at your personal appearance. Practice varies: the Lublin office issues it only where it can clearly confirm filing during legal stay and formal completeness, and treats the UPO as sufficient proof of filing; the Mazowieckie office e-mails the certificate. Neither the certificate nor the UPO entitles you to cross borders.

Summons to appear in person

The voivode summons you to the office with at least 7 days’ notice. You show your original passport and give fingerprints and a signature specimen. The same letter may ask you to fix formal defects, pay a fee or submit documents — for documents the office gives at least 14 days. The office sets the appointment outside MOS; there is no booking in the system. Children under 6 and people who cannot attend for medical reasons (a specialist’s certificate issued no more than 3 months before filing) are exempt.

What happens if you do not attend

If you do not come, do not give fingerprints or a signature, or do not show your passport, the proceedings are discontinued (umorzenie, art. 106i of the Act on Foreigners) and the stamp duty is lost. While you are waiting for the summons, avoid long trips and check your post, e-mail and e-Doręczenia regularly.

Decision and card

The decision does not appear in MOS; it arrives by post or e-Doręczenia. Appeals are also filed outside the system (see refusal and appeal). After a positive decision the office tells you the card is ready for collection.

The last day of legal stay and MOS outages

File no later than the last day of your legal stay. What counts is the date on the UPO, not the day you started the form or sent the link to your employer. If MOS is down on the last day of your legal stay, you may file within 3 working days after the system is restored (art. 225c).

An application filed on time and free of formal defects (or with defects fixed by the deadline) keeps your stay legal until the decision becomes final. How this works in practice, and why the statutory 60 days are not enforceable right now, is explained on residence card processing time.

Common MOS mistakes

• Starting in the last week of legal stay. The employer does not sign the attachment in time, and without it you cannot submit.
• Paying into the wrong account — the card fee to the city, or a fee to another voivodeship — or forgetting to attach the proof.
• Inconsistent data: different spelling of your surname in the contract, the attachment and the passport; a different job title or salary in the contract than in the employer’s attachment.
• Illegible scans, missing passport pages, foreign-language documents without a sworn translation.
• The wrong ground — for example a residence-and-work application filed while staying on a visa for which the law provides refusal to initiate proceedings.
• Handing your login to an intermediary. You sign personally; the Lublin office states plainly that a proxy cannot file in MOS on your behalf.
• A missed summons. An e-Doręczenia letter or an e-mail nobody checked ends in discontinuation or the application being left unexamined.
• Losing the UPO. Without it, it is harder to show your employer or an inspector when you filed.

MOS and the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Office

The competent authority is the voivode for the place where you live. If you live in Wrocław or elsewhere in Lower Silesia, your case is handled by the Wydział Spraw Obywatelskich i Cudzoziemców (Citizens’ and Foreigners’ Affairs Department) of the Dolnośląski Urząd Wojewódzki, which has branches (delegatury) in Legnica, Jelenia Góra and Wałbrzych. The summons states where and when to appear for fingerprints.

Some DUW pages still describe the old booking chain (Przybysz, wizyta.duw.pl) from before the new MOS. Treat those descriptions with caution and follow the summons. Addresses, links and local details are on residence card in Wrocław.

What MaViAl prepares for your MOS application

MaViAl is a Wrocław company. We work online with clients from all over Poland and also meet in person in Wrocław. Depending on the package, we:

• identify the right legal ground and type of application;
• build a document checklist for your case and check that everything is consistent;
• prepare the MOS form data with you — you log in through login.gov.pl and sign yourself; we never take your login;
• coordinate the attachment with your employer, university or internship organiser;
• give payment instructions and check the confirmations;
• prepare you for the fingerprint appointment and handle summonses within the package;
• monitor the status and explain next steps — in English, Polish, Russian or Ukrainian.

Government fees, translations and travel are not included. We do not guarantee a decision or a deadline and offer no “unofficial acceleration”. See the full price list, our residence card assistance in Wrocław, or get in touch.

Frequently asked questions