Karta pobytu (Polish residence card)

The card is the physical proof of a residence permit (zezwolenie na pobyt). For health professionals the permit is usually a temporary residence and work permit (zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy i pracę) or the permit for highly qualified work, known as the EU Blue Card. Permanent and long-term EU residence permits also come with a card.

The voivodeship offices stress that the stamp duty for the permit and the fee for the card are two separate payments to two different accounts.

1. Apply online through MOS. Since 27 April 2026, applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and long-term EU residence can only be made electronically in the MOS portal (mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl). Paper applications that had not reached the office by then are left unexamined.
2. Get your employer's part signed. For work permits, MOS emails your employer a link to complete and sign its annex. UdSC warns this can take time, so do not wait until the last day of your legal stay.
3. Sign and pay. Sign with a trusted profile, qualified electronic signature or personal signature, and attach proof of both payments and scans of every page of your passport.
4. Attend in person. The voivode summons you to give fingerprints and a signature specimen and to show your original passport.
5. Receive the decision and the card. After a positive decision the card is issued without a separate application.

Once a voivodeship officer verifies your application you can download a certificate of having applied, which replaces the old passport stamp. The decision is posted to the delivery address you give, yours or your representative's. A few cases still go on paper, including intra-corporate transfers and family reunification where the family member is abroad.

• Temporary residence and work permit: 440 zł stamp duty.
• EU Blue Card permit: 440 zł.
• Permanent residence or long-term EU residence: 640 zł.
• Issue or exchange of the card: 100 zł (50 zł for those entitled to a reduction).
• Changing an existing temporary residence and work permit: 220 zł.
• Replacing a card lost or destroyed through your fault: 200 zł, then 300 zł for a repeat.

UdSC says using MOS is free and you can apply yourself without paying an intermediary; the only costs are the stamp duty and the card fee. Pay before you submit, because proof of both payments is attached to the application.

The card shows you may stay; it does not by itself let you practise. You also need a right to practise (PWZ) from your regional chamber. On the simplified route the PWZ is tied to one employer and period, so check that your permit and your PWZ cover the same job and dates. Register your address to receive a PESEL. See Poland.