What Changed in Poland's Immigration Rules: the 2025–2026 Breakdown

"From 2026 citizenship takes ten years" is the most repeated claim of recent months. It is wrong.

The citizenship act has not changed. The periods are the same: 3 years on EU long-term resident status or permanent residence, 2 years through marriage to a Polish citizen, 1 year in some permanent-residence cases, and the language level is B1 — not B2 or C1. Bills exist, but a bill is not a law; what they actually propose is covered at the end of this article.

Here is what did change while everyone was discussing ten years:

Taking them in order, starting with the one that breaks the most cases.

Art. 116: nine situations where the case is never opened

This is the most underrated change, because it looks procedural and operates as a prohibition.

Many people know art. 99(1): ten grounds on which the voivode refuses to open proceedings on any temporary residence application. But the single permit for residence and work has its own additional list.

Art. 116 opens with the words "Poza przypadkami, o których mowa w art. 99" — besides those cases. And adds nine of its own:

The most common is (5). Behind the dry reference to art. 60(1) sits a list of visa purposes that bar a work-based application: tourism (01), visiting family or friends (02), sporting events (03), cultural activity and conferences (07), studies (09), vocational training (10), other forms of education (11), transit (14), airport transit (15), medical treatment (16), exchange programmes and work & travel (18).

What this means in practice. You arrived on a tourist visa, found a job, the employer is ready to sponsor — you cannot file. You came to study on a 09 visa and want to move to a work permit — also not while you hold that visa. Not "refused on the merits" but refused an opening: the case never starts, so there is nothing to argue about.

Note (3) as well: running a business excludes the single residence-and-work permit. An entrepreneur has their own route, art. 142, and the two cannot be combined (covered in our article on residence permits for freelancers).

MOS: paper is gone

The MOS portal (Moduł Obsługi Spraw) went live on 27 April 2026. From that date, applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status are filed electronically only.

The basis is the act of 21 November 2025 amending the act on foreigners (Dz.U. item 1794), signed on 12 December 2025. The switch date was to be announced by a separate communiqué, and it was issued: Komunikat MSWiA of 10 April 2026, M.P. 2026 item 370.

A practical consequence people have already been caught by: paper applications posted before 27 April but arriving at the office after that date are left unexamined. The postmark is irrelevant; what counts is the date of receipt.

The passport stamp is no longer applied

A change affecting everyone who files, and still described incorrectly in most guides.

Proof of filing used to be a stamp in the passport. With the move to MOS it was replaced by an electronic certificate:

Stamps placed on paper filings before 27 April 2026 remain valid, which is why both still circulate. No new ones are issued.

One detail worth knowing in advance: the certificate arrives not at the moment of submission but once an officer has checked the application. At submission MOS issues a different document — the UPO — and that is what fixes the filing date. Covered in our article on missed deadlines.

Employing foreigners: the old act is gone

Since 1 June 2025 the act of 20 March 2025 on the conditions for the admissibility of entrusting work to foreigners in the territory of the Republic of Poland (Dz.U. 2025 item 621) has applied. It replaced the previous regime of work permits and declarations.

For most readers one fragment matters — art. 2(9), the definition of "entrusting work to a foreigner". It covers:

What the list does not include is an invoice from your own company. That is not entrusted work but running a business, and different rules apply. The distinction looks formal until it meets art. 116(3) from the section above.

The Blue Card now gives the right to a sole proprietorship

Small in wording, significant in effect, and dated the same day: since 1 June 2025 the wording of art. 4(2)(1)(c) of the act of 6 March 2018 on the rules for participation of foreign entrepreneurs (Dz.U. 2025 item 619) includes in the list of titles allowing business activity on the same terms as Polish citizens:

• art. 127 — the Polish Blue Card;
• art. 137a — another EU state's Blue Card under long-term mobility.

This deserves saying plainly, because we used to write the opposite ourselves. Before June 2025 the Blue Card was not on the list, and sources written before that date still claim its holder cannot register a business. That is no longer true.

Processing deadlines: the freeze was extended

Art. 100d of the act of 12.03.2022 on assistance to Ukrainian citizens suspends the running of deadlines for deciding on temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident applications until 4 March 2027.

Despite the title of that act, the provision applies to all foreigners regardless of nationality — confirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court. The full breakdown, with the case law and the pending CJEU reference, is in our article on the deadline freeze.

What actually changed: not the requirements, but the entrance

And here is the conclusion that justifies looking at all of this together.

Across the 2025–2026 changes, the requirements placed on an applicant — income, insurance, accommodation, qualifications — were barely touched. What changed is something else: the conditions under which you are let into the procedure at all.

That changes where preparation effort belongs. It used to be about assembling a convincing file. Now the first step is confirming you are entitled to file this particular application right now, on the document you currently hold. A flawless file does not help if the case is never opened.

Citizenship: the bills and the law

Now for those ten years.

The act in force has not changed. The periods and requirements are as before; every route is covered in our citizenship article.

Several initiatives are in circulation and are worth distinguishing:

We were unable to confirm the status of these initiatives as of 22 October 2026. What we found on the members' bills dates from late 2025; the MSWiA concept is a separate track and its fate is likewise unconfirmed.

So, stated honestly: the law has not changed, bills exist, and their current stage has not been verified by us. If you are planning a citizenship application, work from the rules in force and watch the news — but not on the assumption that everything gets worse tomorrow.

What is in this article and what is not

Here: only the changes that affect foreigners regardless of nationality.

Frequently asked questions

Is it true that citizenship now takes ten years? No. The act in force is unchanged: 3 years on EU long-term resident status or permanent residence, 2 years through marriage, 1 year in some cases, level B1. The ten-year bills were tabled in 2025 and we have not confirmed their current status. A bill is not a law.

I'm in Poland on a tourist visa and found a job. Can I apply for a work permit? No. Art. 116(5) expressly excludes a single residence-and-work application where, on the filing date, you are in Poland on a visa issued for a purpose in art. 60(1)(1)–(3), (7), (9)–(11), (14)–(16) or (18) — which covers tourism, family visits and studies. The voivode will refuse to open proceedings.

I have a sole proprietorship. Can I apply for a single permit through an employer? Not while you are trading: art. 116(3) excludes it outright. An entrepreneur's route is art. 142.

I posted my documents on 25 April 2026 and they arrived in May. What happens? The application is left unexamined. From 27 April 2026 filing is only possible through MOS, and what matters is the date of receipt, not the date of posting.

Where is the stamp confirming my filing? It has not been applied since 27 April 2026. In its place is an electronic certificate with a QR code (art. 108(1)(1), (3)(9)), free of charge and delivered through MOS. Stamps issued earlier remain valid.

I hold a Blue Card. Can I register a sole proprietorship? Yes. Since 1 June 2025 art. 127 and art. 137a are on the list of titles permitting business activity (art. 4(2)(1)(c) of the act of 6 March 2018, as amended by Dz.U. 2025 item 619). Sources written earlier say otherwise; they are out of date.