The temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification is granted to a third-country national - a family member - who arrives or resides on the territory of Poland in order to join his/her family member – a third-country national already residing in Poland on the basis of one of the following residence titles:
- on the basis of a permanent residence permit,
- on the basis of a residence permit for EU long-term residents,
- has been granted a refugee status,
- has been granted a subsidiary protection,
- on the basis of subsequent temporary residence permits for a period of at least 2 years. A temporary residence permit directly prior to submitting the application for a temporary residence permit for family member should be granted for at least 1 year validity,
- on the basis of a temporary residence permit in order to conduct research or a visa issued for the purpose of conducting research or carrying development works,
- on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of long-term mobility of researchers,
- on the basis of a temporary residence permit in order to perform highly-qualified employment,
- on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of work under the intra-corporate transfer,
- on the basis of a temporary residence permit for the purpose of exercising long-term mobility of a management employee, specialist or an employee under training under the intra-corporate transfer,
- on the basis of a temporary residence permit granted to a third-country national, who has finished a scientific research or development works and seeks employment within the territory of Poland or plans to set up an economic activity within the territory,
- on the basis of the right of residence or permanent residence of a national of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland referred to in Article 10(1)(b) and (d) of the Withdrawal Agreement,
- on the basis of a residence permit for humanitarian reasons.
A family member of the aforementioned third-country national is:
- the spouse of the third-country national who is in a marital relationship according to the Polish law,
- the minor child of the third-country national and his/her spouse referred to in point 1, including an adopted child,
- the minor child of the third-country national, including an adopted child, who is dependant and over whom the third-country national exercises actual parental authority,
- the minor child of the person mentioned in Point 1 (a), including an adopted child, who is dependant and over whom he/she exercises actual parental authority.
Minor children referred to in points 2-4, are persons who were minors on the day of submitting the application for a temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification, or in the case of a refugee sponsor, on the day of submitting the application for international protection.
In case of minor third-country nationals who have been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection their direct ascendant or an adult responsible for a minor in accordance with the law in force in the Republic of Poland, is also considered as his/her family member, if the third-country national:
- is a minor residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland unaccompanied, or
- was a minor residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland unaccompanied on the day of submitting the application for international protection or subsequently left unaccompanied, who later reached the age of majority, and the application for a temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification was submitted within 6 months from the date of obtaining refugee status or granting subsidiary protection.
| Where and how to apply | When a family member stays outside Poland and intends to join a third-country national living in Poland The application for granting the temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification for a family member is made by the third-country national who lives on the territory of Poland and is to be joined, to the governmental province authority (a voivode) competent in regard to his/her place of residence. Submitting the application by that person requires a written consent of the family member staying abroad or a consent of his/her legal representative, unless the applicant is a legal representative thereof. The consent is treated as granting a power of attorney to act on behalf of the family member staying abroad in a given proceeding. After the issuance of a positive decision on a family reunification residence permit, a family member is issued a special visa abroad on his/her application in order to implement the permit. After arrival to Poland, a separate application for a residence card as well as the fingerprints should be submitted by the family member to the above-mentioned authority in order to obtain a residence card. More information may be found here. When a family member is already in Poland The family member shall make an application for the temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification in person, not later than on the last day of legal stay within the territory Poland to the governmental province authority (a voivode) competent for the place of his/her residence. You should make an appointment early enough. When making the application, the family member will be required to provide fingerprints. More on the application may be found here, here and here. The application in case of:
When submitting an application for a temporary residence permit for a minor family member staying in Poland, who has reached the age of 6 years old by the day of making the application, his/her presence thereof is required. Note: Case handling Module (MOS) may be used for filling in and submitting applications only when a family member is already in Poland and applies themselves. Stamp duty PLN 340 (ap. 77 Euro). Fee for issuing a residence card PLN 100 (ap. 23 Euro). The procedure should end within 60 days from the day of making a complete application. The third-country national who has obtained the temporary residence permit is issued with a residence card on the territory of Poland. |
Documents required |
Note: Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned documents will result in the applicant being requested to provide the missing documents within a deadline of not less than 7 days from the delivery of the request, otherwise the application will not be considered. In case of failure to pay a stamp duty within a deadline specified in the request the application will be returned. The application should also be accompanied by the following standard documents:
Note: The requirement to have a source of stable and regular income is considered to be met also when the family member's maintenance costs will be covered by a member of his/her family responsible for his or her maintenance, who resides in the territory of the Republic of Poland. Note: Conditions to be met concerning stable and regular source of income, health insurance as well as place of residence shall not apply to the temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification to be granted for the family member of the third-country national granted a refugee status or subsidiary protection if the application for granting the temporary residence permit was submitted before the end of 6 months from the date of obtaining a refugee status or granting subsidiary protection. In such situation the applicant does not attach documents concerning fulfilment of these conditions. |
| Duration of validity of permits | Temporary residence permits are granted for up to 3 years depending on the status of third-country national residing in Poland (sponsor), with the possibility to apply for subsequent permits. |
| Conditions for renewal | The same as above. |
| Appeals | It is possible to appeal a decision concerning the residence permit before the Head of the Office for Foreigners within 14 days. A further appeal can be brought before the administrative courts. The decision includes detailed information on the right to appeal. |
| Access to employment | The temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification entitles to perform work without any additional document which authorises the third-country national to perform work in the form of the work permit. The residence card, granted in connection with this permit includes a note “access to the labour market”. |
| Access to economic activity | Holders of the residence permit may undertake and conduct business activity on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the same terms as Polish citizens |
| Access to education | A non-EU family member who holds a residence permit on the basis of family reunification has equal access with Polish citizens to all levels of education. |
| Change of status | Possible if conditions for other status are met. |
Long-term residence | Permanent residence permit or EU long-term residence permit Permanent residence permit A permanent residence permit may be granted to a third-country national, being the child of a third-country national holding a permanent residence permit or a residence permit for EU long-term residents who is under his/her parental authority and who is:
The permit is granted for indefinite time. A residence card remains valid for 10 years, which means that it should be replaced every 10 years. A permanent residence permit issued in Poland does not entitle the third-country national to obtain a residence permit in another EU country as is provided for holders of EU long-term residence permits. A permanent residence permit entitles the third-country national to travel to other Schengen Area countries for up to 90 days in a 180-day period mainly for tourism purposes like temporary residence permits. More on permanent residence permit. EU long-term residence permit The EU long-term residence permit is issued to the third-country national who has been staying legally and continuously on the territory of Poland for at least 5 years directly prior to submission of the application for this permit and meets the following conditions:
The permit is granted for indefinite time. A residence card remains valid for 5 years, which means that it should be replaced every 5 years. More on EU long-term residence permit |
Polish diplomatic missions abroad
Online visa registration application
More on temporary residence permit for the purpose of family reunification may be found here, here and here.