MOS — How to Apply for a Residence Permit Through the Electronic Portal

If you've ever applied for a residence permit in Poland, you know the routine: booking an appointment, paper forms, waiting in line at the voivodeship office. That's changed. On 27 April 2026, the Office for Foreigners launched MOS — a fully electronic portal that replaced paper applications for the three main types of residence permit.

This guide explains what MOS is, who uses it, and how to file your application without falling into the most common traps.

What is MOS?

MOS stands for Moduł Obsługi Spraw (Case Handling Module). The system is available at mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl in any standard browser. Since 27 April 2026 it is the only way to file applications for:

• temporary residence permit
• permanent residence permit
• EU long-term resident's permit

Since 4 May 2026, MOS is also the only way to file the CUKR residence card application for Ukrainian citizens under temporary protection — we cover the differences below.

Access to the system is free. You can pause the application and come back to it whenever suits you — no appointment booking, no standing in line.

Who can use MOS?

You use MOS if you're filing, from within Poland, an application for one of the three permit types above. Employers, universities, and internship organizers use it too — they sign attachments — as do parents filing on behalf of minor children.

What MOS does not cover

A handful of categories still require a paper application under the existing rules:

• temporary residence for intra-corporate transfer (ICT), including long-term mobility of managers, specialists, and trainees
• family reunification, when the family member is outside Poland
• applications based on family life under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, when the foreigner is abroad
• family member of a Polish, EU, or UK citizen (Article 10 of the Withdrawal Agreement), when the foreigner is outside Poland

If your situation falls into one of these categories, you still file on paper at the voivodeship office, just as before. Note: for categories now covered by MOS, paper applications that did not reach the voivodeship office before 27 April 2026 are not processed. The postmark date doesn't count.

Login and account setup

1. Go to mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl.
2. Click "Zaloguj" (Log in). You'll be redirected to login.gov.pl, the national identity gateway.
3. Authenticate using Profil Zaufany (Trusted Profile — a free Polish digital identity tied to your PESEL and online banking) or another supported method.
4. Register your individual MOS account, tied to your login.

Never share your login.gov.pl credentials with third parties — including "agents" who offer to file the application for you. A proxy is not authorized to create an account or fill in the application on your behalf — doing so puts your data and your case at risk.

Filling in the application

Once logged in, choose the correct permit type and fill in the form step by step. You can save the application and come back to it at any time. The required digital attachments are:

• a current biometric photo in digital format
• a scan or photo of every page of your valid travel document (passport) — does not apply to the CUKR application, see below
• proof of payment of the stamp duty and the residence card fee
• in certain cases, an attachment signed electronically by another person — usually your employer, university, or internship organizer

For an attachment signed by your employer, you enter their email address in MOS. The system sends them a link where they fill in and sign their part. Without that signature, you cannot successfully submit the application — ask your employer to sign well in advance.

Finally, you sign the application electronically with one of three tools: Profil Zaufany, a qualified electronic signature (commercial), or a personal signature (the e-signature on your Polish ID card).

Fees and payment

You pay two separate charges, into two separate accounts:

• Stamp duty for issuing the permit — from 340 zł to 640 zł, depending on the permit type
• 100 zł for issuing the residence card

MOS does not accept payment within the system itself — you pay into the account of your voivodeship office, whose number you'll find on its website. Then attach proof of payment (an electronic confirmation, a scan, or a legible photo of the transfer) to the application. Without proof of both payments, you cannot submit the application.

Submission and tracking your case

After you sign and submit the application, MOS lets you download its electronic version along with the Urzędowe Poświadczenie Odbioru (UPO) — the official confirmation of receipt. Keep both as proof of filing.

A voivodeship office employee reviews the case. Where your procedure provides for it, after verification you'll be able to download from the system a certificate confirming the application was filed, which border guards or police can accept as proof of your legal stay.

Filing online is not the end of the procedure. The Voivode will summon you to appear in person — you must give fingerprints, a specimen signature, and show your original passport (for an EU long-term resident application, also a document confirming your legal title to your housing). The summons comes with a deadline of no less than 7 days from delivery, so you have time to prepare. If you don't show up or don't complete every step, the Voivode discontinues the proceeding. Children under 6 years old are exempt from the in-person requirement. So are people who, due to illness or disability, cannot appear and have a medical certificate issued no more than 3 months before filing the application.

The CUKR application — also through MOS, but simpler

Since 4 May 2026, you also file the CUKR residence card application exclusively through MOS. Login and electronic signature work the same way, but the procedure itself differs from the one described above:

• Attachments: only a digital photo and proof of both payments — 340 zł stamp duty and 100 zł for the card. These are two separate payments into two separate accounts, paid before you submit the application and non-refundable. A passport scan is not required.
• No summons to the office: the system pulls your fingerprints and specimen signature from the PESEL UKR registers. If data is missing, you complete it at the gmina office before the system lets you submit. The only visit is to collect the card — you have 60 days from the notification, or the card becomes invalid.
• No certificate of filing — the UPO is your proof of submission.
• Note: filing a CUKR application automatically discontinues, by law, any pending temporary residence proceeding.

Processing takes up to 180 days, and the window closes when temporary protection ends — 4 March 2027 — so don't put off filing. You'll find the details in our CUKR card guide, and you can check whether you qualify in a few minutes with Pathfinder.

A final word

MOS is a real improvement: no lines, no appointment booking. But it does require preparing in advance. Before you click "Submit," you need a valid Profil Zaufany or qualified signature, a passport scan, proof of both payments, and (often) your employer's signature. Remember the in-person summons too — filing the application is not the end. Start gathering documents once your current permit has six months left.

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