Before you start

A job offer from a Polish employer, and usually a work permit obtained by that employer
A trusted profile (profil zaufany) or e-dowód to authenticate into MOS
Health insurance and a stable source of income
A confirmed address in Kraków and a document evidencing it

Step-by-step

1
Employer secures the work permit
For most non-EU hires the employer applies to the voivode for a work permit, in many cases after a labour-market test. Some occupations and nationalities are exempt, and the Blue Card route has its own salary threshold instead.
Via employerWho: Your employerBefore you apply
2
Set up a trusted profile before anything else
MOS authenticates through login.gov.pl. The fastest route to a profil zaufany is your Polish bank's app, which is why the bank account genuinely comes before the immigration filing rather than after it.
Mobile appWho: YouWeek 1
3
File through MOS
Since 27 April 2026 the Case Handling Module at mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl is the only accepted channel for temporary residence. Paper applications posted after that date are not processed and are returned, costing you months.
OnlineWho: YouBefore your current legal stay expires
4
Attend biometrics at ul. Przy Rondzie 6
Fingerprints and signature are taken in person at the Wydział Spraw Cudzoziemców of the Małopolski Urząd Wojewódzki. Slots are released in batches; take the first one offered rather than the convenient one.
In personWho: You
5
Collect the stamp and then wait
The stamp confirming a lodged application legalises your stay for the whole of the procedure. Work-based cases in Kraków commonly run eight to fourteen months against a statutory sixty days.
In personWho: You
6
Apply separately for PESEL and register your address
PESEL is a municipal matter handled by the city, not the voivodeship, at the Wydział Spraw Administracyjnych on ul. Wielicka. Since 1 January 2026 most non-EU nationals must attend in person — postal and proxy applications no longer work.
In personWho: YouFree

Documents you’ll need

Passport, with the national visa where applicable
Employment contract and work permit, or Blue Card documentation
Proof of health insurance
Document evidencing your Kraków address
Biometric photographs to Polish specification
Completed application submitted through MOS

Things most newcomers don’t know

Kraków sits alongside Warsaw at the very back of the national queue.

Application volumes across Poland have roughly tripled since 2020 while office capacity has not, and Małopolskie and Mazowieckie absorbed the largest share. Eight to fourteen months is normal here for a work-based card. Nothing in your file changes this, which is why the only lever you control is filing on the first day you are eligible rather than when your documents feel perfect.

Source: Voivodeship practice, consistently reported by Kraków immigration advisers

The lodging stamp keeps you legal in Poland but will not get you back into it.

The stamp makes your continued presence lawful while the case runs, including after your visa expires. It is not a visa and it is not a travel document. Leave the Schengen area on an expired visa plus a stamp and re-entry is not guaranteed. This is the single most expensive misunderstanding among people midway through a Małopolska wait.

Source: Office for Foreigners procedure

The trusted profile is now upstream of your immigration application, not downstream.

Since MOS became the only filing channel in April 2026, you cannot lodge a residence application without authenticating through login.gov.pl. The quickest way to get a profil zaufany is inside a Polish bank's app. That reorders the whole first month: bank account, then trusted profile, then residence filing — not the sequence most newcomers assume.

Source: gov.pl and MOS portal requirements

Your card names your employer, your job title and your salary.

Change any of the three on a standard temporary residence and work permit and you generally need a fresh permit — restarting a wait you have already served most of. Kraków's shared-services sector moves people between employers on roughly eighteen-month cycles, so this bites harder here than in a founder-heavy market. If you clear the Blue Card salary threshold, changing employer becomes a notification rather than a new application.

Source: Office for Foreigners — permit conditions

Common mistakes to avoid

Posting a paper application after 27 April 2026, which is simply not processed.
Waiting until your documents are immaculate before booking a biometrics slot.
Leaving the Schengen area on a lodging stamp with an expired visa.
Assuming PESEL comes with the residence permit — it is a separate municipal procedure.
Taking a standard work permit when your salary would clear the Blue Card threshold and give you employer mobility.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.