Appealing a Refused Residence Decision in Poland: 14 Days, Then Court
Short answer: Appeal a refused residence decision within 14 days of delivery; if you miss it the decision is final and you may have to leave within 30 days. A court complaint has a 30-day deadline.
A refusal of a residence permit is not always the end of the case. Polish administrative law gives you a short window to challenge the decision, and missing it can leave you without a legal basis to stay. This guide pulls together two official sources: the FAQ of the Foreigners Department of the Greater Poland (Poznań) Voivodeship Office (migrant.poznan.uw.gov.pl, entry dated 11 September 2023), and the government business portal page on complaints to the administrative court (biznes.gov.pl, published 25 September 2018). We read both on 18 October 2026. The Poznań FAQ describes the practice of that office. The decision you receive must itself contain instructions on where and by when to appeal, and those instructions are what you follow. This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a refused permit, a lawyer or an NGO that helps foreigners can check your situation, and the sources we used do not say that free help is available.
Step 1: the appeal (odwołanie), 14 days
According to the Poznań office, if you receive a refusal you disagree with, you have 14 days counted from the day the decision is delivered to you. The appeal has to be signed by you or by your representative appointed in the case. You can:
- send it by Polish Post, in which case the date of posting at the post office counts,
- hand it in at the office's submission point,
- send it through ePUAP.
You may add missing documents together with the appeal. If all missing documents are delivered, the appeal is justified, it is filed on time and it has no formal defects such as a missing signature, the office says it will issue a new decision within 7 days. If there are doubts or the documents are incomplete, the office sends the appeal to the second-instance authority, the Head of the Office for Foreigners in Warsaw, who examines it.
What happens if you miss the deadline
The office states that if you do not appeal in time, the decision becomes final. If you have no other document entitling you to legal stay, and you are not a Ukrainian citizen, you must then leave Poland within 30 days from the day the decision became final. This is why the 14 days matter more than anything else in the case.
Step 2: complaint to the administrative court (skarga do WSA)
The business portal explains the court stage. You can file a complaint with the voivodeship administrative court (WSA) after the administrative stages are over, meaning after the first authority and the appeal authority have decided. If the law gives you a request for reconsideration instead of an appeal, you can go straight to court without filing it. The portal notes an exception for cases where the deciding authority is the foreign affairs minister under the Act on Foreigners or a consul.
Key points from the portal:
- The deadline for the complaint is 30 days from delivery of the decision.
- You file it through the authority that issued the decision. That authority must forward the complaint to the court with the case file and its response within 30 days.
- Filing the complaint does not stop the decision from being carried out. You can ask for the execution to be suspended, either in the complaint or in a separate letter.
- If the complaint has formal defects, the court sends a call to correct them, and you have 7 days.
- The complaint has a court fee, never less than 100 zł according to the portal. Some case types are exempt, for example social assistance, unemployment benefits, employment matters and social insurance. Residence cases are not on the portal's example list of exempt types, so ask the court about the fee in your case.
- A representative needs a power of attorney and proof of paying 17 zł stamp duty, except for a spouse, children, parents or siblings.
A short checklist
1. Write down the delivery date on the decision. Count the 14 days from that day. 2. Read the instruction at the end of the decision. It names the authority and the deadline. 3. Prepare the appeal in writing, sign it and post it or submit it before the deadline. Keep proof. 4. Add any missing documents, since a complete appeal can be resolved by the first office within 7 days. 5. Keep track of what the final decision says about leaving Poland, and the 30-day exit period.
* Photos: building of the voivodeship administrative court in Łódź (illustrative) and Plac Wolności in Poznań (both CC0), Wikimedia Commons.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to appeal a refused residence decision in Poland?
14 days from the day the decision is delivered, according to the Greater Poland Voivodeship Office's foreigners department. A posted appeal counts by the date of posting.
How long do I have to complain to the administrative court?
30 days from delivery of the decision, according to biznes.gov.pl, after the administrative appeal stage is finished. Filing the complaint does not stop the decision, but you can ask for suspension.
