It's day 78. You landed in Poland with just your passport and no visa, which is how it works for many Colombians, Venezuelans, Mexicans, Peruvians and Argentines. Between a job, a partner or a degree, you can already picture another year here. But the Schengen calendar doesn't negotiate. The question we get on WhatsApp at midnight is always the same: how do you stay in Poland after 90 days, legally? Short answer: you don't 'stretch' a tourist stay. You file for a karta pobytu (the Polish temporary residence card, often called a TRC) while your stay is still legal. Here's the order that works.
What happens on day 91, and who gets the 90 days?
Citizens of many Latin American countries can enter the Schengen area without a visa and stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Under the EU list (Regulation 2018/1806, Annex II), that includes Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina, plus Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic still need a short-stay visa. Before you plan anything, check your country in the official text on EUR-Lex, because the list is amended from time to time.
Watch how you count: the 90 days cover all of Schengen, not just Poland. If you spent weeks in Spain or Germany before arriving, those days are already gone. Use the European Commission's official short-stay calculator and write down your exact last legal day. That date is your real red line.
Why does it matter so much? Because Polish law requires you to file the temporary residence application (pobyt czasowy) no later than your last day of legal stay. If you file on time with no formal defects, or you fix them within the deadline, your stay counts as legal from the day you file until the decision becomes final. That's how the Office for Foreigners (UdSC) and the voivodeship offices describe it. Filing on day 91 isn't the same thing. That's where the problems start.
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What changed in 2026: MOS-only filing and no visa-free work
Since 27 April 2026, applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status are filed electronically only, through the MOS case-handling portal. There are new forms, access is free, and you can file on your own. One detail nobody mentions: the application only counts as filed if you receive the official confirmation (UPO). No UPO, no filing date.
There's also news for Colombians and Venezuelans (and Georgians). According to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy (PSZ portal), from 22 August 2026 citizens of these countries can no longer work in Poland on a work permit when their only basis of stay is visa-free travel. A Foreign Ministry regulation (Journal of Laws 2026, item 1086) also created an exception to the visa exemption from 15 August; people who crossed the border before that date stay under the old rules. Press reports say it applies to people travelling to work. Read the official text and don't rely on a WhatsApp summary, including this one.
- If you're Colombian or Venezuelan, don't count on working legally just because you entered visa-free. You need a different basis of stay.
- Mexicans, Peruvians and Argentines: in the official sources we checked, this restriction names only Colombia, Venezuela and Georgia.
- We don't arrange visas or work permits (your employer or the consulate does that). What we do is prepare and file your karta pobytu and support you afterwards. If your case sits in this grey zone, confirm it with a professional before you file.
Apostille and sworn translation: what to order from home
This is where more weeks disappear than you'd think. Documents issued in your country (birth or marriage certificates, police records, degrees) usually need an apostille or legalisation plus a sworn translation into Polish. The gov.pl page on the apostille explains that it certifies the signature and seal of the official who issued the document, and that it goes on the original, not on a photocopy. What exactly you need depends on the type of karta pobytu (work, study, family, business). Not every case needs everything.
- Apostille: most Latin American countries are parties to the Hague Convention. An authority in your country issues it (depending on the document, often the foreign ministry or another office). Ask which one applies to you.
- Sworn translation: it's done by a tłumacz przysięgły (Polish sworn translator) from the Ministry of Justice list, or a sworn translator from another EU country. The apostille doesn't replace the translation.
- Order: apostille on the original first, translation second. You can't put an apostille on a photocopy of a sworn translation.
- No photocopies or printouts from portals: the apostille goes on the original document.
Start with whatever depends on offices and other people back home. Those documents take the longest. Always get the translator's deadline in writing before you order, and check that names and dates match your passport letter by letter. One different accent can cost you a request for corrections.
Venezuelan with an expired passport? What we know and what we don't
This is one of the hardest questions, and the honest answer is: it depends, and we won't invent a shortcut. To file, you need a valid travel document. We couldn't find a general rule in official Polish sources that accepts expired passports for a karta pobytu, so don't assume it. What's realistic: ask your consulate what renewal or extension options exist in your situation; before you pay for anything, confirm with the voivodeship office or a professional whether your document will be accepted; and start early, because these procedures aren't usually quick. We also have a dedicated guide: Venezuelans in Poland: 90 visa-free days and the last day to file for a karta pobytu.
About international protection: it exists for people who genuinely fear persecution or serious harm in their country. It's a serious procedure with its own logic. It isn't a way to 'buy time' or a substitute for a residence application. If that's your real situation, get advice from a specialised organisation or an asylum lawyer.
Step by step: from day 1 to day 89
- Day 1: work out your last legal day with the Schengen short-stay calculator and write it down. Everything else counts backwards from there.
- Pick your route: work (with an employer who handles the permit), study, family or your own business. Each one needs different documents.
- Order from home what depends on third parties: apostille, police record, certificates. These take longest.
- Book the sworn translations you need and check everything matches your passport.
- File in MOS before your last legal day, with a few days of margin in case something goes wrong, and keep the UPO.
- Then wait in an orderly way: report any change of address, answer any request from the office quickly, and check MOS often.
If you move while you wait, read how to report an address change during the process. For a sense of timing by city, see karta pobytu processing times by voivodeship. We can't promise a date, because it varies a lot from one voivodeship to another.
An illustrative example (not a real client): Diego, a developer from Lima, entered visa-free with a job offer whose permit his employer handled. From day 5 he ordered the apostille on his degree in Peru and the certificates he'd be asked for. He filed in MOS on day 74, kept the UPO, and his stay was covered while the office decided. It wasn't luck. He started with the documents from home, not with the form.
Practical tip: mark day 60 on your calendar as the date to choose your route and day 80 as your absolute filing limit. Those ten days of margin exist for a form error, a rejected document or a system outage.
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