Can I still apply for a Karta Pobytu on paper?

No. Since 27 April 2026, applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status are accepted only through MOS. Paper applications that did not reach the voivodeship office before that date are not examined, whatever the date they were sent.

I don't have Profil Zaufany or a PESEL. Where do I start?

With the PESEL, because creating Profil Zaufany requires a PESEL number. Then you set up Profil Zaufany, create your MOS account, and only after that open the application. Doing it in a different order won't work; the system stops you at the first step.

Can I pay the stamp duty directly inside MOS?

No. Payment happens outside the system by ordinary bank transfer, and you attach the confirmation as an electronic proof, a scan or a clear photo. There are two payments, the stamp duty for the permit and PLN 100 for the card, to two different accounts.

Is the stamp in my passport really gone?

Instead of a stamp, you download and print the zaświadczenie, the confirmation of filing. It appears after an office employee verifies and accepts your application. That's why you should file early rather than on the last day of your legal stay.

Do I still have to go to the office if everything is filed online?

Yes, but not to submit anything. After filing you are summoned in person: original passport, fingerprints, signature sample and any missing documents. The deadline to fix defects in the summons is at least 7 days from delivery.

Karta Pobytu via MOS Online: 2026 Step-by-Step

It's Tuesday evening. The MOS portal has been open for half an hour, and you still don't know which payment goes first, or why the system keeps asking for a Profil Zaufany you've never had. Sound familiar? Since 27 April 2026, a Karta Pobytu (Polish residence permit) application via MOS online is the only way to file for temporary residence. Paper applications that did not reach the voivodeship office before that date are not examined. Below is the whole route from account to fingerprints: what to click, what to pay, and where people lose weeks. Think of it as a friend who already went through it.

What changed on 27 April 2026: no more paper forms

Before, you took your file to the Urząd Wojewódzki (the voivodeship office that handles residence cases) or posted it, and got a stamp in your passport. Now it works differently. From 27 April 2026, applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident status are accepted only electronically, through the MOS portal (Moduł Obsługi Spraw, the 'case handling module'). The Office for Foreigners (UdSC) says so on its official MOS information page. The portal itself is free. You pay only the stamp duty and the card fee.

The passport stamp is gone too. Once an office employee verifies and accepts your application, a zaświadczenie (a confirmation of filing) appears in your account. You download and print it, and it replaces the stamp. Services that check the legality of stay can see that your application is on file. One catch: the confirmation comes after verification, not instantly. So don't leave filing for the last day of your legal stay.

💬 Skip the reading — talk to a human. WhatsApp +48 735 248 525 — we reply in 15 minutes, free, no commitment. Open chat →

What this means in practice: preparation now matters more than queueing. A mistake in a paper file used to be fixable at the counter. Today you close every field, every scan and every payment yourself, from your screen. The upside: no more standing outside the office at dawn.

Steps 1–3: Profil Zaufany, a MOS account and an e-signature

Before you open the application, you need three things. Without any one of them, the system won't let you send the file.

Profil Zaufany (the 'trusted profile') is a free tool that proves your identity online. To create it, you need a PESEL number. If you don't have a PESEL yet, start there.
A MOS account at mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl. An adult foreigner can create one; for a minor, the parent does it; for a ward, the guardian. Login goes through the government login service, login.gov.pl.
A signature for the application: either a trusted signature (podpis zaufany) or a qualified electronic signature. The trusted signature comes through the same Profil Zaufany.

No bank account in Poland and no idea how to get the profile? Read how Indian workers get Profil Zaufany without a bank account — the logic is the same for any nationality. Still new in the country? Our list of 7 mistakes that cost foreigners months is worth ten minutes.

The profile, the account and the signature are set up at a laptop, before the Karta Pobytu application itself is even opened

What does a Karta Pobytu cost: PLN 340 or 440, plus PLN 100 for the card

There are two payments, and they are two separate transfers to two separate bank accounts. Mixing them up is the most common reason an application comes back for corrections.

Stamp duty (opłata skarbowa) for granting the permit: PLN 340 for most temporary-residence grounds, for example family or study; PLN 440 for temporary residence combined with work.
Residence card fee: PLN 100. It's a separate payment to a separate account.
You cannot pay inside MOS. You make an ordinary bank transfer and attach the proof: an electronic confirmation, a scan or a clear photo.
Take the account numbers and the current amounts for your ground from the MOS fees page, not from a group chat. Chats often keep last year's number.

How long the decision takes afterwards is a separate question; we covered it in how long to wait for a Karta Pobytu in 2026 and how to speed it up. For now, remember one rule: pay before you send, because proof of payment is a mandatory attachment.

Two transfers, two accounts: the stamp duty for the permit and PLN 100 for the residence card

Steps 4–7: the application, attachments, confirmation and fingerprints

Now the process itself. It looks long, but it's really four actions, and each one is easy to check.

Fill in the application in MOS for your ground: work, family, study or another. The ground decides both the stamp duty and the set of documents.
Add the attachments: a current digital photo, scans of all pages of your valid travel document, proof of both payments, and the documents for your ground.
Sign and send the application, wait for the office employee to verify it, then download the zaświadczenie, the filing confirmation that replaces the stamp.
Get the summons to the office. Bring your original passport. You give fingerprints and a signature sample, and you fix any formal defects. The deadline for fixing them in the summons can't be shorter than 7 days from delivery.

Mind the order: online filing first, a personal visit second. You don't go to the office to submit papers, but you still go for fingerprints. Keep checking your MOS account and your email, because the summons arrives there.

An illustrative example, not a real client. Andrei, a driver from Moldova, filed four days before his permitted stay ended, assuming 'the system will accept it anyway'. The confirmation didn't arrive immediately, and he refreshed the page twice a day. Now everyone he knows hears the same thing: file at least two weeks early, and check the payments twice.

The application is filed online, but fingerprints and a signature sample still mean a personal visit to the voivodeship office

If you hold temporary protection: what is different for Ukrainians

Ukrainian citizens who were in Poland under the special act have their own document, the CUKR card. According to official pages, applications for it from 4 May 2026 are also filed only electronically through MOS. The fee is PLN 340 plus PLN 100 for the card, and the card is issued for 3 years. The filing deadline and who qualifies are described in the UdSC section on the CUKR procedure — check the conditions on the day you file, not from retellings. For citizens of every other country the ordinary route above applies.

Where people most often go wrong with MOS

They mix up the payments: the stamp duty and the card fee go to different accounts, as two separate transfers.
They look for a 'pay' button in MOS. There isn't one: you pay separately and attach the confirmation.
They attach only some passport pages. The scans must cover all pages of the valid document.
They use an old photo. The portal needs a current digital photo.
They file on the last day and don't watch their account. The summons or a request to complete the file arrives there.

Practical tip: before you press send, open the application once more and check four things — the ground, the stamp-duty amount, the name and amount on the payment confirmations, and the number of passport pages in the scans. Ten minutes of checking is cheaper than a summons to fix defects.

If a refusal does arrive, don't panic: the appeal window is short, but it exists. What to do in the first days is in Karta Pobytu refused? 14 days to appeal, step by step. General rules on documents and deadlines are collected on the gov.pl portal for foreigners. For the wider picture, see temporary residence in Poland for foreigners.

Better to sort it out before the Send button is pressed. Legal Solutions — 98% approval rate. Drop us a WhatsApp — we read every message.