It's Friday evening. Your JDG is registered on biznes.gov.pl, the NIP has arrived, the bank account works, and the first client is waiting for an invoice. Now you open the voivodeship website and look for the startup route to a karta pobytu (Polish residence permit, also called TRC). You scroll. You search. Nothing. That's because there is no such route, and the way a startup JDG fits into the 2026 rules has a few traps that cost founders months. Here is what the law actually asks for, in the order you'll meet it.
So, is there a startup karta pobytu in Poland?
Short answer: no. The Ministry's MOS portal states that there is currently no dedicated permit for startup founders. The one that fits is the temporary residence permit for conducting business activity. It is granted for up to 3 years and it does not renew itself, so you apply again before it ends.
You may have read about Poland.Business Harbour, the fast-track programme for IT founders. Sources report that the Foreign Ministry suspended visa issuing under it on 26 January 2024, and we found no reopening date. Visas are a consulate matter anyway, and we don't arrange them. Our work starts once you're in Poland and need the card itself.
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Why does this matter? Because many founders register a JDG first and think about their status second. The office doesn't care that your business is new and exciting. It checks conditions, and a one-person firm has to meet them like anyone else.
What does the voivode check when your business is a one-person JDG?
The conditions for a sole proprietorship look different from those for a company. Regional office guides, including those of Lubuskie, Mazowieckie and Poznań, describe them like this. Treat the list as a map and confirm each point on MOS before you file.
- Legal stay on the day you file. You apply from inside Poland, no later than the last day of your legal stay. Filing from abroad is not possible.
- Employees. For a one-person firm, the office guides ask for documents showing that the business employed at least two people (Polish citizens or foreigners entitled to work) on indefinite-term, full-time contracts for at least one year before the application.
- Stable income. The guides quote at least PLN 1,010 net a month for a single person and PLN 823 net per person for a family. Confirm the current figures on MOS.
- The paper trail. A CEIDG entry, tax and ZUS settlements, proof of where you live, health insurance, passport and photos.
Read the employee point again. A founder in month three of a new JDG usually has no employees and no year-old contracts. That's the trap: the JDG exists, the business is real, and the permit is still out of reach for now.
If your plan is 'JDG plus invoices to one client', read why invoice-only fails and which routes work before you spend money on the wrong filing.
Is a company (sp. z o.o.) the easier route for a startup founder?
For many founders, yes. The same permit covers a foreigner who sits on the management board of a company registered in Poland. In that case it is the company, not you personally, that has to show income, and the office guides tie the threshold to the average wage in the voivodeship where the company is based. Check the current GUS figure before you plan. Typical papers are the board appointment, an employment or manager contract, and your PIT return for the last tax year.
The catch: a company needs real economic activity, not just a KRS number. Our guide to starting a company in Poland for a residence permit walks through the roles and which permit each one leads to.
And if you already hold permanent residence, EU long-term residence, or a card based on marriage to a Polish citizen, you may not need this permit at all, because some foreigners can run a JDG on the same terms as Poles. biznes.gov.pl lists who qualifies. If your current card is tied to an employer, read Karta Pobytu Not Tied to an Employer: 5 Routes.
How do you file in 2026: MOS, PLN 340 and the 3-year ceiling?
Since 27 April 2026, applications for temporary residence are filed electronically through MOS, and paper applications sent after 26 April are not processed. General information for foreigners is on gov.pl/cudzoziemcy. The order that works:
- Check your legal stay and its end date. Visa, visa-free stay or another permit: whichever it is, count backwards from the last day.
- Build the file around the route you chose, either a JDG with employee proof or a company with a board role.
- File through MOS and save the confirmation of submission.
- Pay the PLN 340 stamp duty. When the card is approved, issuing the card itself costs PLN 100.
- Attend fingerprinting and keep the proof of filing with your passport while the office decides.
One detail founders miss: current office guidance says the duty is not refunded if the case is refused or discontinued (for applications from 5 March 2026). Don't file a half-ready case just to be inside the system. And remember that waits differ by city, as we explain in 8 Months or 2 Years for a Karta Pobytu.
A composite example, not a real client: Prakash, a designer from Kathmandu, registered a JDG in his first month in Poland, expecting a card to follow. His office guide asked for two employees with a year of history he didn't have. He rebuilt the plan around a small sp. z o.o. with himself on the board, filed through MOS with several weeks of legal stay left, and waited for the decision with his confirmation of filing in hand.
Practical tip: count backwards from the last day of your legal stay and write down three dates: the day you choose JDG or company, the day your file is complete, and the day you file. If the second date falls after the end of your stay, change the plan before you change the paperwork.
What if you are already waiting, or the office goes silent?
Waiting for a decision while a client wants you on a trip abroad? Before you book anything, read how long you can stay outside Poland with a karta pobytu and check your pending case with us.
If the office stops answering, the tools are a ponaglenie and then a skarga na przewlekłość. Here is the step-by-step for both, and to see where your case stands, use our guide to checking your MOS case. We prepare and file both.
Opening a business and securing your stay in the same year is doable when the order is right. Legal Solutions — 98% approval rate. Drop us a WhatsApp at +48 735 248 525 — we read every message.