Stay of a long-term EU resident.
When submitting an application for recognition as a Polish citizen, your stay must be legalized in a specific manner. One of the permitted forms of legalization of stay is a long-term resident's European Union residence permit.
This way of legalizing stay is generally addressed to people who are economically connected with Poland, i.e. work or run a company.
To obtain a residence permit for a long-term resident of the European Union, the following conditions must be met:
- Have a source of stable and regular income in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of maintaining yourself and family members dependent on the applicant for a residence permit. Documents that confirm stable and regular income may be, for example, an employment contract, an income certificate, a tax return submitted for the previous calendar year or a statement on the amount of income earned. The income must be legal.
- Have health insurance (NFZ)
Documents confirming having health insurance within the meaning of the provisions on universal health insurance. For example, a current ZUS RCA declaration along with confirmation of sending the document to ZUS - Have confirmed knowledge of the Polish language
A certificate issued by the State Commission for Certifying Proficiency in Polish as a Foreign Language at least B1 level or a certificate of completion of school in Poland (e.g. primary school, junior high school, high school, technical school) or a bachelor's/master's diploma with a supplement confirming that the language of classes was Polish). You can also present a certificate of completion of a school abroad with Polish as the language of instruction. - Reside on the territory of Poland for at least 5 years immediately before submitting the application.
Estimating the duration of an uninterrupted stay is a bit complicated.
Firstly, the stay is uninterrupted if a single stay outside Poland was not longer than 6 months at a time and all stays outside Poland did not exceed a total of 10 months in the period in question.
However, if the foreigner stayed in the territory of another Member State of the European Union in order to perform work in a profession requiring high qualifications, the stay will be considered uninterrupted if no break was longer than 12 months and all breaks did not exceed 18 months in total.
Secondly, the provisions to the extent that they provide for maximum permissible periods of interruptions do not apply if the interruption was caused by:
- the foreigner's performance of professional duties or work outside the territory of Poland on the basis of an agreement concluded with an employer whose registered office is located in the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
- accompanying the foreigner referred to above by his spouse or minor child, or
- a special personal situation requiring the foreigner's presence outside the territory of Poland and lasting no longer than 6 months, or
- traveling outside the territory of Poland in order to complete an internship or participate in classes planned for the course of studies at a Polish university.
Third, not all periods of stay will count towards the period of stay. The following periods will not be included:
- staying in Poland as an employee delegated by a service provider to provide cross-border services or being a service provider providing cross-border services;
- Staying in Poland on the basis of a Schengen visa authorizing only entry and stay in Poland, issued for humanitarian reasons, state interest or international obligations;
- science in Poland;
- when the foreigner has been obliged to return and the deadline for voluntary return specified in the decision on this matter has not yet expired, also in the event of extension of this deadline;
- in the case of an obligation to leave Poland within 30 days from the date on which the decision to refuse to extend the legalization of stay became final, and in the event of a decision being issued by a higher authority, from the date of delivery of the final decision;
- staying in Poland as diplomatic and consular staff
- the period of stay on the basis of a temporary residence permit issued due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay;
- in the course of proceedings for granting refugee status, if the proceedings ended with a refusal to grant refugee status or subsidiary protection;
- staying in Poland on the basis of a permit to cross the border as part of the local border traffic.
- a temporary residence permit issued for the purpose of undertaking or continuing education.
The period of stay is calculated based on:
- a visa issued for the purpose of pursuing first-cycle studies, second-cycle studies or uniform master's studies in Poland or studying at a doctoral school,
- a visa issued for vocational training in Poland.
Application for grant residence permits for long-term EU residents must be submitted in person, no later than on the last day of legal stay on the territory of Poland.
The application can also be submitted by correspondence. Then the date of posting will be binding. Submitting an application by correspondence will also involve a visit to the office, among others. to take fingerprints.
