Why was the residence card case left without consideration?

Most common reason: unaddressed formal deficiencies

The most common ground for leaving a residence card application without consideration is failure to comply with the office's request to remedy deficiencies. When an application is incomplete (missing attachment, signature, fee, or photograph), the wojewoda calls on the applicant to remedy the deficiencies within a deadline of no less than 7 days, under pain of the application being left without consideration (art. 64 § 2 KPA). What matters is the deadline stated in the specific request — in practice, offices often set a longer period than the statutory minimum. If you respond after the deadline or do not respond at all, the case is left without consideration.

Second reason: incorrect form of submission (from 27 April 2026)

From 27 April 2026, applications for temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits, and EU long-term resident permits must be submitted exclusively electronically via the MOS 2 portal (mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl), using a profil zaufany or a qualified electronic signature (ustawa z dnia 21 listopada 2025 r., Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1794). A paper application sent by post after that date will be left without consideration. Exceptions that may still be submitted on paper: ICT and long-term ICT mobility, family reunification, and a family member of a Polish/EU/UK citizen where the foreigner is residing outside Poland.

How this differs from a refusal to initiate proceedings

It is important to distinguish between two situations:

• Left without consideration (art. 64 § 2 KPA) — where formal deficiencies have not been remedied.
• Refusal to initiate proceedings (art. 116 ustawy o cudzoziemcach, issued in the form of a postanowienie) — e.g. art. 116 pkt 8: where on the date of submission the foreigner was in Poland on the basis of a residence card issued by another Schengen Area state.

In both cases the practical effect is similar: the protection of lawful residence under art. 108 ustawy o cudzoziemcach does not arise (there is no zaświadczenie, nor — before 27 April 2026 — a stempel).

Available remedy and time limit

Leaving an application without consideration is done by way of a postanowienie, against which a zażalenie may be lodged with the Szef Urzędu do Spraw Cudzoziemców via the wojewoda, within 7 days of service (art. 141 § 1 i 2 KPA). The time limit runs from the date of service and is absolute — it is very short, so upon receiving the document you must act immediately. The zażalenie is not drafted by the client — it is prepared by a Pro Document specialist.

Next steps

First, establish precisely what the office has issued — a postanowienie leaving the application without consideration, a postanowienie refusing to initiate proceedings (zażalenie, 7 days), or a substantive refusal decision after consideration of the case (appeal, 14 days — art. 127 § 1 i art. 129 § 2 KPA). The available remedy and time limit depend on this. Also check the office's request to see exactly what was missing — this determines whether it is possible to resubmit a new, correct application.

What the case law says

Although the judgments below relate primarily to the inactivity and undue delay of the wojewoda, they illustrate a key mechanism: the court in case III SAB/Gd 91/25 emphasised that the time limit for processing begins to run only from the submission of a complete application without formal deficiencies — because it is only then that the authority does not issue any requests. In cases III SAB/Gd 86/26 and III SAB/Gd 298/25, courts assessed complaints from foreigners to whom the office had issued no further requests after submission of a complete application — confirming that a properly complete application minimises the risk of being left without consideration.