Brits in Poland urged to apply for residence permits before December deadline

Poland’s Office for Foreigners has urged British people living in Poland to ensure that their residence documents are in order “as soon as possible”, with less than three months to go until the deadline.

More than 3,000 UK citizens and their family members have applied to exchange their previous residence permits for a new document – as required due to Brexit – since the start of the year, but a similar number may still need to do so.

In a statement on its website, the Office for Foreigners reminds Britons living in Poland that, under the United Kingdom’s Withdrawal Agreement, those who had secured the right of residence by the end of 2020 retain it until 31 December 2021.

By the end of this year, however, UK citizens benefiting from the Withdrawal Agreement and wishing to stay in Poland should file applications to have their documents replaced at their local provincial administration office.

Residence permits issued to British citizens before 31 December 2020 will no longer be valid after the end of this year. Applicants meeting the 31 December receive an application certificate valid for one year which serves as a temporary residence permit.

“The possibility to replace the residence permits issued before the end of 2020 remains open only up to 31st December 2021,” the Office for Foreigners warns. “That is why it is recommended to file the applications as soon as possible.”

A simplified administrative procedure is currently in place, the office notes. Many local offices, such as the one in Kraków, currently have a special “Brexit window” where UK citizens are served.

However, people holding a residence permit issued before the end of 2020 who fail to apply for a new document will be obliged to submit a new application, which will not be simplified, according to the same rules as other third-country nationals.

The Office for Foreigners says that it has received 3,100 applications from UK nationals since the beginning of the year. Around 6,500 Britons are estimated to live in Poland.

Some British nationals living in Poland have also applied for Polish citizenship. In 2020, 16 submitted a request for recognition as a citizen, which requires them to have been living in Poland for a specific number of years after being granted a residence card as well as to pass a Polish language test.

Another 29 applied for citizenship directly to the president of Poland – a method with less stringent requirements but that is subject to the president’s prerogative. Between 2016 and 2020, 257 British nationals have applied for Polish citizenship.

Full information on residence requirements in Poland for UK citizens can be found here

Main image credit: TheDigitalArtist/Pixabay (under public domain)

Ben Koschalka

Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.