Warsaw, 18 August 2026
The law gives the office 60 days. The average is 341. There is no way to appeal — and the government knows it
On Monday 24 August at 12:00, outside the Masovian Provincial Office (Plac Bankowy 3/5, Warsaw), foreigners who live and work lawfully in Poland will hold a public assembly. They have one demand: that the authorities meet the deadlines written into Polish law.
The law gives the provincial governor 60 days to decide a residence case (art. 112a of the Act on Foreigners). The average temporary residence and work case takes 341 days, and 463,487 cases are awaiting decisions by provincial governors — figures from the Interior Ministry itself, in its reply to parliamentary question no. 12584. In Masovia, outside whose office the assembly will take place, the average is 394 days; 738 cases there have been pending for more than two years.
The remedy available to every other person in Polish administrative proceedings has been switched off. Article 100d of the so-called special act suspends the running of deadlines until 4 March 2027, leaving formal reminders (ponaglenia) and complaints for administrative inaction technically available but stripped of effect. The share of ponaglenia found justified has fallen to zero (Supreme Audit Office, audit P/23/069).
The state knows the provision is unconstitutional — and has extended it for the fifth time. The Supreme Administrative Court refused to apply it as incompatible with art. 45 of the Constitution (judgment II OSK 2921/24). The Interior Ministry admitted in writing that "there is a high probability that a provincial administrative court will refuse to apply this provision" (letter to the Commissioner for Human Rights, BMP.0790.3.7.2026(6)). It was nonetheless extended for another year by the Act of 23 January 2026. The scheme is now before the Court of Justice of the European Union (case C-254/25).
The cost of that time is borne by people. Without a valid residence card you cannot leave Poland and return — the certificate confirming that an application has been filed legalises residence only within the country and is not recognised in the Schengen area. A parent's funeral, a sick child abroad, a business trip: out of reach for years. The same people pay the taxes that fund the office failing to meet its deadlines towards them, and they pay separately for their application to be examined — 340 PLN in stamp duty and 100 PLN for the card, per person, children included. This is a service paid for and not delivered.
The queues are not force majeure. The last dedicated posts for foreigners' affairs departments were created by the Act of 17 December 2021 — before the war began. Not one since, while 41% of recruitment procedures ended with nobody hired, at salaries of 53–64% of the national average (Supreme Audit Office, P/23/069).
Demands
- Repeal Article 100d — restoring the ponaglenie and the complaint for inaction.
- Increase staffing in foreigners' affairs departments to a level that allows statutory deadlines to be met.
- Publish the data on cases pending, processing times and staffing levels, broken down by province.
Practical information
The assembly has been notified under the ordinary procedure and entered in the Warsaw city public information register — 24.08.2026, 12:00–14:00: bip.warszawa.pl
The assembly is non-partisan. Organisers ask participants to bring banners in Polish only and on the subject of the assembly, with no national or party symbols. It is addressed to Polish public authorities.
Materials
Facts and sources (PL / EN / RU / UA / BY) — every figure with a reference to an official document, together with instructions for verifying it yourself: glos-migranta.eu. Includes the full Interior Ministry data broken down by province, the 2025 administrative court statistics, the timeline of the five extensions of Article 100d, data on the funding and staffing of the offices, and an analysis of the economic effects.
Media contact
info@glos-migranta.eu — participants will be available for interviews on the day. For interviews arranged in advance, please write to the address above.