Get the CUKR residence card (former temporary-protection holders)

Steps

1. Check that your PESEL UKR is valid — Your status must be valid now and remain valid until the card is issued
   self-check
2. Get a profil zaufany (Trusted Profile) — Needed to log in to MOS (or a qualified e-signature / podpis osobisty)
   online
3. Pay 340 + 100 PLN by bank transfer — Opłata skarbowa (stamp duty), 340 PLN — to the account of the gmina/city where your urząd wojewódzki (voivodeship office) is located; 100 PLN for the card — to the urząd wojewódzki's account; attach proof of both payments
   bank transfer
4. Submit the application in MOS by 4 March 2027 — Online only; a digital photo (JPG, at least 684×883 px, up to 2.5 MB, no older than 6 months) plus proof of both payments
   online through MOS
5. NO fingerprint appointment by default — There is no standard fingerprinting visit: MOS checks the registers automatically. If data is missing (passport/fingerprints/signature), the system will block submission; in that case, any urząd gminy with your valid passport can complete the data
   automatic
6. Wait for notification that your card is ready — The decision and card production happen without any action from you
   automatic
7. Collect the card WITHIN 60 DAYS — From the date of the notification that the card is ready for collection. If you do NOT collect it in time, the permit will NOT be granted and the card will be cancelled
   in person
8. Understand the consequences — From the moment you receive the card: UKR status ends; you must notify the voivode of a change of address within 15 working days; you must not leave Poland for more than 6 months in a single trip
   self-check

Documents

Base package

• A digital photo: JPG, at least 684×883 px, up to 2.5 MB, taken within the last 6 months
• Proof of both payments: 340 PLN (stamp duty) + 100 PLN (card fee)

An employer's attachment, a starosta's confirmation and other documents used in the ordinary procedure are NOT required.

Fees

• Stamp duty (opłata skarbowa) for the permit — 340 PLN
• Fee for issuing the residence card — 100 PLN

440 PLN in total, paid into TWO different accounts. Exact payment details are on the "Opłaty" (Fees) page of your urząd wojewódzki.

Deadlines

When to apply

By 4 March 2027 (the CUKR window); submission only through MOS

Processing

No official statutory processing time is fixed

Validity

3 years from the date the card is issued (printed)

Consequences of getting the card

Your old pobyt czasowy proceedings — at the moment you SUBMIT CUKR

Submitting a CUKR application automatically and by law terminates any ongoing proceedings for an ordinary temporary residence and work permit — at the moment the CUKR application is sent (not when a decision is issued). If the CUKR card is later refused, and the old proceedings have already been closed, you are left with no valid residence proceedings at all Official source for this rule ↗

UKR status

Ends at the moment you receive the CUKR card — you become the holder of an ordinary temporary residence permit

Benefits

You lose the benefits tied to UKR status (free accommodation/meals in collective centres); general payments (e.g. the 800+ child benefit) continue if you meet the ordinary conditions

Change of address

You must notify the voivode who issued the card within 15 working days

Leaving the country

With a CUKR card: a single trip out of Poland of more than 6 months = loss of the permit (shorter trips do not add up). NOTE: before you have the card, the UKR status rule still applies — leaving for more than 30 days cancels the status. Trips within Schengen: up to 90 days in any 180

Work

Full access to the labour market; your employer no longer needs to notify the labour office (PUP)

If a decision is not made before 4 March 2027

Your stay is treated as legal right up to the day you receive the card (or up to the day it is cancelled, if not collected within 60 days of the notification that it is ready), or up to the day a refusal or discontinuation decision becomes final

Your next permit after CUKR

After the CUKR card, your next temporary residence permit can be obtained on the ordinary grounds (work, study, family, business, etc.) — CUKR does not close off the ordinary pobyt czasowy route afterwards

Common mistakes

• Not collecting the card within 60 days — the permit is NOT granted and the card is cancelled (the most critical mistake)
• Letting your PESEL UKR lapse before the card is issued
• Missing the submission window, which closes on 4 March 2027
• Leaving Poland for more than 30 days BEFORE getting the card (cancels UKR status and the 365-day continuity) or more than 6 months AFTER (loss of the permit)
• Submitting a child's application BEFORE the mother has received her own CUKR card
• Confusing CUKR with the ordinary pobyt czasowy route (which has different documents, fingerprinting by appointment, and a 440 PLN fee for work-based applications)
• Not keeping the PDF/XML of the application and the UPO (submission confirmation) — without them it is harder to prove the fact and date of submission
• Sharing your login.gov.pl login details with someone else — only the applicant may log in and sign the application
• Moving to a different voivodeship while the case is pending without reporting the new correspondence address — letters will be treated as delivered to the old address, even if you never received them, right up to losing the CUKR card without knowing it

Self-check questions

• Do you currently have a valid PESEL with UKR status? (Yes / No / I don't know)
• Was your PESEL UKR valid on 4 June 2025? (Yes / No / I don't know)
• Was your UKR status held continuously for at least 365 days (without leaving Poland for more than 30 days)? (Yes / No / I don't know)
• Does the PESEL UKR register hold a valid passport, fingerprints and a signature specimen for you? (Yes / No / I don't know)
• Is this application for a child born in Poland after 23 February 2022? (Yes / No)
• If this is for a child: has the mother already received her CUKR card? (Yes / No / I don't know)