Exceptional circumstances requiring a short-term stay (e.g., appearance in court, hospitalisation, etc.)

Introduction

A temporary residence permits due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland is a special type of temporary residence permit (i.e., a permit entitling to stay in Poland temporarily for a specific purpose).

This permit may only be granted to those third-country nationals (i.e. persons who do not hold the nationality of one of the EU countries, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland) and to stateless persons who do not meet the requirements for a temporary residence permit in the normal way and who are unable to leave the territory of Poland (e.g. they are hospitalised or their state of health does not allow them to travel at the moment), or whose further stay in Poland is necessary.

Therefore, this permit may be granted even in the situation of illegal stay in Poland or despite the lack of circumstances justifying a stay of more than 3 months.

In any case, the granting of this permit must be justified both by the interest of the foreigner themself in obtaining this permit and by the public interest in granting it.

A foreigner may apply for a temporary residence permit due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland when they stay on this territory, and:

• is obliged to appear in person before a Polish public authority (e.g., before a court), or

• their continued presence in Poland is required by their exceptional personal situation, related, for example, to their necessary, urgent treatment or hospitalization or the need to care for a loved one during such treatment, or

• their continued presence in Poland is required by the interests of the Republic of Poland (their stay in Poland is particularly desirable or their departure could cause certain damage to Poland).

This permit is granted in the form of an administrative decision by the voivode, competent for the place of residence of the foreigner, and in the case of appeal proceedings – by the Head of the Office for Foreigners, for the time necessary to achieve the purpose of stay (e.g., until the end of the planned treatment), but not longer than for a period of 6 months.

In the event that the period for which the permit has been granted proves to be insufficient (if, for example, the treatment is prolonged) or new circumstances of an exceptional nature occur, the foreigner may reapply for this permit.

Remember!

A temporary residence permits due to circumstances requiring a short-term stay is a special permit. Staying in Poland on the basis of this permit, you cannot apply for a residence permit in the usual way (i.e., a temporary residence permit granted for another purpose, a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU resident permit).