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RECENT CHANGES
- 1. AMENDMENTS TO THE APC
- 2. STAMPS IN TRAVEL DOCUMENTS INSTEAD OF NATIONAL VISAS
- 3. NEW FORMAT OF PHOTOGRAPHS
- 1. AMENDMENTS TO THE APC
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On 11 April 2011, the Act of 3 December 2010 on the amendment to the Act of Administrative Procedure Code and the Act - Law on the Proceedings before Administrative Courts entered into force. The amendment to the APC has caused some important changes in administrative proceedings, affecting in particular foreigners staying outside the territory of the Republic of Poland.
The changes concern inter alia:
- the manner in which the correspondence is served outside the territory of the Republic of Poland
In accordance with the Article 40 (4) of the APC (added by the Act mentioned above): "If a party residing abroad or having a seat abroad failed to appoint a representative in charge of the case residing in the country, they shall be obliged to appoint a representative for service of correspondence in the country."
Where a representative for service of correspondence was not appointed, the documents are filed in case records and will be considered served. The party will be informed about this in the first letter which will be served. A party is also informed about the possibility of responding to the letter initiating the procedure and providing written clarifications, as well as about persons who may be appointed as a representative. (Article 40 (5))
- the manner in which the correspondence is served in the case where a party has several representatives
The letters will be served to one representative only, a party may appoint such a representative.
- 2. STAMPS IN TRAVEL DOCUMENTS INSTEAD OF NATIONAL VISAS
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On 28.12.2010 the Act of 3 December 2010 on amending the Act on foreigners and some other acts (Dz. U. No 239 item 1593).
Placing a stamp on a foreigner's travel document under Article 61 (2a) and 71a (2b) of the Act of 13 June 2003 on foreigners is not equivalent to issuing a visa or a document authorising a foreigner to stay in the territory of Poland and to travel within the territory of other states of the Schengen area. An imprint of a stamp on a travel document only confirms that an application for a residence permit has been submitted within the deadline set.
A foreigner who has the above stamp on their travel document may leave the territory of Poland (and leave for a country to which they have a right of entry). However, if they are subject to a visa requirement, they should obtain a visa authorising the entry into and stay in the territory of Poland or a residence permit issued by another Schengen area state, if they wish to re-enter the territory of Poland.
Visas issued under Article 61(3) or Article 71a(3) of the Act of 13 June 2003 on foreigners (Dz. U. of 2006 No 234 item 1694 as amended) remain valid throughout the period for which they have been issued.
In addition, a foreigner for whom a visa has been issued under Article 61(3) or Article 71a(3) of the above Act preserves the rights referred to in Article 87(1)(12)(b) or paragraph 2(5) of the Act of 20 April 2004 on employment promotion and labour market institutions (Dz. U. of 2008 No. 69 item 415) amended in Article 3 in its present meaning and Article 13(2)(1)(i) of the Act of 2 July 2004 on freedom of economic activity (Dz. U. of 2007, No. 155, item 1095 as amended) amended in Article 4 in its present meaning throughout the period of validity of this visa.
In accordance with the Article 61(2a) of the Act of 13 June 2003 on Foreigners (Dz. U. of 2006 No. 234, item 1694 as amended) within the meaning of the Act of 3 December 2010 on amending the Act on foreigners and some other acts (Dz. U. No. 239, item 1593), if the time limit for submission of this application has been met and the application has no defects of form or the defects of form have been remedied within the deadlines set, the voivode puts a stamp confirming submission of an application for a residence permit for a fixed period in the foreigner's travel document.
Under Article 61(3) of the above Act, if the deadline for submission of the application has been met and the application does not contain any defects of form or the defects of form have been met within the deadline set, the foreigner's stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be deemed legal until a final decision on a residence permit for a fixed period has been issued.
Similarly, in accordance with Article 71a(2a) of the above Act, if the foreigner submitted an application during their legal stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland and the application does not contain any defects of form or the defects of form have been remedied within the deadline set, the voivode puts a stamp confirming submission of an application for a settlement permit or a residence permit for a long-term EC resident in the foreigner's travel document.
In accordance with Article 71a(3) of the above Act, if the foreigner submitted an application during their legal stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland and the application does not contain any defects of form or the defects of form have been remedied within the deadline, the foreigner's stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland will be deemed legal until a final decision on a settlement permit or a residence permit for a long-term EC resident has been issued.
Whether or not a foreigner's stay in the territory of Poland is legal during the procedure of granting residence permit is dependent on the law and the fact of having efficiently submitted an application for a residence permit within the deadline set.
If the foreigner has a travel document with a stamp referred to above, this will constitute evidence that a foreigner's stay in the territory of Poland is legal, pursuant to Article 61(3) or Article 71a(3) of the Act on foreigners.
- 3. NEW FORMAT OF PHOTOGRAPHS
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On 2 February 2011, the requirements related to photographs submitted along with applications were changed for residence permits for a fixed period, settlement permits and residence permits for a long-term EC resident.
On 2 February 2011 we saw the entry into force of the Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 19 January 2011 on the template application form for a residence permit for a fixed period, the photographs appended to the application and the stamp confirming application submission, as well as the Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 19 January 2011 on template application forms for settlement permits and a residence permit for a long-term EC resident, photographs appended to the applications and templates of stamps confirming application submission.
The above mentioned normative acts changed the requirements related to photographs appended to applications for residence permits for a fixed period, settlement permits and residence permits for a long-term EC resident and resulted in changes to the above application forms.
According to the new regulations, the application should be accompanied by 4 colour undamaged 35 x 45 mm photographs of persons concerned by the application, taken within the last 6 months, on a uniform white background, with good sharpness, clearly showing the eyes and the face from the top of the head to the upper part of the shoulders so that the face takes up 70-80% of the photograph. The photographs must present the individual without any headwear or dark glasses, looking ahead with the eyes open and not covered by hair, with a natural facial expression and closed lips.
Last change of this page: 04.10.2011.
