UDSC

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Legal basis

In accordance with Article 53(1) point 15 of the Act of 13 June 2003 on foreigners (Dz. U. of 2006, No. 234, item 1694, as amended), residence permit for a specified period of time is granted to a foreigner who is a victim of human trafficking, within the meaning of the Council Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on combating trafficking in human beings and meets all the following conditions:

a)  resides within the territory of the Republic of Poland,

b) has commenced co-operation with the authority competent to conduct proceedings on combating trafficking in human beings,

c)  severed contacts with persons suspected of committing criminal offenses related to trafficking,

- if the circumstance which is the basis for applying for the permit, justifies his residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland for a period longer than 3 months.

Authority issuing decision

The decision on granting residence permit for a specified period of time is issued by a voivode competent with respect to the place of residence of a foreigner.  A foreigner residing abroad shall submit an application for a residence permit for a specified period of time through a consul to a voivode competent with respect to the intended place of residence.  Application for granting a residence permit for a specified period of time shall be made on a form.  

Documents

A foreigner is obliged to:  present a valid travel document, justify the application and attach to the application:

• 1)4 recent photographs - undamaged, in colour, measuring 35 x 45 mm, made in the past 6 months on a plain bright background, with good focus and clearly showing the eyes and face from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, so that face occupies 70 -80% of a photograph; photographs are to show the person without headgear and dark glasses, looking straight ahead with eyes open, not covered by hair, with natural expression and closed mouth;
• 2)documents necessary to confirm the data contained in the application and circumstances justifying application for a residence permit for a specified period of time;
• 3)proof of payment of stamp duty.

Additional requirements concerning the application

A foreigner is obliged to submit an application for a residence permit for a specified period of time to the voivode competent for the place of residence within a period of at least 45 days before the expiry of the period of stay specified in the owned visa or before the expiry of the previous residence permit for a specified period of time.  

If the deadline for submission of the application has been preserved and the application does not contain any formal defects or they have been completed on time, the voivode shall put a stamp in the foreigner's travel document, which confirms submission of the application.  Stay of a foreigner in this period is considered legal until a final decision is made in the case.   More

Placing a stamp in the travel document of a foreigner, under Article 61(2a) of the Act of 13 June 2003 on foreigners, is not equivalent to issuing a visa or a document authorising a foreigner to stay on Polish territory and authorising to travel within the territory of other Schengen countries. 

            Placing the stamp in the travel document only confirms the submission of the application for granting a residence permit within deadline.

The legality of the foreigner's stay on Polish territory during the procedure for granting permit to stay follows from the law and is related to the fact of effective and timely submission of the application for granting permit to stay. 

A travel document with a stamp mentioned above will make it more likely that the stay of a foreigner on Polish territory is lawful, in accordance with Article 61(3) of the Act on foreigners.

A foreigner who has the above mentioned stamp in the travel document may leave Polish territory (going to the country where he has the right of entry), but if he is subject to a visa requirement, he should obtain a visa to enter and stay on Polish territory or a permit to stay issued by another State of the Schengen area, in order to re-enter Polish territory. 

If the application has been submitted less than 45 days before the expiry of the period of stay under visa or the period for which previous residence permit for a specified period of time was granted, and the proceedings were not completed before the expiry of the permit, the foreigner must leave the territory of the Republic of Poland and await the decision abroad.  

Appeal procedure

The party dissatisfied with the decision of first instance authority shall have the right to apply, within the statutory period of 14 days from the date of notification of the decision, against the decision to the authority of a higher degree, which for the above mentioned cases is the Head of the Office for Foreigners.  In turn, the party can lodge a complaint to the administrative court against the decision of the authority of second instance, through this authority, within 30 days of notification of the decision, and the court exercises judicial review of the performance of public administration in terms of compliance with the law.

The period for which the residence permit for a specified period of time is granted

A foreigner referred to in Article 53(1) point 15 of the Act on foreigners shall be granted a residence permit for a specified period of time for a period of 6 months.

Stamp duty