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Pathway

Poland Temporary Residence for Studies

Poland Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Poland's student residence route is for non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens accepted to or enrolled in qualifying full-time university study, doctoral school, or a qualifying preparatory course in Poland. It requires admission or enrollment, funds, health insurance, and other residence documents.

Study type
Full-time higher education or doctoral school
Financial support and coverage
Health insurance and enough funds for living costs after housing and for return travel
Institution and tuition
An eligible institution must support the application and any tuition due at filing must be paid or covered by an accepted arrangement

Summary

Poland's main student permit is for approved full-time higher education, doctoral school or a covered preparatory course. Admission must come from an eligible institution, with tuition arrangements, health coverage and funds for living costs after housing and for return travel all addressed.

The institution also completes its required part of the digital application. Part-time, MBA and many language or other educational programs use a different route, even though they involve study. Admission therefore needs checking against the immigration category, and the course must remain the genuine purpose of residence.

The institution must complete its part before filing
  1. Confirm admission and the institution Check the qualifying full-time, doctoral, or preparatory program and the institution's eligibility.
  2. Prepare study and support records Document required tuition, insurance, housing costs, living funds, and return-travel resources.
  3. Obtain the digital attachment The institution completes and signs its required part in MOS.
  4. Submit during legal stay Complete your application and attend when requested for original documents or biometrics.

Admission establishes the study purpose. The institutional attachment and the student's complete residence evidence are also required.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

EEA means the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

This route may fit if:

Since 27 April 2026, the institution completes and digitally signs its part of the MOS application. Give the institution the correct email address early; an application cannot be effectively submitted until the required institutional attachment is complete.

What This Route Allows

The first permit is normally granted for 15 months. If the academic year or remaining study period is shorter, it may instead cover that period plus 3 months. A first permit can be issued for 2 years for certain EU or multilateral mobility programs and for 2 years and 6 months for doctoral-school study.

A later permit normally covers the remaining study period plus 3 months, up to 3 years. For doctoral school it can cover the remaining period plus 6 months, also up to 3 years.

A full-time student or doctoral student who has the correct Polish visa or residence basis may work without a separate work permit under Poland's student-work rules. That does not mean every form of legal stay, every course, or every period while an application is pending gives the same right; check the status-specific rule before starting work.

After completing a Polish degree, a graduate may qualify for a separate, one-time 9-month permit to look for work or prepare to start a business. It must be requested promptly after graduation during qualifying legal stay. It is not an automatic extension of the student permit.

What This Route Is Not

Next Steps

  1. Obtain the institution's formal admission or continuation certificate and confirm that the program is full-time, doctoral, or an eligible preparatory course.
  2. Ask the institution whether it is approved to accept foreign students and whether any 2025 admission-control rules affect your case.
  3. Confirm tuition due, housing cost, monthly living funds, and return-travel funds. Gather bank records, scholarship evidence, sponsorship records, and tuition receipts as appropriate.
  4. Arrange health insurance and gather your passport, digital photograph, proof of legal stay, and sworn Polish translations where required.
  5. Give the institution the information it needs to complete its digital MOS attachment.
  6. File electronically through MOS before your legal stay expires, sign through login.gov.pl, and save the UPO. Attend when the voivode asks for your original passport, fingerprints, signature specimen, or additional evidence.

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Sources