Permanent residence card of a family member of an EU citizen

Introduction

The foreigner has a citizenship of the European Union, provided that they have a citizenship of one of the following EU member states:

• Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Italy.

Within the meaning of the migration regulations, an EU national is also any citizen from:

• Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

The following are considered to be family members of an EU citizen:

• spouse of an EU citizen

• the child of an EU citizen or the child of their spouse (stepchild) under the age of 21

• the child of the EU citizen or the child of their spouse (stepchild) dependent on them or the dependent of their spouse

• the parent of an EU citizen or the parent of the spouse of an EU citizen (father-in-law/mother-in-law) dependent on an EU citizen or their spouse,

• the parent of a minor EU citizen who has effective custody of that minor and on whom that minor EU citizen remains dependent.

Family members of Union citizens who do not themselves have Union citizenship acquire the right of permanent (i.e., indefinite) residence, as a rule, after 5 years of continuous residence in the territory of Poland, provided that uninterrupted residence does not mean the absence of any departures from this territory.

Stay on the territory of Poland during this time should comply with the Regulations applicable to the acquisition and retention of the right of residence by a family member of an EU citizen in Poland (see the explanation in the "Residence card" tab – stage "Requirements").

In certain cases, it is possible to acquire the right of permanent residence after a shorter period of uninterrupted residence in Poland.

The document confirming the acquisition of this right is a permanent residence card. Issuing this document requires a family member of an EU citizen to submit an application in person to the voivode competent for their place of residence in Poland. This application is submitted on a special form.

The permanent residence card is issued within 6 months from the date of submitting such an application.