Short answer
After a refusal by the voivode, keep the full decision and proof of service. You normally have 14 days from service to appeal, through the voivode who issued it. MOS is not an appeal channel. If the deadline is close, urgently review the decision with an adwokat or radca prawny.
Identify the document first
Read the operative part and the appeal instructions, called pouczenie. Refusal of a permit, refusal to open proceedings and leaving an application unexamined are different outcomes. Note the case number, issuing authority, reasons and remedy stated in the instructions. A short message from an intermediary is not a substitute for the decision.
The 14-day appeal window
Under the official MOS guidance, an odwołanie is normally due within 14 days of delivery. Do not count the delivery day itself. If the last day falls on a Saturday or a statutory non-working day, the deadline moves to the next applicable day. Check delivery to your representative and electronic delivery records. Receiving a forwarded scan later does not necessarily restart the clock.
Waiving the right to appeal affects when the decision becomes final. Restoration of a missed deadline has separate conditions. If your deadline is close or already missed, seek prompt advice from a Polish adwokat or radca prawny.
Where to send the appeal
Address the appeal to the Head of the Office for Foreigners, but submit it through the voivode who issued the decision. A Gdańsk case goes through the relevant Pomeranian authority rather than directly to Warsaw. The same structure applies across Poland; use the address and instructions in your own decision.
The current MOS instructions describe a signed paper submission or an electronic submission to the voivode’s e-Doręczenia address. An appeal is not submitted through MOS itself. Do not assume an ordinary email counts as a valid submission.
Prepare a focused evidence file
- The complete decision, attachments and appeal instructions.
- Evidence of delivery to you or your representative.
- Requests from the authority and proof of your replies.
- Current documents addressing the actual refusal grounds.
- Proof that the appeal was submitted.
An appeal need not be a lengthy legal essay, but it must express disagreement and satisfy the formal requirements. Explain how the evidence challenges the authority’s findings rather than simply repeating your original application.
Staying in Poland after refusal
Check your lawful stay separately. Timely appeal and compliance with the original application conditions matter. Merely calling a document an appeal does not give everyone residence or employment rights. Following a final refusal, a 30-day departure rule may apply if you have no other lawful basis. Article 299 of the Foreigners Act specifies the starting dates.
A subsequent administrative court complaint is a different stage and does not automatically extend lawful stay. When requesting a Pobyto consultation, give the delivery date. A time-sensitive procedural issue should not wait for a routine sales callback.
