When your own card expires

The clock starts on the day the card was issued (printed), not on the day you applied (Art. 42p(1) of the Ukrainian special act). From the day you receive the card, your temporary protection turns into a zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy (temporary residence permit), and that permit lasts exactly as long as the card is valid (Art. 42r(1)). A child's card is valid for as long as the mother's card (Art. 42p(2)).

Applications for CUKR are accepted from 4 May 2026 to 4 March 2027. So the first cards issued in 2026 will expire in 2029, and those issued in 2027 will expire in 2030. Check the date on your own card and count from it.

Why CUKR will not be extended

The law has no provision for extending CUKR. There is only a replacement of the card by the voivode (Art. 42q), and it does not grant a new validity period. The Office for Foreigners (UdSC) says it plainly on its card page: "Kolejne zezwolenie na pobyt czasowy będziesz mógł otrzymać na zasadach ogólnych" (you can get the next temporary residence permit on general terms). The Lubuskie Voivodeship Office published the same on 26 May 2026.

"General terms" means the simplified route ends. For CUKR, UKR status and continuous stay were enough. For an ordinary permit you have to show a specific purpose (work, your own business, studies, family), means of support and health insurance. UdSC says this itself in its answers to questions about CUKR.

Five years to EU residence: where the extra two years come from

An EU long-term resident permit gives indefinite stay and a card valid for 5 years. To get it you must have lived in Poland legally and continuously for 5 years immediately before applying (Art. 211(1) of the Act on Foreigners).

What matters is exactly which periods are counted. Years on CUKR count from the day you receive the card. Years on UKR status do not count at all, and UdSC says so word for word. So even if you have lived in Poland since 2022, the clock for EU residence starts when you get CUKR. Three years on the card give you three out of five, and you will spend at least the remaining two years on an ordinary permit.

Continuity has limits too: no single break may exceed 6 months, and all breaks together may not exceed 10 months over the 5 years (Art. 212(3)(1)). The time you spend waiting for a decision on a new permit after applying on time is not named among the exceptions in Art. 212(2). Note also that university years count for only half (Art. 212(1)(3)).

When you apply you will also need a stable and regular income over the last 3 years, health insurance and Polish at B1 level (Art. 211(1)(1)–(3), (2)(2)). So the residence years and income for EU status are built up exactly during this period, on CUKR and after it.

Which permit should you get after CUKR?

The choice depends on what your life in Poland rests on. The most common options (details on grounds and documents in our article on pobyt czasowy):

  • Work (Art. 114): you need an employer. Stamp duty (opłata skarbowa) 440 zł plus 100 zł for the card, 540 zł in total. Permit for up to 3 years.
  • Your own business (Art. 142): 340 zł plus 100 zł for the card, 440 zł in total. Permit for up to 3 years.
  • Studies (Art. 144): 340 zł plus 50 zł for the card. The first permit is for 15 months (Art. 145). For EU residence these years count only by half.
  • Family: a permit for a family member of a Polish citizen (Art. 158) or reunification with a foreign relative who holds, for example, stały pobyt or EU long-term residence (Art. 159).

If you hold a Karta Polaka (Pole's Card), you do not have to wait the two extra years at all. With it you apply straight for stały pobyt (permanent residence), with no required period of prior stay (Art. 195(1)(9)), and no stamp duty is charged. Polish descent gives stały pobyt in the same way (point 3). This is not an extension of CUKR but a different, faster route.

There is a trap with marriage to a Polish citizen. Stały pobyt through marriage requires 3 years of marriage and 2 years immediately before the application on a permit granted specifically because of that marriage (Art. 195(1)(4)). CUKR was not issued because of marriage, so its years do not count here: you will first need a family member permit.

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When to apply and how to stay legal

The law only sets the last day: you apply no later than the last day of your legal stay, that is, before the card expires (Art. 105(1)). It sets no earliest date.

If you apply on time and without formal defects, your stay in Poland is legal from the day you apply until the day the decision becomes final (Art. 108(1)(2)). There is one exception: proceedings suspended at your own request (Art. 108(2)). Passports are no longer stamped. Instead, a zaświadczenie (certificate) appears in MOS once an official has checked the application. It confirms your legal stay, but you cannot travel around Schengen with it.

Applications are online only, through the MOS portal. By law the voivode has 60 days (Art. 112a), but the government portal biznes.gov.pl speaks of "średnio około 12 miesięcy" (about 12 months on average), and NIK (the Supreme Audit Office) found over 9 months on average in cases in Lower Silesia. Hence the practical advice: gather your documents and apply with time to spare, not in the last week. Then the year of waiting falls while your card is still valid, rather than on trips you would have to cancel.

What not to do while the card is valid

Two things can wreck the plan before the three years are up.

The first: a long trip abroad. If you leave Poland for 6 months or longer in one go, the voivode revokes (cofa) the permit and the card is cancelled (Art. 42t(1)(3)). It is a single trip that counts, not the total over three years. And keep the EU residence limit in mind: 6 months for one break and 10 months for all of them together.

The second: moving without notice. You must notify the voivode who issued the card of every change of your place of stay within 15 working days (Art. 42u(1)). If you do not, letters in your case are deemed delivered to the old address (para. 2), and you may learn about a decision too late.

What comes next: from EU residence to citizenship

EU residence or stały pobyt is not the end of the road. After 3 years on either of these permits you can apply to be recognised as a Polish citizen, if you have a stable income, a legal title to your home and B1 Polish (Art. 30(1)(1) of the Polish Citizenship Act). Those who got stały pobyt through Karta Polaka or Polish descent need only 1 year (point 7). We walk through the whole route step by step in from residence card to citizenship.

Sources

FAQ

Can CUKR be extended for another three years?

No. The law has no extension mechanism, only a card replacement. After 3 years the next permit is granted on general terms, for a specific purpose of stay.

From what date do the three years run?

From the day the card was issued, not from the application or from getting UKR status. The date is printed on the card. A child's card is valid as long as the mother's.

Do UKR years count towards the five years for EU residence?

No. Only the time from the day you receive CUKR counts. So after the card you need at least 2 more years on another permit.

When should I apply for the new permit?

No later than the last day the card is valid. Earlier is allowed, and better with time to spare: in practice a decision takes 9–12 months, and you stay legally the whole time if you applied on time and without defects.

Can I travel abroad while waiting for the decision?

The zaświadczenie from MOS confirms your legal stay in Poland but does not give you the right to travel around Schengen. Plan trips so they do not fall in a period without a valid card.

I have a Karta Polaka. What should I do after CUKR?

You do not have to wait for the card to expire: with a Karta Polaka you apply straight for stały pobyt, with no required period of stay and no stamp duty. After a year on stały pobyt you can apply for citizenship.

PLTest Editorial Team

We prepare content based on official sources — the Act on the Karta Polaka, MSZ clarifications, and gov.pl — and fact-check every legal claim before publishing. Questions in the PLTest database are verified against the experience of hundreds of users who have already gone through the consul interview.