As you are well aware, in the era of the Pandemic, the authorities have introduced special measures to make life easier for us all in the crisis caused by it. Foreigners have not been left out. The legal act which contains these regulations is the Act on special solutions related to prevention, counteraction and combating COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them.
The provisions of the aforementioned Act allow foreigners who were staying in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the date of declaring an epidemic emergency to stay legally after the cessation of their basis of residence until the 30th day after the epidemic or epidemic emergency is lifted – whichever is the latest.
The same extension also applies to work permits and work declarations.
That is not all. According to Article 15z of the regulation in question, if the deadline for applying for a temporary residence permit falls under one of the aforementioned conditions, it is extended also to the 30th day after the last of the aforementioned conditions has been revoked. This provision is not restricted only to the foreigners who were present in Poland at the time of the announcement of the epidemic emergency, according to its content it applies to all foreigners.
However, the above does not mean that foreigners should delay submitting applications for relevant documents. It should be taken into account that an epidemic is associated with restrictions that have the side effect of hindering the work of authorities. This causes delays that we all know from experience to increase, and when applications are submitted en masse within a month of the outbreak being lifted, the difficulties will be enormous. Obtaining an appointment at the office in such a situation is likely to be very difficult. Therefore, it is best to submit the relevant documents well in advance so that when the number of applications may paralyze the office – you will have the proceedings initiated or even the documents ready, and treat the regulations mentioned above only as a life-saving measure if, for some reason, this is made difficult or impossible beforehand.