Appeal against a decision refusing a residence permit

 A decision of the administrative authority refusing a residence permit can be negative for various reasons. Sometimes the refusal is justified, for example if the foreigner didn’t meet all the conditions or didn’t submit the required documents. However, sometimes it happens that an official makes a mistake and issue a negative decision, despite the fact that in this situation of a foreigner, according to the law, permission should be granted. Fortunately, a foreigner may appeal to a higher instance authority against any administrative decision.

 The appeal is directed to the Head of the Office for Foreigners (in Polish language: Szef Urzędu do Spraw Cudzoziemców), but it should be sent by post to the address and via the administrative authority that issued the decision (in Polish language: Wojewoda Mazowiecki). A deadline of 14 days from the delivery of the decision to the foreigner is set for submitting the appeal. It is worth remembering that to meet the deadline for submitting an appeal, it’s enough to obtain the appropriate postmark date on the confirmation of posting a registered letter at the post office. Sending a parcel by a private courier isn’t treated the same way. If the foreigner received a refusal to initiate proceedings, then an appeal must be submitted within 7 days from the date of delivery of the decision.

What if a foreigner didn’t submit an appeal on time? You can submit a request to reinstate the deadline within 7 days from the end of the reason for missing the deadline to file an appeal. The request for reinstatement of the deadline should be duly substantiated. It will be positively considered if the foreigner wasn’t guilty of failing to meet the deadline and the failure was caused by the occurrence of some events beyond the control of the foreigner, for example a sudden serious illness. Along with a request for reinstatement of the deadline you should submit an appeal.

According to art. 128 of the Polish Code of Administrative Procedure, the appeal doesn’t require detailed justification. It’s sufficient if the appeal indicates that the foreigner isn’t satisfied with the issued decision. However, it’s worth emphasizing that in practice, good justification of the appeal is often a guarantee of success. It’s good to thoroughly analyze the situation and the documents submitted, and then describe your position in detail in and indicate the incorrect statements of the administrative authority that issued the decision. It’s worth referring to the relevant provisions of Polish law, in particular the Act of 14 June 1960 - Code of Administrative Procedure or the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners, if the authority issued a negative decision violated the law.

It’s worth noting that the appeal procedure usually lasts for several months and gives the foreigner the opportunity to legally stay until the case is reviewed and a decision is issued by the Head of the Office for Foreigners as a second instance authority. If you don’t appeal, you must leave the territory of Poland within 30 days, so it’s worth appealing against the negative decision if the foreigner wants to extend his legal stay in Poland.