What happens after submitting your MOS application?
You have sent your application in MOS. From here the voivodeship office takes over: it checks the application, registers a case, and asks you to come in person. This is the order things usually happen in.
1. Confirmation that the application was sent
Official information
Right after you send the application, MOS may show “Waiting for synchronisation”. This means it is still being sent and can take several minutes. “Sent” means the application has been received in the system.
A sent application cannot be undone or edited in MOS.
2. The UPO
Official information
Once the application is sent, you can download the Official Confirmation of Receipt, known as the UPO.
PolandEase explanation
The UPO is your proof that the application was submitted, and when. Download it and keep a copy somewhere safe. Voivodeship offices treat it as the confirmation of submission. A filled-in draft or a screenshot is not one.
3. Application verification
Official information
A voivodeship officer verifies the application. After it is verified and approved, you can download and print a certificate confirming that you applied for a residence permit. This certificate replaces the stamp that used to be placed in the passport.
The Mazowieckie office describes the certificate as confirming that the application was submitted and that your stay is considered legal until a final decision, for applications filed during a legal stay.
PolandEase explanation
There is no published time for how long verification takes. Until the certificate is available, the UPO is the document you have.
4. Case registration
The office registers your application as a case and gives it a case number. In Mazowieckie the office sends the case number by email, together with a code for following the case in inPOL.
More: MOS case number explained
5. Possible request for documents
Official information
MOS does not send requests for missing documents. They come from the voivodeship office. You may also be asked to supply missing documents during your in-person visit.
In Mazowieckie, summonses and requests arrive by email or e-Doręczenia, and additional documents are sent to the office through e-Doręczenia rather than handed in. Documents sent this way have to be signed electronically, or be certified copies.
PolandEase explanation
Watch the inbox of the email address you gave in the application, including spam. A request from the office comes with a deadline, and the deadline is in the letter itself.
6. Fingerprints and in-person appointment
Official information
You will be asked to appear in person to give fingerprints and a specimen signature and to show your original passport and documents.
You do not book this visit in MOS. The office sets it. More: Fingerprints for a residence permit
7. Waiting for the decision
Official information
The voivode sends the decision to the delivery address given in the application. In Mazowieckie, when a permit is granted, the office sends a notice with the date and place for collecting the residence card.
While you wait, you can follow the case with the voivodeship office. See MOS application status explained.
The 60-day decision period in the law is not the real waiting time. See what official data shows about waiting times.