Poland’s Office for Foreigners (UdSC) confirmed on 14 April that the current version of its Case Handling Module (MOS) portal will be switched off at 23:59 local time on 17 April. The move clears the way for the nationwide launch of a rebuilt, end-to-end electronic residence-permit filing system on 27 April 2026. Under the new regime, all applications for temporary residence, permanent residence and EU long-term resident permits must be lodged online; paper filings will be accepted only in narrowly defined emergency situations.
![Poland sets 17 April shutdown of legacy MOS portal ahead of fully digital residence-permit rollout]()
For companies and individuals navigating these changes, VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) provides clear guidance, document-check services, and real-time status tracking that can streamline submissions and secure appointments, helping applicants stay compliant even during the MOS blackout.
Once an application is submitted, the system will automatically pre-screen data, schedule an in-person fingerprint appointment and allow applicants and employers to upload missing documents in real time. UdSC says the upgrade will cut average processing times by 30 percent and eliminate thousands of incomplete submissions that currently clog provincial offices. Foreign employees whose legal stay expires before, or within two weeks after, the go-live date are being urged to submit paper applications immediately to avoid falling out of status during the switchover blackout. For corporate mobility programs the change is both an opportunity and a risk. On the plus side, HR teams will finally have a single dashboard to track permit milestones for transferees across all 16 voivodeships. On the down side, filing windows will close sharply at midnight on 17 April, and any draft applications left in the legacy system will be purged. Companies have just three business days to extract data or finish submissions before the blackout begins. UdSC has published a 56-page user manual in Polish and English and says a multilingual help-line will be staffed from 07:00 to 22:00 CET during the first month of operations. Employers should update onboarding checklists, budget additional time for biometric appointments and remind staff that in-country travel to voivode offices will still be required for fingerprints—digital though the front-end may be.
For companies and individuals navigating these changes, VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) provides clear guidance, document-check services, and real-time status tracking that can streamline submissions and secure appointments, helping applicants stay compliant even during the MOS blackout.
Once an application is submitted, the system will automatically pre-screen data, schedule an in-person fingerprint appointment and allow applicants and employers to upload missing documents in real time. UdSC says the upgrade will cut average processing times by 30 percent and eliminate thousands of incomplete submissions that currently clog provincial offices. Foreign employees whose legal stay expires before, or within two weeks after, the go-live date are being urged to submit paper applications immediately to avoid falling out of status during the switchover blackout. For corporate mobility programs the change is both an opportunity and a risk. On the plus side, HR teams will finally have a single dashboard to track permit milestones for transferees across all 16 voivodeships. On the down side, filing windows will close sharply at midnight on 17 April, and any draft applications left in the legacy system will be purged. Companies have just three business days to extract data or finish submissions before the blackout begins. UdSC has published a 56-page user manual in Polish and English and says a multilingual help-line will be staffed from 07:00 to 22:00 CET during the first month of operations. Employers should update onboarding checklists, budget additional time for biometric appointments and remind staff that in-country travel to voivode offices will still be required for fingerprints—digital though the front-end may be.
