flash news: #foreigners
From 4 May 2026, applications can be submitted for a residence card marked ‘former holder of temporary protection’ (the so-called CUKR residence card).
Latest Statistics Poland (GUS) data (published on 14 April 2026), shows that over one million foreigners (1,139,400) were working in Poland at the end of October 2025. Their share of the total active labour force in Poland was therefore 6.9%. This represents a 7.1% increase in foreigners working in Poland (compared to a year earlier).
On 27 March 2026, a draft regulation was published on the RCL website concerning countries whose citizens holding a work permit are not entitled to work whilst staying in Poland under the visa-free regime.
The Office for Foreigners has published two key pieces of information regarding the imminent overhaul of residence legalisation. These include the implementation of a new version of the MOS portal and a special procedure for Ukrainian citizens: the CUKR residence card. According to information shared by provincial administration offices, the MOS II system is scheduled to launch on 13 April 2026.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced a major digitisation project – the Electronic Consular Services Platform (ePUK), which is to replace the existing tools used to manage consular matters for foreigners and Polish citizens (including the eKonsulat system). At the same time, an amendment to the Consular Law Act is being prepared to adapt the regulations to new e-services and technological realities, as well as to streamline and improve processes that are currently scattered, time-consuming, and inconsistent.
On 6 February 2026, details appeared in the legislative schedule of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy about a draft regulation regarding countries whose citizens will not be entitled to work while visiting Poland under visa-free travel.