On 13th August 2020, an amendment of the Act on entering the territory of the Republic of Poland, residence and departure from this territory of nationals of Member States of the European Union and their family members as well as other acts was published. The act has been referred to interministerial arrangements.
The aim of the ongoing work on the above-mentioned act is to adjust the legal order to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the application of Directive 2004/38/EC and supplement the implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU and, above all, adapt the Polish legal system to the transitional period of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from structures of the European Union to be concluded by the end of this year.
The act will enter into force on 1st January 2021. The provisions regulating the matter of new documents issued to both EU and UK nationals will be effective on 2nd August 2021.
Changes important not only for the British
Although the amendment is addressed primarily to UK nationals, it also introduces a number of changes for the UE nationals, i.a.:
- a completely new template of EU national residence registration certificate - the project includes both a new template and form - a plastic card. The format used so far (paper, without a photo) aroused a lot of controversy, both on the side of EU nationals and public administration authorities.
- validity date of the new certificate - new documents would be valid for 10 years (and not for an indefinite period as so far) – therefore, renewal application would be necessary.
- validity date of current certificates and residence cards - current certificates and cards would remain valid until 3rd August 2026. During this period, EU nationals would be able to apply for new documents - already prepared in compliance with the new guidelines.
Changes referring to UK nationals
Pursuant to art. 18 sec. 4 of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (hereinafter: the Withdrawal Agreement), Polish authorities decided not to grant the citizens of the United Kingdom and their families a new residence status.
How will the residence and employment of UK nationals be regulated in Poland?
Some of the solutions provided in the amendment to the act are as follows:
- the same documents as for EU nationals, but including additional elements - according to the amendment, the documents would contain an annotation about their issuance in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement. Documents issued for the UK nationals would also include fingerprints. As it is planned to collect fingerprints from persons of the age of 6 and above on the day of submitting the application, applicants of this age will be required to appear in the office personally (so far only adult applicants’ presence in the office was mandatory).
- the validity period of new documents - similarly to the EU national residence registration certificate, the certificates issued for UK nationals would be valid for 10 years.
- validity period of current certificates and residence cards - documents already issued for UK nationals and their family members would remain valid, but not longer than until 1st January 2022. UK nationals and their families would be able to apply for new certificates. Based on the amendment to the act, it will be possible to receive a certificate (confirmation) of submitting the application. This confirmation would be valid for 1 year, and if the administrative procedure is not completed within this time, the Voivode would be obliged to issue another confirmation. The confirmation would allow to travel freely without a visa required.
- collection of certificates - unlike EU nationals who would still be able to appoint a representative for collection, the new regulations would require UK nationals and their family members to collect the certificates in person - as is the case with residence cards issued to third country nationals.
- frontier workers who, under the current regulations, were not obliged to register their stay in the territory of Poland, in accordance with the announced changes, would have to register by 1st January 2022, even if they would not reside in Poland.
UK nationals and the Act on foreigners
The amendment to the act also provides for special cases applicable by the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners, which in principle regulates the conditions of entry of third-country nationals to the territory of Poland.
An important proposal for an amendment to the Act on foreigners provides that in special cases, UK nationals would also be entitled to apply for a residence permit in the territory of Poland.
The mentioned-above cases are as follows:
- Residence permit in order to perform work requiring high qualifications;
- Residence permit in order to work within the intra-company transfer;
- Family reunion residence permit (in the case of future British beneficiary spouses);
- Residence permit based on family reasons pursuant to art. 160 of the Act on foreigners;
- EU long-term resident permit.
How to prepare for changes?
The most important issue of the above-mentioned amendment is the fact that it brings a number of changes and legal consequences not only for UK nationals, but also for EU nationals currently residing in Poland.
What do the proposed changes mean in practice? The necessity to appear personally in the Provincial Office according to the place of residence in Poland and exchange of existing documents not only by UK nationals residing in Poland (until 1st January 2022), but also by citizens of other EU countries (until 3rd August 2026). Although the deadlines may seem distant, it is advisable to undertake necessary actions as early as possible:
- The amendment related to the issuance of new documents will be effective on 2nd August 2021 – as a result UK nationals will have only 5 months to exchange current documents.
- The waiting time for issuing new documents may be extended due to the increase in the number of submitted applications.
- Due to the current epidemiological situation, access to public administration offices is significantly limited - thus, it may be more challenging to initiate and finalize immigration procedures.
It should also be noted that under current regulations, persons who do not comply with the obligation to register their residence in the territory of Poland are subject to a fine.
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