Art. 100d: why deadlines in residence cases "do not run"
What exactly this provision suspends, who it covers, how long it lasts, and what you can still do.
This is information, not legal advice. For an individual case, consult a lawyer or a support organisation.
If you have been waiting for a residence decision longer than the rules allow and cannot work out why the office seems to have no deadline — the answer is usually art. 100d.
The deadline that normally applies
A decision on a temporary residence permit is issued within 60 days (art. 112a ust. 1 of the Act on ForeignersPL🌐 Translate). On appeal — 90 days.
Those 60 days do not run from the day you filed. The clock starts from the latest of these events:
- filing an application free of formal defects, or remedying the defects;
- submitting the documents the voivode requested under art. 106f — or the fruitless expiry of the deadline set for them.
So before counting days, check whether the office asked you for anything. Every such request moves the starting point.
What art. 100d does
Art. 100d sits in the Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens, but — despite the act’s name — it applies to all foreigners, regardless of citizenship. It governs neither protection nor benefits for refugees; it governs how fast offices have to work.
Until 4 March 2027, in residence-permit proceedings conducted by a voivode:
- deadlines do not start, and any that have started are suspended;
- the rules on the authority’s inaction, and its duty to notify you that a case has not been decided on time, do not apply;
- ceasing to act, or acting late, “cannot be the basis for legal remedies concerning inaction, excessive length, or breach of the party’s right to have the case examined without undue delay”.
Full text: art. 100dPL🌐 Translate.
In practice, point 3 means the provision explicitly removes the tools normally used against delay.
Who is responsible for what
| Authority | Role |
|---|---|
| Voivode (department for foreigners) | conducts the case and issues the first-instance decision |
| Head of the Office for Foreigners | higher-instance authority over the voivode — handles appeals and reminders (art. 22 ust. 2PL🌐 Translate) |
| Voivodeship Administrative Court (WSA) | hears complaints about inaction and excessive length |
| Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) | hears cassation appeals against WSA rulings |
A reminder is filed with the higher-instance authority, but through the authority handling your case (art. 37 KPAPL🌐 Translate).
What you can still do
File a reminder anyway. Practice differs between voivodeships: some offices act on a reminder, others reply by pointing to the suspension. More importantly, a reminder is a precondition for taking the case to court (art. 53 § 2b PPSAPL🌐 Translate). Without it, the court route is closed. Reminder template
A complaint to the WSA — here the position is better. Case law was initially divided, but the NSA shifted in favour of foreigners, holding that the provision breaches the constitutional right to a court and should not be applied. The courts therefore treat art. 100d differently from the offices (analysis of the shiftPL🌐 Translate). WSA complaint template
What we are trying to change
Art. 100d is the subject of our petition to the Sejm. It was also the focus of the Warsaw protest on 24 August.