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 — this is where it looks better. The courts treat art. 100d differently from the offices.
In May and June 2025 the NSA — applying dispersed constitutional review (rozproszona kontrola konstytucyjności) — refused to apply the provision that extended the suspension to 30 September 2025 (art. 1 pkt 3 of the Act of 15 May 2024, Dz.U. 2024 poz. 854), as incompatible with art. 45(1) in conjunction with art. 31(3) of the Constitution. It held that the extraordinary circumstances could not justify a fourth consecutive extension, and that a limitation on the right to a court stays proportionate only while those circumstances last (cessante ratione legis, cessat lex ipsa).
In practice this sets a cut-off of 30 June 2024: inactivity and undue delay after that date can be assessed on the merits.
Rulings you can cite in your complaint:
- 19.05.2025 — II OSK 2921/24, II OSK 2498/24, II OSK 2737/24, II OSK 2926/24
- 28.05.2025 — II OSK 2945/24
- 12.06.2025 — II OSK 3096/24
- 26.06.2025 — II OSK 2234/24, II OSK 2243/24
Formally art. 100d runs until 4 March 2027, and some benches still apply it directly. The outcome depends on the court and the panel — but in our rulings database, merits wins in 2026 reach nearly 97%: see Court rulings.
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.