Pomerania compared to Lesser Poland and Lower Silesia: shorter deadlines and effects of reorganization

Pomorskie is one of the two voivodeships with the longest case processing deadlines residence permits in Poland. In 2026, the average deadline here was 598 days - this is the second longest result after Silesia (658 days). For comparison: Mazowieckie - 394 days, Podlaskie - 447 days. Of the three voivodeships discussed in this analysis, Pomerania is the worst.

The comparison with Lesser Poland and Lower Silesia is particularly telling. In 2025 in matters for temporary residence, the Pomeranian Voivodeship accepted 36,466 applications with an average deadline of 544 days; Małopolskie - 49,735 applications for 183 days, and Dolnośląskie - 61,264 applications for 273 days. Both these voivodeships accepted more applications, and they worked significantly faster. The number of incoming cases alone does not explain the entire difference.

Official average processing time

Data in days. Values for 2026 cover the period until July 6, 2026. Source: reply MSWiA to interpellation no. 18089PL🌐 Translate.

1. The scale of the burden and the actual expectation

Krakow was chosen as a positive comparison not because there are few people living there foreigners. In Małopolska, the number of important documents is almost twice as high in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, and yet the official average procedure time there is approximately 2.5 times longer shorter.

2. Wrocław: from one of the worst results to measurable improvement

Lower Silesia is important as an example of changing the trajectory. Already in 2018, NIK negatively assessed the service provided to foreigners in Wrocław. Subsequent review of cases from 2022–2024 showed 60.6 thousand unfinished cases, PLN 12.2 million of expenses resulting from judgments court cases and 7.8 thousand reservations outside the system; NIK sent a notice to prosecutor’s office. There are two confirmed checks NIK.

In 2026, the deadline increased to 303 days, but it is still almost twice as short in the Pomeranian Voivodeship (598 days).

What has changed in 2025

• the average term decreased from 472 to 273 days (−42%);
• judgment and compensation expenses decreased by 84.7% year over year;
• complaints to WSA were 16.1% less;
• in November, 21% more cases were concluded than received;
• the backlog of cases from 2022 and earlier was reduced to 507 cases.

The Lower Silesian Voivodeship Office emphasizes that these results were achieved by without increasing employment. Wrocław’s experience shows the impact not only of the number of employees, but also reorganization, record-keeping, supervision and external control.

Sources: NIK - A country not ready for foreignersPL🌐 Translate · NIK - passport service for foreigners in WrocławPL🌐 Translate · DUW - results 2025PL🌐 Translate

3. Personnel burden: only comparable official data

The indicator applies to employees involved in preparing and issuing decisions. Hotline and front office are not counted unless these employees perform such tasks.

All values are assigned a period. The numbers 73/85 and 771 come from official ones materials RPO and MSWiA. No response from the Pomeranian Voivodeship Office was recorded in the survey of Employers of Poland.

Sources: RPO, 10/07/2025PL🌐 Translate · RPO, 27/09/2024PL🌐 Translate · Employers of Poland

Summary

• Kraków: a large scale of migration goes hand in hand with a significantly shorter deadline.
• Wrocław: after external audit and reorganization, the trajectory changed during the year.
• Gdańsk: the deadline is growing for the fourth year in a row, and the actions taken have not reversed this trend.

With the same legal framework, provincial administrations achieve different deadlines and workloads and dynamics. A significant part of the effectiveness therefore arises at the local level.

Data status: August 27, 2026. Data MSWiA for 2026 covers the period until July 6, 2026