Belarusian wanted to apply for a temporary residence permit in Poland but mistakenly sent his passport to the tax office
The thing is, all state bodies in Poland are called Urządy (offices). Not knowing which one to choose for sending the application, the Belarusian simply found the closest one to his home on the map. It turned out to be the tax office — Urząd Skarbowy.
Everything would have been fine, but during the time the documents were sent "the wrong way", Raman's legal period of stay in Poland expired. Most studied his case.
The story became known on April 1, when 21-year-old Raman himself shared it in one of the chats dedicated to the legalization of foreigners. Initially, participants thought it was an April Fool's joke. But it soon became clear: the case was real. Most contacted Raman, but he only indirectly confirmed the fact of what happened.
From what the young man said in the chat, it is known that his residence card (temporary residence permit) was valid until March 31. The day before — March 30 — he sent documents for a new card by mail. Usually, a photocopy of the passport is used for legalizing stay, but Raman included the original, as well as originals of other documents required in such cases.
He found the address on Google — he looked for the closest "urząd" (office) to his home. So instead of the Voivodeship Administration (Urząd Wojewódzki), which deals with legalization, the documents went to the district tax office — Urząd Skarbowy Warszawa-Bielany.
"The next day, I received a call from the tax office telling me that I shouldn't send all originals that way and that I had sent them to the wrong place," Raman wrote in the chat.
Documents returned, but the problem was not solved
The young man went to the tax office and picked up the documents against a receipt: the state employee wrote that she issued them based on his student ID.
"The tax office employee did not want to redirect them to the correct address because there was a passport and other originals," Raman said in the chat.
Later, he sent the documents to the Voivodeship Administration. But, contrary to the rules, this was done after the expiration of the previous temporary residence permit.
"But the key problem remained: the residence card's validity period had already expired, and the application [on time] was effectively not submitted," Raman wrote.
"Those are your problems"
It turned out that at the time of submitting the application, he no longer had a legal basis to stay in Poland. In the chat, Raman directly asked:
"If tomorrow, when trying to submit documents, I am detained by Straż Graniczna (border guard), what are my next steps? And what is the chance that this will happen at all?"
The answers varied — from harsh to cautious.
"It's your problem that you sent it to the wrong place. You are already illegally [staying in Poland]," wrote one participant.
Others shared their experience:
"I witnessed the Straż Graniczna escorting a person out of an office under similar circumstances."
Although such cases are not common practice, when contacting an office, additional questions regarding the legality of stay may arise. In such a case, the Border Guard may get involved. In the worst case, they may launch an investigation and issue an order to leave Poland.
The law provides for such errors, but it doesn't always work
An argument from lawyers quickly appeared in the discussion: Article 65 of the Polish Administrative Procedure Code. According to it:
- if an application is submitted to the wrong body, it should be forwarded to the correct one;
- the submission deadline is considered met.
At first glance, Raman's case falls precisely under this rule. Does this mean that the tax office should have forwarded the package of documents to the Voivodeship Administration itself, and then Raman would not have lost his legal status?
Anastasia, a lawyer specializing in the legalization of foreigners, explains that in practice, the application of this article is complicated.
"Firstly, authorities are reluctant to forward documents with originals, especially passports. Secondly, it is important whether it was a full-fledged, official application for a residence card, meaning an application processed according to the rules, not just a package of documents. Thirdly, even if forwarded, the documents might have reached the correct office only after the deadline," she explains.
From Raman's correspondence with the tax authority, it can be concluded that the letter arrived at the tax office only on April 1 — already after the expiration of the residence card's validity.
"As follows from the explanations of the offices themselves, the date of submission is considered to be the moment when the application arrives at the institution and is registered, not the date of sending the letter. This means that even if forwarded, Raman's documents would most likely have been considered submitted late," Anastasia adds.
That is why lawyers advise not to delay submitting the application until the last day: even a small error can lead to missing the deadline.
Is there a way out?
Raman's situation is not unique, says Anastasia. Many rely on Google and sometimes make mistakes.
"Similar mistakes are not uncommon: questions about where exactly to send documents regularly appear in legalization assistance chats," adds the specialist.
According to her, the risks for Raman are quite real. The deadline for submitting documents may be considered missed, and his stay — deemed illegal. In this case, a refusal for a residence card is possible. This means he may be required to leave Poland and even face a ban on entry.
Anastasia separately comments on the fear of detention:
"There is a risk, but it's not automatic. However, when contacting an office without legal status, a person can indeed fall under the scrutiny of the border guard."
The specialist believes that Raman's main chance is to try to restore the submission deadline, meaning to ask the office to accept the documents after the deadline.
"One can submit an application for restoration of the deadline (przywrócenie terminu), but it requires strong justification, and the decision remains at the discretion of the authority," Anastasia adds.
In the chat, Raman was also advised to provide evidence that the attempt to submit documents was made on time. In an extreme case — to consider applying for international protection, if there are grounds for it.
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