Can an International Student who graduated get a new residence permit in Poland?

Hi everyone,

I did my Master's degree at the University of Economics in Katowice, and graduated after submitting my Thesis in September 2016. I heard that international students are allowed to receive a residence permit for up to 1 year after finishing their studies in Poland in order to look for a job. In my case, I only spent the first year of my studies in Poland, because I spent the 2nd year as an Erasmus student in Germany. However, I still received my Master's degree from Poland (even though I was studying and living in Germany during my second year). I did not renew my residence permit in Poland after going to Germany since I didn't think I will need it anymore because I was able to apply for a German residence permit in Germany. Now that I finished my studies, I want to go back to Poland to search for a job. Can I still apply for a residence permit in Poland, even though my previous Poland permit expired more than 1 year ago? Also, I finished my studies in Poland in September 2016 so it's been almost 1 year since I finished my studies. It would be nice to know if anyone can answer these questions for me, many thanks!

You should be good:

Foreigners released from the obligation to have a work permit pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 30 August 2006 (Dz.U. [Journal of Laws] No. 156 Item 1116, as amended):

19. graduates of Polish upper secondary schools or full-time higher education studies or full-time doctorate studies in Polish universities,