I forgot to renew my Poland's temporary residence permit, what should I do?

Hi all,

I went with my car to do a przeglad rejestracyjny recently, but there were no more spaces in the Dowod Rejestracyjny for the stamp and signature, so I was told to get a new Dowod Rejestracyjny at the proper urzad (i.e. Wydział Ewidencji Pojazdów i Kierowców). The guy doing the przeglad said I just have to bring the 'old' Dowod Rejestracyjny, the red Karta pojazdu booklet and the technical inspection form he issued, and I should be fine. So far so good.

At the stanowisko, the lady asked to see my Karta Pobytu... I registered my stay when I moved to Poland in 2009 and therefore received the Karty Pobytu (a piece of paper, A5 size), but never got around to renewing it after it expired in 2015. It was never relevant in other cases, and I therefore forgot/delayed to have it renewed. This is obviously my bad, however, the lady at the urzad would not give me a new Dowod Rejestracyjny based on an old/expired Karta Pobytu.

So, the thing is: The Karta Pobytu expired in January 2015, almost 4 years ago. What should I do? I am from a EU country, I am married to a Polish woman since 2011, we have two children (born 2011 and 2015), I have had a job ever since moving here, and I own the flat we live in.

- Do I start from scratch, meaning I will have to get a new temporary residence permit with start as of now, because I have somehow 'lost' 4 years (the period of time where the Karta Pobytu was expired)?

- Can I prolong the Karta Pobytu for another 5 years? Maybe I can prove my uninterrupted stay in Poland with other documents (which ones?) and that is enough?

- Or maybe I can apply for a permanent residence permit, on the base of being married to a Polish woman since 2011 and having lived in Poland continuously since 2009, despite having 'lost' 4 years?

Any qualified thoughts or personal experiences, please share.

On another note, I will now be driving around with a Dowod Rejestracyjny without the proper stamp. Is it okay to just show the old one together with the piece of paper confirming that the car is alright, issued by the guy who did the przeglad, when prompted?

Thanks!
Jens

If you want qualified thoughts, you go to the Wydział do spraw cudzoziemców and get them straight from the horse's mouth, not to some anonymous internet forum populated by random unqualified individuals. If it turns out there are complications, you then consult with a competent and experienced immigration attorney.

The condition for issuing permanent residence to spouses of Polish citizens are "marriage has existed for at least three years, and the foreigner had stayed in Poland for two years immediately prior to filing the application on the basis of a residence permit issued in the context of marriage, temporary residence, refugee status, status of subsidiary protection or residence permit for humanitarian reasons"

cant you register the car on your passport?

Have a look here: badanie-techniczne.pl/2018/03/nie-ma-miejsca-na-pieczatki-w-dowodzie-rejestracyjnym/

"20 maja 2018 mają pojawić się nowe przepisy dot. badań technicznych pojazdów, które, m.in. wnoszą zmiany w zakresie wymiany dowodu rejestracyjnego w przypadku braku miejsca na pieczątki. Po uprawomocnieniu się zmian (zapewne druga połowa roku 2018), nie będziemy już musieli wymieniać dowodu rejestracyjnego w przypadku braku miejsca na pieczątki. Wystarczy wozić ze sobą (z dowodem rejestracyjnym) zaświadczenie od diagnosty, które jest jednoznaczne z kolejną pieczątką."

Not sure if this has entered into force.

@DominicB Sure, I simply wanted to spare myself another trip to this wydział (who seems to be very busy) by asking my questions here... I know better than to trust a group of 'random qualified individuals' but thought I'd give it a go anyway. Thanks for your opinion.

@dovla Yes, I saw this, thanks. I am just wondering if there is any way around not having a (valid) residence permit of any kind... If simply proving my uninterrupted stay in Poland the past 9 years with other documents would be enough. I am guessing 'no' would be the answer. Also thank you for the link, good to know just in case.

@Sparks11 The lady at the urzad insisted that I should show a valid Karta Pobytu and didn't care that I brought my passport... And who am I to argue with her, because she has a point. Another person at another stanowisko might have accepted the passport and not cared about the expired Karta Pobytu... Getting a new dowód rejestracyjny is not the problem here, as my wife can simply go and sort this out (we are both registered as owners). Thanks anyway!

Just to follow up on this one and answer my own question (in case it might be useful for other readers).

Six weeks ago, I went to the foreigners office and applied for permanent residence, with copies of my passport, expired Karta Pobytu, Zameldowanie, wedding certificate, work contract and PIT-11 from the last 9 years. They said that this documentation would probably be enough to grant me permanent residency even if the temporary residence permit had expired 3,5 years ago, but couldn't give me any guarantees.

Yesterday I got a positive decision and today I picked up the card. It has an expiry date 10 years from today, so I guess it is not really that permanent, but oh well, my problem is solved.

My Temporary Residence Permit was expired in 10 may 2020 due to corona virus i can't renew it..now i don't know how it will be renewed..what Documents i need..please help me to solve it..

It won`t be renewed automatically or on your request, it is not possible in case of expired permits. You need to apply for it anew and go through the same .procedure as when you got your previous permit.