December 2021, Warsaw. An Iranian citizen studying in Warsaw wants to apply for her temporary residency permit (TRC) or karta pobytu, so she can prolong her stay in Poland.
She duly submits her application to the Department for Foreigners (Wydział Spraw Cudzoziemców), also known as the Immigration Office. The officer accepted her application together with a few other documents. They also handed her a letter titled wezwanie in which they listed all the necessary complementary documents.
Among these required documents was a request for a certificate proving she was enrolled at a university in Warsaw. She submitted that as well.
So far so good.
6 months later however, the Iranian student was shocked to receive a negative decision for her temporary residence permit. She was sure to have done everything according to the books! How can that be?
The reason behind the negative decision
The reason stated for the negative decision? The lack of an updated certificate from the university.
The Immigration Office stated that at the moment of issuing the decision, the certificate of studies was already outdated, for it referred to the first semester, whereas the decision from the Immigration Office was issued during her second semester…
The Immigration Office did indeed issue a negative decision to a person who submitted the required document at the right time, just because they took too long to deal with it and without any notification to provide a newer certificate!
Yes, these things happen.
Faulty procedure of the Immigration Office
This case is undeniably a faulty procedure of the Immigration Office.
Indeed, according to the Polish Code of Administrative Procedure, if the Immigration Office realizes some documents are missing, they have to notify the requester and ask him or her to provide the missing documents. It means in reality that the Immigration Office must preliminarily examine the case and in case of missing documents – notify.
In the case of a request for a karta pobytu, a generalized catalogue of required documents is insufficient as it has been stated by the Supreme Court of Administration on October 1 2019.
Our client abided by their requests at the time of the application and should not have received a negative decision.
What are your rights when submitting a request for a residence card?
It is unfortunately not uncommon for the Immigration Office in Warsaw to issue such generalised letters for residence permits and then not notify the person about the need for more documents.
Sometimes an inspector reaches out to the applying foreigner but it is not often the case in Warsaw.
This constitutes a clear violation of the administrative procedure despite the previous court ruling on this behaviour.
This is why it is important that you know your rights:
- The Immigration Office has to preliminarily examine your case and notify you exactly about the conditions that are not yet proven.
- The Immigration Office is also bound to inform you about your right to comment on the collected evidence.
- A generalized list of documents during the initial application is not sufficient and a request for additional documents must be sent to you.
What to do after receiving a negative decision for a TRC?
You are entitled to appeal your case in court, and you should.
For many foreigners however, this may seem scary. Who wants to get entangled in this Polish administrative jungle? Work, studies, family. For sure you have better things to do.
This is why this Iranian student reached out to us. We know how to deal with it.
We successfully submitted the appeal and we are sure she will soon get her positive decision and her residence card.
If you have received a negative decision, whether for a temporary or permanent permit or permanent and are not sure what to do next, get in touch through our contact form. Our experienced immigration lawyer will find the right solution for you.
