Registration, banking and utilities in Warsaw

Meldunek, and the PESEL it produces

The deadline splits by nationality: a third-country national must register no later than the fourth day after arriving at the address, while EU, EFTA and Swiss citizens and their family members have until the thirtieth, and both go to the Wydział Obsługi Mieszkańców of the district office. Bring an identity document and one document showing title to the flat, which the lease satisfies; if you hold no title yourself, the owner confirms your occupancy on the form and produces their own title document. Registration for a stay of more than 30 days assigns a PESEL number, so there is no separate application to make. Registration is free, a certificate of permanent residence is free, and a certificate of temporary residence costs PLN 17. You cannot hold two permanent or two temporary registrations at the same time.

• The online route runs through an e-Doręczenia mailbox, which the form asks you to choose when you sign in, so guides that send you to ePUAP for it are out of date.
• A standalone PESEL application exists for people who cannot register an address. It is free, is made at any gmina office, and requires you to state the legal basis obliging you to hold one; nationals from outside the EU, EFTA and Switzerland must apply in person.

Profil Zaufany, and why it comes early

Profil Zaufany is the electronic identity that proves who you are online and signs documents where a case requires a signature. It is the login for the MOS residence portal, the online meldunek, the Internetowe Konto Pacjenta and the ZTM passenger office. Set it up as soon as you have a PESEL, because most of the remaining errands get shorter once you hold one.

Residence permits go through MOS, and only MOS

Since 27 April 2026, applications for a temporary residence permit, a permanent residence permit and a long-term EU resident permit can be filed only electronically, through the MOS portal. Paper applications that had not physically reached a voivodeship office by that date are left unprocessed, and the postmark does not count. A few categories still go on paper, among them intra-corporate transfer, long-term mobility, and family-reunification cases where the applicant is abroad. You must be in Poland legally when you file; filing from abroad is inadmissible.

• Create a new account. An account on the old MOS does not carry over, and you must log in personally through login.gov.pl.
• Sign with a podpis zaufany or a qualified electronic signature, which makes a Profil Zaufany a practical prerequisite.
• No appointment is needed to file. Afterwards the wojewoda summons you in person to show your travel document, give fingerprints and provide a signature specimen.
• Using someone else's account is prohibited. A lawyer may sit with you while you fill the form in, but cannot log in for you.
• EU, EFTA and Swiss citizens register their residence by a different procedure that MOS does not cover. Check the current requirements with the Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki rather than assuming the third-country route applies.

What it costs, and which office decides

Stamp duty runs from PLN 340 to PLN 640 depending on the permit, and the residence card itself costs PLN 100. The single work-and-residence permit is PLN 440, the plain temporary-residence permit — the one someone serving on a company board or as a prokurent applies for — is PLN 340, and permanent residence or long-term EU resident status is PLN 640. The permit is granted by the wojewoda for the place you live, which in Warsaw is the Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki, for the period the purpose of stay requires and up to three years. It does not renew itself, so apply again before it expires; appeals go to the head of the Office for Foreigners. Using MOS is free and no paid intermediary is required.

In order

1. 1Sign the lease and keep a copy. If you are not the title-holder, arrange for the owner to confirm your occupancy and bring their own title document.
2. 2Register your address at your district office — by the fourth day after you arrive if you are a third-country national, the thirtieth if you are an EU, EFTA or Swiss citizen.
3. 3Collect the PESEL that the registration assigns; there is no separate application for it.
4. 4Set up a Profil Zaufany, which is the login and signature for the portals that follow.
5. 5If you are a third-country national, create a new MOS account and file the residence application there.
6. 6Pay the stamp duty and keep the confirmation with the application.
7. 7Attend the voivodeship office when the wojewoda summons you, with your travel document, for fingerprints and a signature specimen.
8. 8If you are an EU, EFTA or Swiss citizen, confirm the separate registration procedure with the Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki.
9. 9Diarise the permit's expiry and apply again before it arrives.