Complaints to expedite immigration cases in Poland – A practical option after the presidential veto

Following the President of Poland’s veto of the latest amendment to the so-called “Special Act” concerning assistance to Ukrainian citizens – which envisaged a further extension of the temporary suspension of statutory time limits in residence matters – there is now a renewed basis to file formal complaints to expedite proceedings (ponaglenie) with Voivodeship Offices in cases of undue delay or administrative inactivity.

Under the provisions that authorities have relied upon to date, time limits for handling residence cases do not begin to run, and those already running are suspended until 30 September 2025, irrespective of the application date. Offices have frequently invoked this framework to justify delays or inaction. In practice, this has allowed Voivodeship Offices to adjudicate cases at their discretion and on an open-ended timeline. For employees other than Ukrainian nationals, this often destabilises work and family life, including constraints on international travel.

This landscape is shifting in light of binding judgments of the Supreme Administrative Court of 13 June 2025 (case nos. II OSK 2939/24 and II OSK 2940/24), which clearly confirm that continuing to limit the running of time limits no longer has a legal basis and therefore cannot justify inactivity or excessive duration of proceedings:

“Given the end of the mass influx of Ukrainian nationals to Poland in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian war that began on 24 February 2022 (as confirmed, inter alia, by statistical data published by the Office for Foreigners for 2023 and 2024), and the more than two-year period during which public authorities should have adjusted the staffing and organisational capacity of migration services to ensure prompt handling of residence matters in Poland, case law has recognised that extending the applicability of Article 100d beyond 30 June 2024 was no longer justified under constitutional, treaty, or convention-based grounds for limiting the right of access to a court in matters of administrative inactivity or undue delay.”

If your organisation is facing prolonged immigration proceedings due to office inaction, we can assist with preparing and filing complaints to expedite (ponaglenie) for your employees’ cases that remain unresolved for reasons attributable to the Voivodeship Offices, resulting in the absence of residence decisions.

We invite you to contact us to leverage this option and help accelerate the adjudication of your employees’ residence matters, drawing on the latest legal developments and jurisprudence.