Immigration & TRC

On 12 November the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in case C-254/25, referred by the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gliwice. The case began with a foreign student who applied to the Silesian voivode for a temporary residence permit in April 2024, received no decision, and complained to the court about the office's inaction.

Since 2022, Article 100d of the special act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens has suspended the usual deadlines in residence cases for applicants of every nationality and limited complaints about delays. It has been extended several times, most recently to March 2027. The Court accepted that a sudden mass arrival of refugees can justify a temporary suspension, but said it may only last as long as needed, and questioned whether the arrivals could still count as unforeseen after the end of 2022.

The Court did not strike down the Polish rule itself. The Gliwice court must now decide the case in the light of the judgment.

The government is preparing a bill to tighten the rules for recognition as a Polish citizen. The announced changes include Polish at B2 level instead of B1, a test on knowledge of Poland, a declaration of loyalty, a requirement that the applicant's centre of life and tax residence are in Poland, and a minimum income. A longer residence period is also planned; reports differ on its length, and the income level has not been set.

This is still a draft. It has to be adopted by the government and passed by parliament before anything changes.