The residence card is a residence document issued to foreigners who, in Poland, have been granted:
- temporary residence permit;
- permanent residence permit;
- residence permit for EU long-term resident;
- residence permit for humanitarian reasons
- international protection (have been given a refugee status in Poland or have been granted subsidiary protection).
The residence card, within its validity period, confirms foreigner’s identity during their stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland, and authorizes them, along with a travel document, to cross the border multiple times without the need to obtain visa. Additionally, the residence card is a residence document which, apart from a valid Polish national visa, shall authorize its holder, to travels within the territories of other member states of the Schengen area for the period not exceeding 90 days within each 180-day period, if the foreigner:
- has a valid travel document,
- is able to justify the purpose and conditions of the planned residence and
- has sufficient measures of subsistence or a possibility of obtaining them in accordance with the law, as well as
- is not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any member states, and in particular no alert has been issued in Member States’ national data bases for the purposes of refusing entry on the same grounds.
In addition, the foreigner’s data should not be present in the national list of alerts of the member state concerned.
