# Poland visa refusal 2026: request for reconsideration within 14 days and complaint to court

- Source: https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/aktualnosci/odmowa-wizy-odwolanie-wniosek-o-ponowne-rozpatrzenie
- Updated: 2026-11-13
- Author: Bartosz Krajewski, attorney-at-law (radca prawny), Warsaw Bar Association of Attorneys-at-Law (https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/bartosz-krajewski-radca-prawny)

> Has a Polish consul refused your visa? You have 14 days to request reconsideration and, for a Schengen visa, a complaint to the administrative court in Warsaw. Deadlines, fees and what the host or employer in Poland can do.

**A visa refusal by a Polish consul is not the end of the case: you have 14 days to request reconsideration and, for a Schengen visa, a route to the administrative court in Warsaw.** Below is the legal position as of 13 November 2026: what the refusal form tells you, how much reconsideration costs, when a complaint to the court (WSA) is available and what to do when a visa was refused at the border or the voivode refused to extend it. We write for the foreigner and for the person or company in Poland waiting for them. If you prefer to hand the case to a lawyer straight away, see [immigration matters at our law firm](https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/uslugi/sprawy-cudzoziemcow-warszawa).

Kancelaria Radców Prawnych Bartosz Krajewski handles visa cases remotely, for clients across Poland and abroad: we analyse the consul's decision, prepare the request for reconsideration and, for Schengen visas, the complaint to the court. The case can be instructed by the foreigner or by the host: family, employer, university. Pricing is individual: describe the case and send a scan of the decision.

## What you received from the consul: the refusal form and its reasons

A national visa is refused by a decision issued on a form that states the legal basis, the reasons for refusal and the instruction on the request for reconsideration (art. 75 of the Act on Foreigners). For a Schengen visa the consul uses the uniform form from the Visa Code. The reasons are ticked as short headings without explanation, so the first step is to establish what really stands behind the ticked box. The most frequent reasons are:

- the purpose or conditions of the intended stay were not justified, meaning the documents did not show consistently why and to whom you are travelling;
- insufficient means for the stay and the return, or no insurance;
- reasonable doubts as to whether you will leave Poland before the visa expires;
- doubts as to the reliability of statements about the purpose of stay, as well as false data or forged documents;
- an alert in the Schengen Information System or an entry in the Polish register of foreigners whose stay is undesirable.

The grounds for refusing a national visa are listed in art. 65(1) of the Act. The last of these reasons needs separate action, because as long as the entry exists, the next application will end the same way. We describe it in our article [entry ban and SIS alert](https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/aktualnosci/zakaz-wjazdu-do-polski-sis). Send the firm a scan of the decision and we will present a quote and the scope of the case.

## 14 days to request reconsideration by the same consul

A consul's decision refusing a Schengen visa or a national visa can be challenged by a request for reconsideration of the case by the same authority (art. 76(1) of the Act on Foreigners). The time limit is 14 days from the day the decision was served and it is not extended, and the consul has a further 14 days to examine the request. The request is subject to a fee: under the consular fee table in force since 1 January 2026, reconsideration costs EUR 90 for a Schengen visa and EUR 200 for a national visa, and consulates charge the fee in local currency.

This is not a formality. The consul assesses the case once more on the basis of what is submitted, so a request repeating the earlier arguments usually ends with the refusal being upheld. An effective request answers the specific reason on the form and adds the evidence that was missing: source of funds, purpose of stay, ties to the country of origin. When the reason was insufficient means for a private visit, such evidence may be [an invitation entered in the register of invitations](https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/aktualnosci/zaproszenie-dla-cudzoziemca-wpis-do-ewidencji-2026). We prepare the request in Polish and send it back ready to sign; because of the deadline, contact us in the first days after the refusal.

## Schengen visa: complaint to the administrative court in Warsaw

If the consul upholds the refusal of a Schengen visa after reconsideration, the decision must contain reasons and an instruction on the complaint (art. 76(5)). The complaint is filed with the Voivodeship Administrative Court (WSA) in Warsaw within 30 days of service of the decision, through the consul who issued it. The court fee is PLN 300. The reconsideration stage cannot be skipped: a complaint filed without it will be rejected (art. 52 § 3 of the Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts).

The judicial route was opened by the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU of 13 December 2017 in case C-403/16 El Hassani; as a result, art. 5 point 4 of the Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts was amended, and since 4 March 2019 a refusal of a Schengen visa can be challenged in court. The court does not issue a visa, but it can set aside the consul's decision, and the consul then examines the application again. A complainant who does not live in Poland, another European Union member state, an EFTA state or Switzerland must appoint an agent for service in Poland together with the complaint (art. 299 § 2), otherwise the court will call for this defect to be cured within two months on pain of rejection of the complaint (art. 299 § 3). A power of attorney for the law firm settles this at once.

## National visa D: when a court, and when a new application

For a national visa, most often for work, the law as a rule provides no complaint to a court: art. 5 point 4 excludes cases of visas issued by consuls, with two exceptions. The first is Schengen visas. The second is visas for family members of a citizen of the European Union, an EFTA state or Switzerland. Separately, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled on 10 March 2021 in case C-949/19 that where a visa for studies covered by Directive 2016/801 is refused, the state must provide a judicial remedy, although the Polish statute still does not list such a complaint. Whether a complaint is admissible in a particular case we assess after reading the decision.

In the remaining cases the consul's decision after reconsideration is the last word in those proceedings, so the request for reconsideration is the only chance to change it. After that only a new visa application remains, with a new fee, as a rule EUR 200, and it makes sense only once the reason for refusal has been removed. For spouses and children of people living in Poland, a temporary residence permit is often the better route; we cover it in our article [stay with family in Poland](https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/aktualnosci/pobyt-z-rodzina-cudzoziemca-polska).

## Refusal at the border and refusal to extend a visa in Poland

If the visa was refused by the commander of a Border Guard post, an appeal lies to the Commander-in-Chief of the Border Guard (art. 76(1) point 2). Extending a visa in Poland works differently: the voivode competent for the place of stay decides, the application must be filed no later than on the last day of legal stay, and a national visa is, as a rule, extended only once and only when an important professional or personal interest or humanitarian reasons support it and the cause was independent of the foreigner and unforeseeable (art. 82, 84 and 85). The stamp duty is PLN 406 for a national visa and the equivalent of 30 euro for a Schengen visa (extending a Schengen visa because of force majeure or humanitarian reasons is free of charge); the duty is not refunded after a refusal.

A voivode's refusal can be appealed to the Head of the Office for Foreigners within 14 days, and the stay remains legal until the day the decision becomes final (art. 87). Extending a visa is an exception, not a way to stay longer. Other grounds for remaining in Poland are explained in our article [legal stay after a visa expires](https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/aktualnosci/legalny-pobyt-po-wygasnieciu-wizy).

## What the law firm does and how much it costs

We start with an analysis of the decision and of the documents filed with the consul. Then we prepare the request for reconsideration with evidence and, for a Schengen visa, the complaint to the WSA in Warsaw, where we represent the client as attorney with an address for service in Poland. If an appeal has no basis, we say so plainly and help prepare a new application or another route of arrival. We do not promise that a visa will be issued, because the consul decides. There is no price list for visa cases: pricing is individual and depends on the type of visa, the reason for refusal and the stage of the case.

The firm's office is in Warsaw at ul. Marszałkowska 20/22 lok. 72, phone 537 927 737, and most visa cases are handled entirely remotely. Describe your case and send the decision through the page [immigration matters, contact the firm](https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/uslugi/sprawy-cudzoziemcow-warszawa). Cases are handled by [attorney-at-law Bartosz Krajewski](https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/bartosz-krajewski-radca-prawny).

## Frequently asked questions

### How long do I have to appeal a Poland visa refusal?

14 days from the day the decision was served. Within that time you file a request for reconsideration with the same consul who refused the visa, and the consul has 14 days to examine it. The deadline cannot be extended, so contact the firm as soon as you receive the decision.

### How much does a request for reconsideration of a visa refusal cost?

Under the consular fee table in force since 1 January 2026: EUR 90 for a Schengen visa and EUR 200 for a national visa. Consulates charge the fee in local currency. The law firm's fee is quoted individually after we see the decision.

### Can a visa refusal be challenged in court?

For a Schengen visa, yes: after reconsideration by the consul you can file a complaint with the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw within 30 days, through the consul, with a court fee of PLN 300. For a national visa the law provides a complaint only for family members of a citizen of the EU, an EFTA state or Switzerland, and for a visa for studies covered by Directive 2016/801 a judicial remedy is required by the CJEU judgment C-949/19.

### A visa was refused to my employee or family member. What can the person in Poland do?

The party to the proceedings is the foreigner, but the employer or the family can instruct the law firm, pay for the case and supply documents: the work permit, the contract, the invitation, proof of ties. The firm then acts under a power of attorney from the foreigner. Write to us and send a scan of the decision.

### Is it better to appeal or to file a new visa application?

A request for reconsideration makes sense when the refusal results from a wrong assessment or from a missing document that can be added within 14 days. A new application, with a new fee, is better when the circumstances have to change first, for example an alert must be removed or proof of funds collected. We assess which route to take after analysing the decision.

### Does a visa refusal stay in the system and harm future applications?

A Schengen visa refusal is recorded in the Visa Information System (VIS), which consulates of all Schengen states can access. The refusal itself is not an entry ban and does not close the way to another application, but the consul will see it, so the next application should answer the previous reason.

## Legal basis

- [Ustawa z dnia 12 grudnia 2013 r. o cudzoziemcach](https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2013/1650/ogl) (Dz.U. 2013 poz. 1650)
- [Ustawa z dnia 30 sierpnia 2002 r. Prawo o postępowaniu przed sądami administracyjnymi](https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2002/1270/ogl) (Dz.U. 2002 nr 153 poz. 1270)
- [Dyrektywa Parlamentu Europejskiego i Rady (UE) 2016/801 z dnia 11 maja 2016 r.](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/801/oj) (CELEX 32016L0801)
- [Rozporządzenie (WE) nr 810/2009 ustanawiające Wspólnotowy Kodeks Wizowy (kodeks wizowy)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/810/oj) (CELEX 32009R0810)

## What the law firm offers in this matter

- Bartosz Krajewski Law Firm (Kancelaria Radców Prawnych Bartosz Krajewski), Warsaw. Cases are handled remotely across Poland, in 8 languages.
- Contact: +48 537 927 737, kancelaria@prawoiadministracja.pl, ul. Marszałkowska 20/22 lok. 72, 00-590 Warszawa
- https://prawoiadministracja.pl/en/uslugi