Child photo for a Polish CUKR residence card: MOS digital requirements and why the Ukrainian format won't work

Two different systems: the Polish residence card versus the Ukrainian passport

Ukrainian families in Poland applying for a child's residence card (often at the same time as their own) run into a significant difference between the rules of the State Migration Service of Ukraine (DMS) and those of Poland's Office for Foreigners (UDSC). Ukrainian experience with children's documents does not apply here.

Under Order No. 875 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (Section II §1) and official DMS guidance, when a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad is issued to a person under 12, parents may submit a single paper photo measuring 10 × 15 centimetres (100 × 150 mm). In this format, the 150-millimetre side must be parallel to the centre line of the image, and the photo itself is used to enter the person's digitised image by scanning. Under these rules, the passport is issued for 4 years.

The Polish procedure for a residence card with the annotation “Poprzednio posiadacz ochrony czasowej” (CUKR), by contrast, works only with digital files and requires an entirely different frame geometry.

Technical file parameters for the MOS portal

According to official statements from the Office for Foreigners, from 27 April 2026 residence applications are submitted exclusively in electronic form. Any paper application received by the office after 26 April 2026 is left unprocessed. This makes the correct preparation of the child's digital image a critical step.

The file containing the photo must meet strict technical thresholds. Its format is JPG. The resolution must be at least 684 pixels wide and 883 pixels high. This specific pixel measurement preserves the mandatory 35 × 45 mm proportion. The file itself may not exceed 2.5 MB. If you are looking for a quick way to prepare a residence card photo for your child, our service can automatically generate a file with the correct proportions for the MOS portal.

The photo must be in colour, well focused and taken within the last 6 months. In our database of 241 visa and passport document profiles from around the world, 229 profiles record a print size. Of these, the 35 × 45 mm proportion is the most common (recorded in 148 profiles), while other popular formats such as 51 × 51 mm or 40 × 60 mm appear much less often. As for the age of the photo, only 32 profiles in our database clearly record a maximum photo age, and 30 of them, like the Polish office, require a photo no older than 6 months. Database figures as of 22 Sep 2026, the date of this article.

Another important detail is the background. The Polish procedure requires the applicant's face to be against a “uniform light background” (jednolite jasne tło). For global context: in the database mentioned, 52 profiles strictly tie the background to plain white, 23 name a specific non-white shade (for example, light grey), and the rest are limited to a general requirement for a light background without specifying an exact colour. The Ukrainian DMS standard also requires a uniform white or light-grey background that contrasts with the face, clothing and hair.

Face requirements and whether there are exceptions for children

The general rule is that the photo must show the face from the crown of the head to the top of the shoulders, with the face taking up 70 to 80 percent of the image. The child (like an adult) must be photographed facing forward, looking straight into the lens with eyes open and not covered by hair. The facial expression must be natural and the mouth closed. The image must also accurately reproduce the natural skin colour.

The only published Polish relaxation for children's photos concerns photos for the national identity card (dowód osobisty) and passport. The official government portal gov.pl states that for children under 5, closed eyes, an open mouth and an unnatural facial expression are allowed. The child must still hold their head straight, the face may not be covered by hair or a toy, and no other people may appear in the frame (against a light, uniform background).

However, none of the publicly available documents of the Polish Office for Foreigners publishes these allowances or relaxations specifically for the CUKR residence card procedure. The MOS portal gives no age limits for facial expression or head position. The office does not say whether the photo can be taken at home or must be taken by a professional photographer; the published requirements concern the characteristics of the photo and its digital file.

Biometrics, fingerprints and age thresholds: 6 and 12 years

Much of the difference between how children's documents are prepared in Ukraine and Poland stems from European legislation. Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 (in the consolidated version of 26 June 2009) provides for a highly secure storage medium containing a facial image. Children under 12 are exempt from giving fingerprints.

Under the CUKR residence card procedure on the MOS portal, the following age rules apply to children:

• Signature specimen. Not required from children under 12. An electronic application on behalf of a minor is signed by the child's father, mother or legal guardian.
• Fingerprints. Not applied to children under 6.
• Personal appearance. Young children under 6 are exempt from mandatory personal attendance at the voivodeship office. However, their parent, guardian or curator must appear when summoned by the inspector to present the child's travel document.

If fingerprints temporarily cannot be taken, the Polish office requires information that at least two attempts to take fingerprints were made at the gmina office. At least one of these attempts must have been made on or after 1 July 2024.

Procedure specifics: birth in Poland and fees

The process of submitting a digital application with a photo file differs significantly depending on where the child was born and what status the parents hold.

1. A child who arrived from Ukraine. If the child arrived from Ukraine and meets the requirements, the mother or father may apply even without their own CUKR card.
2. A child born in Poland after 23 February 2022. A strict sequence applies here. Such a child can obtain a CUKR card only if the mother already holds the corresponding card. The official wording stresses that the residence card must be issued to the mother before the application for such a card is filed for the child. At the same time, as an exception, these children (born in Poland) are not subject to the requirement of holding “UKR” status continuously for 365 days and having it as of 4 June 2025.

Obtaining a CUKR residence card for a child requires two payments totalling 440 zlotys: 340 zlotys in stamp duty and 100 zlotys for the card. The office provides no fee reductions or exemptions for minors. In addition, the Office for Foreigners sets a strict deadline: the finished card must be collected in person within 60 days of receiving the summons. A card not collected within this period will be cancelled.

Common reasons applications are rejected on the MOS portal

The MOS electronic system has greatly streamlined the process but has also introduced strict digital filters. The government portal describes in detail how materials are rejected in its section “Najczęściej popełniane błędy” (Most common mistakes).

Automatic rejection of the photo file. The office warns that if the system automatically rejects the photo, the foreigner will simply be unable to submit the application itself.

Wrong proportion and face size. The most common mistake parents make is trying to upload a photo taken on a mobile phone without proper cropping. Standard camera settings produce files with 3:4 or 4:3 proportions. When such a photo is cropped to the required 35 × 45 mm, a baby's small face often ends up outside the mandatory range of 70–80% of the frame. A document photo must be sharp and have accurate colour reproduction, so such a file will not meet the requirements.

Not providing a photo for infants. On learning that children under 6 are not fingerprinted, some parents wrongly assume that a photo is not mandatory for a baby either. The office stresses that a foreigner submits the application in MOS together with a digital photo regardless of age. If the photo is missing or does not meet the requirements, the voivode will send an official summons to remedy the deficiencies. If the family does not comply with the summons, the application will be left unprocessed.

Ignoring the summons to present the passport. Although a child under 6 does not have to be physically brought to the urząd, the rules require the legal representative to appear in person at the voivodeship office and show the minor's travel document. Parents who believe that uploading all the scans to MOS is quite enough and that they do not need to go anywhere end up missing the mandatory appearance when summoned by the inspector.

Getting the order wrong for births in Poland. For children born in Poland after 23 February 2022, the rules require the mother to already actually hold a CUKR card by the time the child's procedure begins.

What the office does not publish

To fully understand the procedure, it is worth drawing a clear line between established rules and information gaps. The official Polish CUKR regulations leave several important questions unanswered. In particular, the office publishes no processing times: how long it takes from uploading the digital application with the child's photo to MOS until the summons to present the child's passport or to collect the card itself. Nor does any authority (Polish or Ukrainian) make official comparisons or say whether one and the same photo of a child can be used both to order a Ukrainian passport for travel abroad and for a Polish residence card, since the technical media are completely different: a 10 × 15 cm paper print for entering a digitised image by scanning versus a 684 × 883 pixel digital JPG file for online upload.