#62025CC0254Advocate General Opinion: Poland Study-Permit Delays and Effective Remedies (Case C-254/25)
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Advocate General opinion in Case C-254/25, delivered 16 April 2026. The AG examines whether Polish legislation suspending processing deadlines for third-country national study-permit applications — and blocking fines or compensation for administrative delay until 30 September 2025 — is compatible with EU law. The AG proposes that Article 34 of Directive 2016/801, read with Article 47 of the EU Charter, precludes national rules that exclude effective remedies against administrative delay unless justified by force majeure. This is a non-binding opinion; the Court of Justice is not obliged to follow it.
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Key Changes
- Suspension of deadlines for residence permit processing
- Limited legal remedies for delays
- Evaluation of compatibility with EU law
Obligations
What this law requires
EU law (Article 34(1) of Directive 2016/801) requires member state authorities to decide on a complete study-permit application within 90 days and notify the applicant in writing.
EU law permits suspension of deadlines only when an application is incomplete and additional information has been requested from the applicant (Article 34(3) of Directive 2016/801).
The Polish law under challenge (Article 100d) suspended processing deadlines and blocked fines and compensation for administrative delay until 30 September 2025 — the AG opinion proposes this is incompatible with EU law unless justified by force majeure.
If the Court follows the AG opinion, national legislation that excludes effective remedies against administrative delay in permit processing — without a force majeure justification — will be precluded by Article 34 of Directive 2016/801 read with Article 47 of the EU Charter.