Waiting time for a temporary residence card in Poland is not the same across the country — the gap between the fastest and slowest voivodeship office runs into several hundred days.
Why the difference
Each voivodeship office handles applications independently, so staffing levels, backlog, and how far digitalization has progressed vary a lot region by region. Large, high-volume offices (like Mazowieckie/Warsaw) often have longer queues than smaller ones, even though they're better known.
How to check current data for your voivodeship
Rather than relying on averaged numbers from an article, check the interactive voivodeship office map — it shows the current median for each of the 16 voivodeships, based on official data and user reports, plus an "if you submit today" forecast and addresses/booking methods for every office.
Should you file in a "faster" voivodeship
No. Which voivodeship office has jurisdiction depends on your actual place of residence, not on picking the fastest office. Office-speed data is for planning — so you know how long to realistically expect and when a ponaglenie (inactivity complaint) might make sense — not for "choosing" an office.
What you can do while waiting
If the statutory deadline (usually 60 days for a decision) has passed and your application was complete, you can file a ponaglenie under Article 37 of the Code of Administrative Procedure. The assistant can help check whether your case qualifies and prepare the right letter.