I have almost the same situation, but I see nobody really answered it. So I'll pose it myself again.

First of all I was told at the Polish Consulate in Poland that it is possible for anyone of Polish heritage no matter what generation to receive Polish citizenship, now I see on the online site for the Polish Embassy state that only people of Polish parents can get Polish citizenship when the Consular in Poland herself told me that anyone of Polish heritage can get it. So I am confused.

I am a 3rd generation Polish American (well my father's parents were from Poland too) so I guess 2nd as well. But both sides immigrated during the 1900s-1920s. I am currently living in Poland, going to school here and plan on staying for awhile. Furthermore I love this country very much, even more so than the US, I know this is not enough to constitute for automatic citizenship, but I wanted to state my reasons why I want a Polish citizenship bad.

So in short, am I eligible for Polish citizenship even though my great-grandparents were Polish citizens?

 

I hope my post doesn't get lost in this long thread.

I am a Canadian born citizen and my parents are both Polish-born who came to Canada between 1968 and 1974. In reading some of the posts, I understand myself to already be a Polish citizen, in effect? I will assume that neither of my parents explicitly renounced their Polish citizenship.

I am estranged from my parents - is there still a way to get the paperwork/proof I need to move forward on obtaining my Polish passport?

My goal is freedom of movement. I don't want to be bound by North America especially given Europe felt more like home to me from the onset than 'back home' ever did (I have been living/working in Holland for last 2 yrs).

Any help anyone could offer would be very appreciated. Meanwhile, I'll see what else I can find - seems so daunting

Tonnes of thanks in advance

 

"I am a Canadian born citizen and my parents are both Polish-born who came to Canada between 1968 and 1974. In reading some of the posts, I understand myself to already be a Polish citizen, in effect? I will assume that neither of my parents explicitly renounced their Polish citizenship.

I am estranged from my parents - is there still a way to get the paperwork/proof I need to move forward on obtaining my Polish passport?"


I'm pretty new at this myself, but it seems it would be easy for you to document your Polish citizenship. From a Polish Consulate find out what is the required form of application, and get copies of your parents' birth certificates, either by requesting them yourself, or through a relative, or even by contacting your parents! [/quote][/u]

 

A teeny point: After your birth is registered in Poland, wouldn't you apply for confirmation of your citizenship, rather than applying for citizenship?

 

I wonder what the procedure is to gain Polish Citizenship after you marry a polish national ?? I am an indian, Wife is polish.. Getting married in india soon. Whats the procedure after this to get polish visa or any residence in poland ? Hmm... i rung up Polish embassy in india and didnt get any clear info. Any websites or links where i can read about it ?

 

Polish Citz?

I am a Amer. Citz. My grandmother was born in Poland/germany and has no info of what town or anyhting about Poland. They fled to US and was told by her parents to forget Poland (old country). Could I apply through her, she is alive, but 90's.

My wife is born in Poland and her familly is still in PL. Both of our kids are Polish since we wanted them to be both. Can I apply through my wife, being married to her and what will happen to my Amer. Passport?

Thank,
Michael

 

I am a US citizen interested in obtaining Polish citizenship. After doing some genealogy and reading the English version of the citizenship/immigration laws available on one of the Polish consul's sites, this is my understanding of my situation. Can anyone confirm if my reasoning is correct?

Somehow it seems far fetched that I would be eligible based on such a distant connection, but I also haven't seen anything that explains exactly why the above is not correct.

 

This is a great thread. One small note...if you know someone in Poland who can do the legwork for you, you can write a power of attorney for them in Polish and let them apply for your Polish birth certificate, and also your Polish Proof of Citizenship. I had a public notary who is also a certified Polish translator write the power of attorney here in the US. Doing it this way will save you a huge amount of time. The Polish birth certificate takes 3 weeks, while if you did it at a consulate, it could take many many months. The Polish Proof of Citizenship takes 4 weeks, while the Polish consulat in DC told me it takes at least 18 months.

I have a relative of mine that is doing the legwork in Warsaw for me. Applications have been submitted for my Polish birth certificate, and also for my son's birth certificate who has dual citizenship (US + Canada). This will be his third citizenship. They should be ready next week sometime, at which point the proof of citizenship applications will be submitted.

The part I'm a little confused about is that my relative said they want to know "Why do you want Polish citizenship?" This question really makes no sense. When I applied for proof of Canadian citizenship for my son, they just wanted proof that one of the parents is a Canadian citizen. There was no need to give a reason.

Sombody above mentioned to make it clear to inform the receiving clerk that one is applying for "proof" not to "get" citizenship. Hopefully this is what my relative may have confused.

Since everyone else is sharing thier stories, here is mine:

My parents came form Poland in 1972 and immigrated to Canada. They immigrated legally and were sponsored by my father’s sister. They eventually got Canadian citizenship, and never renounced their Polish citizenship.

I was born in Canada. I am in my 30’s and I now live in the United States and I have a green card. According to what I have read, I am a Polish citizen, simply because my parents are Polish citizens. The only problem is that I do not have proof of my Polish citizenship.

It is my understanding that I first need to get a Polish birth certificate. A relative in Warsaw is handling this for me. My Canadian long-form birth certificate needed to be legalized by the Polish consulate in Montreal. This gets presented to the Civil Office in Warsaw, and since my parents were Polish, I get Polish birth certificate that states that I was born in Canada.

The next step, I was told, is to get proof of my Polish citizenship using the Polish birth certificate. They wanted a Polish passport (expired or not)m which of course I don't have, so instead, they wanted a copy of my Canadian passport, and my parent’s Polish marriage certificate along with my new Polish birth certificate.

Hope this info helps some people, and also hopefully somoene can answer my question.

 

A few people on this post have already mentioned that there are minimal requirements for being considered a Polish citizen (basically having your parents or grandparents be born in Poland). Since it is so easy to claim citizenship, I figure the Polish authorities want to ascertain your reasons for applying in order to discourage people from simply adding Poland to their collection of citizenships.

Based on the socio-economic situation in Poland today, the government might consider the relative ease with which westerners can become/re-claim their Polish citizenship as a means to encourage these people to visit/move to Poland and create productive ties with this country.

 

Well, I got my Polish birth certificate, and so did my son. Since a friend is handling this in Poland for me, it only took 3 weeks. Much faster than at the consulate.

The next day the applications for proof of Polish citizenship were submitted for my wife and I. Its supposed to take 4 weeks to get them (again extremely fast compared to the consulate), and then we can apply for proof of Polish citizenship for our son.

They asked for a reason as to why we want Polish citizenship, so we said that its to get a Polish passport for our son. Hopefully this flies.

Although my wife was born in Poland, has a Polish birth certificate, and also an expired Polish passport, she still needs to get the proof of Polish citizenship to get a new Polish passport. One of the clerks at the office in Warsaw told my friend that a new law came out recently that states that even if you have an expired passport, this is not proof of citizenship, and one would need to file an application to obtain proof of Polish citizenship prior to filing for a new passport.

Once all three of us have the proof of Polish citizenship, we can apply for a PESEL number and a Polish passport at the Polish consulate in Washington, DC, which I've heard takes around 6 months.

 

getting a polish passport

Hi - i am a 22 year old Australian girl, living and working in London. I am having to go home in Febraury becasue me visa is up, but i am An Australian Polish girl. My dad was born in Poland and moved over to Australia when he was 10 so in - 1966. My mother is also polish, but was born in Melbourne. I am planning on applying for my polish passprt so that i can come back over here to Europe and work and live next year. I was wandering if any of you knew how to apply for a passport over here, i am confused about registering my brith in poland, do i have to do that??

i am reading that it takes a long time, so am wanting to get the ball rolling so i can come back over next summer. Can anyone help me with this!?

Thanks very much,
Zosia

 

Re: getting a polish passport

Yes you do need to register your birth to get a passport.

To get a Polish Passport you can apply directly in Poland, or let a Polish consulate handle everything for you. If you do it at the consulate, it takes significantly longer, not to mention you need more documents and if there are any issues, you won’t have the opportunity to reply with additional supporting documentation. The down side of having someone in Poland do it for you is quite obvious....you need to know someone in Poland willing to go through the trouble to help you out.


(1) Birth Certificates: Get 2 copies of long form originals of your birth certificate showing the name(s) of your Polish parents.

(2) Marriage Certificates: If you are married, get 2 copies of your long form marriage certificate.

(3) Passports: Get your current unexpired passport from all countries where you have citizenship.

(3a) Military Enrollment: Get proof of any military enrollment, whether in Poland or abroad.

(4) Parents' Birth Certificates: If your parent(s) were born in Poland, get their long form birth certificate(s) (i.e. “zupelny” NOT “skrucony”). If you don't have the long form you'll need to get it from the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego where they were born. If you apply at the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego in Warsaw, they will forward the request to the appropriate wojewodstwo where each parent was born. (Note: If your parents were not born in Poland and your lineage is based on your grand-parents, then start over in step (1) and get your parent's foreign birth registered first, repeat if necessary for your grand-parents, depending on where your lineage links you back to Poland.) If your second parent was not born in Poland, their information is irrelevant, and you can skip this step for the non-Polish parent.

(4a) Parents' Military Enrollment: Get proof of any military enrollment that your parents had, whether in Poland or abroad.

(5) Parents' Marriage Certificate: If your parents were married in Poland get their Polish long form marriage certificate. (i.e. “zupelny” NOT “skrucony”) If you don't have the long form you'll need to get it from the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego where they were married. If you apply at the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego in Warsaw, they will forward the request to the appropriate province where your parents were married. (Note: If your parents were not married in Poland, then start over in step (1) and get their foreign marriage registered first, repeat if necessary for your grand-parents, depending on where your lineage links you back to Poland.)

(6) Parents' Polish Passports: Get your parent’s Polish passports (expired or not). If they never had a passport, or simply never left Poland, this step is optional. If they had passports, it helps if you provide them.

(7) Parent's Immigration / Emigration Docs: Get your parent’s exit visa, or immigration travel voucher, or immigrant visa, or anything that shows how they exited Poland. Ideally this document should state that they are citizens of Poland. If they never left Poland, this step is optional of course.

(8) Apostille / Legalization: If the country where (1), (2), (3), (3a), (4a), and (7) originated from has signed the Hague Convention, then all you need to do is get an apostille for each of the documents at the civil office in the country where the documents were issued, and get them translated by an official translator, or at the Polish consulate. If the country where (1), (2), (3), (3a), (4a) and (7) originated from has NOT signed the Hague Convention then you’ll need to get (1), (2), (3), (3a), (4a) and (7) legalized and translated by the Polish consulate in the country where the documents were issued. If you live in a different country now, these documents still need to be legalized in the Polish consulate where they originated, since only the Polish consulate in that country will be able to determine if they are authentic. Here is a list of countries that signed the Hague Convention:
http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/c1268.htm

(9) Name Change: If you're married, and your name is now different than it was at birth, you will need to register your marriage in Poland with the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego in Warsaw using (1), (2), (4), and the legalized translations you got in (8), so that your name is correct on the Polish birth certificate that you will get in step (10). They actually give you a birth certificate with your married name.

(9a) Divorce: If you’re divorced, and your marriage is already registered in Poland, and you have reverted back to your maiden name, or if you performed a legal name change, you’ll have to get a legalized and translated copy of the certified copy of your divorce records or name change document issued by the government organization that granted the divorce or legal name change. You would send these records to the Polish court so that they can issue a decision on your civil status change. If you once lived in Poland, you need to send it to the court in the wojewodswto in your last place of residence. If you never lived in Poland, send it here:
Sądu Okręgowego w Warszawie
skrytka pocztowa 220
00-958 Warszawa.

(10) Polish Birth Certificate: Register your birth in Poland at the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego in Warsaw using (1), (2), (4), and the legalized translations you got in (8), and the Polish marriage certificate you got in (9) & (9a). Make sure you get the long form Polish Birth Certificate. They will give you three copies one of which you will need for step (11) below.

(11) Polish Citizenship: If you are not in possession of a current, unexpired Polish Passport showing your current name, then apply for Proof of Polish Citizenship using (3), (3a), (4), (4a), (5), (6), (7) the legalized copies you got in (8), and also your long form Polish Birth Certificate you got in (10). You will also need to know the following information when filling out the application form, the same information will need to be provided in the zyciorys if you are applying at the consulate, instead of in person in Poland:
...(I) - Your Full Name
...(II) - Your Date of Birth
...(III) - Your Place of Birth
...(IV) - Parent’s names (this is where your parent’s birth certificates will come in handy to reduce any errors in spelling, or translations. This information will be a key piece in determining whether your parents are still Polish citizens, since their records will be searched for any hints of the citizenship having been renounced.)
...(V) - Mother’s maiden name
...(VI) - Your last address in Poland (if you ever lived in Poland)
...(VII) - List countries where you have a valid passport, and the dates those passports expire. Preferably provide a legalized & translated copy of the passports.
...(VIII) - Details on how you emigrated from Poland, if you ever lived in Poland (when, to which country, and using what type of documents or visas) If it was your parents who emigrated, then provide their info instead.
...(IX) - What other citizenships have you been granted? (dates, and explain how you qualified, and how it was obtained or granted)
...(X) - A statement confirming that you did or did not renounce your Polish citizenship
...(XII) - Which Polish consulate are you under the jurisdiction of at your current place of residence?
...(XIII) - Any other supporting factual evidence proving your Polish citizenship. This probably comes into play if you don’t have the other documents I listed above, and/or if your lineage to Poland starts with a grand parent or great-grand parent.
For more info on submitting the application in person go here:
http://www.mazowsze.uw.gov.pl/news.php?id=885

(12) PESEL: If you do not have a PESEL number then attach (9), (10), (11), and (12) to the PESEL application, and apply for a PESEL number at the same time as (13).

(13) Polish Passport: Apply for a Passport at the consulate using (9), (10), (11) (11 is not needed if you have an unexpired Polish passport), together with (12), a copy of a local ID card such as a driver’s license or document showing your address of residence (this is used to determine which consulate has jurisdiction over your area), and 3 Polish passport photos, which you cannot assume match the dimensions of your local country, so get the right dimensions from the consulate. Children under the age of 5, need not attach (9), (10), (11) or (12), as an original birth certificate from the country where they were born will suffice in addition to one of the parent’s unexpired Polish passports. Both parents must sign the application for a child under 5 years of age. If both parents cannot sign the application then a notarized letter of consent from the second parent must be attached. All passport applications regardless of age of the applicant must be submitted in person at the Polish consulate. For some people this is a true inconvenience due to distance and time, (for example, I live 1600 kms away from my consulate). The consulate will probably only excuse people who are not physically able to make the trip and those people must write a letter explaining why they cannot appear in person.


You must do this in this order.

____________________________________________________________


Ether way you need to get (1), (2), (3), (3a), (4), (4a), (5), (6) , and (7) all done before you proceed.

You must use the originals of (1), (2). and (8), this is not an option. The Polish authorities will keep these originals.

You will need to do (8) at the Polish consulate in the country where (1), (2), (3) and (7) originated from, OR if you're just getting an apostille, then the civil office in the country where (1), (2), (3), and (7) originated from can give you that.

Then:

You can do (9), (9a), (10), (11), (12), and (13) at the Polish consulate where you live (Australia?). In addition you would also need to attach the following information:
a) “życiorys”, or a resume signed and dated in which you would provide among other things:
...i) when and how your foreign citizenship(s) were granted
...ii) the citizenships your parents had upon your birth
...iii) whether both parents had Polish citizenship
...iv) whether either of your parents ever renounced their Polish citizenship
...v) when and how did your parents end up in their current country.
b) Naturalization act for all of you citizenships, if not acquired by birth.
c) Proof of legal residence or legal status in the country where you currently reside, if you are not a citizen of this country.
d) A statement explaining that nether you nor your parents ever renounced Polish citizenship.
e) A statement listing all foreign citizenships.
f) Two photos that match the Polish passport photo requirements.
g) Any other relevant documents produced by a Polish government office.

(a), (d), and (e) need to be in Polish and signed before a consular officer.
(f) needs to be signed before a consular officer.
(b), and (c) need to be translated and legalized by the Polish consulate, or translated with an apostille, where appropriate.

This path would take about 18-24 months, maybe longer, not to mention that the list of information is much longer than the next option.

Or.................................................................................................

If you know someone in Warsaw, you can go to the Polish consulate and get a power of attorney for use in Poland, and also get (8) done at the same time. Your contact in Warsaw can use all the docs (1), (2), (3), (3a), (4), (4a), (5), (6), (7), (8), and the Polish power of attorney to get you (9), (10) and (11). All this would take about 2 months for your contact in Warsaw to obtain. Then once you get these back from the person in Warsaw, using (9), (10) and (11) the Polish consulate that has jurisdiction over your area could then help you get (12) and (13) at the same time, which could take about 6 months to get.

Tip: Although the Polish authorities will return all originals except (1), (2), and (8), things have a tendency of getting lost (i.e. stolen) in the mail in Poland, so you may not feel comfortable including originals if you don't need to. If you don't want to use the originals from (3), and (7), then you can go to the Polish consulate in the country where each of these were issued, and get legalized copies. If you don't want to send the originals for (4), (5), and (6) then you can go to the Polish consulate where you live, and just get legalized copies of each.

The bottom line is if you know someone in Poland, this path is a LOT faster than going to the Polish consulate for everything. It would take anywhere between 3 to 9 months depending on the complexity of your specific case.

____________________________________________________________


Still need help?
If you don't have a contact in Poland willing to help you, and you don't want to wait for the Polish consulate to waste your time, and you've got a bit of money to throw away, contact this lawyer, he can probably help you get it done. I've never used him personally, but did consider his services as a last resort:
http://www.icharsky.com/english.asp
http://www.staczek.com/
http://www.polishcitizenship.net/
http://www.polishcitizenship.pl/

 

The longest running thread still going strong. :salute:
curiousgeorge,
that was a great info mate!

 

Thanks! Hopefully somebody finds it helpful.

 

Polish Passports

I heard there is a new law that requires one to go to the Polish consulate in person to get a passport. Supposedly they will no longer accept correspondence via mail. Is this true?

My consulate is 1025 miles (1650 kms) away, so this is just not practical.

 

Polish birth certificate

Curiousgeorge, you've supplied some great information! My situation is that I applied thru the consulate in Chicago for a confirmation of Polish citizenship, which (about 18 months later, after jumping thru various hoops) I received. [Note: this is a case where my father was born in Poland and I had his Polish birth certificate. Situations that involve grandparents or great-grandparents must be even more difficult and involve even more red tape!] I understand that if I want a passport sometime in the future, I will need a copy of my Polish birth certificate (even though I was born in the U.S.A.). I assume that my birth was registered in Poland during the confirmation process, though I was never informed of this. What I have is a document from the Wojewoda Mazowiecki stating that I'm a Polish citizen and giving my name, birthplace, etc. all in Polish. So, my question is, how/where do I apply for a copy of my Polish birth certificate? How do I even find out the cost? I do have relatives in Poland, though they're not in Warsaw. Thanks!

 

Re: Polish birth certificate

The easiest way of course is to apply at the Urzad Stanu Cywilnego (USC) in Warsaw, but if that is not an option then you can do this at the Polish consulate as well, although it will take longer.

I am not sure that you can assume that your birth is registered. The laws have been changing so rapidly in the past 3-4 years that its possible that you got your proof of Polish citizenship without getting your birth registered, as it is possible that it was not required at the time that you made your application.

I am not sure how to confirm if it is registerd or not. You might try asking the consulate what the procedure was at the time that you filed for proof of citizenship.

If you can have someone do it in Warsaw for you, you would use this form to register your foreign birth certificate, (supported by the docs I already mentioned earlier):
http://www.bip.warszawa.pl/dokumenty/wn ... ilnego.pdf
If its already registered, and you just need a copy, use this form:
http://www.bip.warszawa.pl/dokumenty/ip ... dzenia.pdf
And here are some addresses and phone numbers:
http://www.bip.warszawa.pl/informacja.asp?mn_id=279
Here is some info on the procedures (understandably I couldn't find an English version)
http://www.bip.warszawa.pl/informacja.asp?mn_id=2416

If it is not registered, and you want to do it at the consulate instead then you would need to register your birth, and they would send your birth certificate to you. (WNIOSEK O UMIEJSCOWIENIE AKTU URODZENIA)

If you are an adult you need this form (WNIOSEK O UMIEJSCOWIENIE AKTU URODZENIA OSOBY DOROSŁEJ W POLSKIM USC)
http://www.polishconsulatechicago.org/f ... rmsNR8.pdf
If you are under 18, you need this form (WNIOSEK O UMIEJSCOWIENIE AKTU URODZENIA W POLSKIM USC)
http://www.polishconsulatechicago.org/f ... rmsNR9.pdf

If you've confirmed that it is registered, you just need to fill out a request at the consulate to get copies of the birth certificate from Poland. (WNIOSKI O WYDOBYCIE AKTU URODZENIA)
This is the form you would use for that:
http://www.polishconsulatechicago.org/f ... rmsNR4.pdf

Hope this helps

 

Re: Polish Passports

I found my own answer. Every consulate has it posted on their websites now. You need to go IN PERSON to apply for a passport. Even children need to show up in person, and children over the age of 13 (and under 18) need to show up with 1 parent.

The only exception is if it is extremely difficult for the applicant(s) to apply in person, in which case one can still make the application via mail. I'm trying to figure out what that means, and if my distance from the nearest consulate actually qualifies me and my family for this exception. Here is the form to show that you can't show up in person:
http://www.polishconsulatela.com/Polish ... _paszp.doc

[Strange though that they wouldn't require a child under 13 to have a parent present, but as always, Polish laws can be a little strange sometimes.]

 

Thanks very much for the links to forms. I called the consulate and after talking to two people discovered that my birth was NOT registered, even though I just received my citizenship confirmation last year. I was told to send my birth certificate (with apostille), my parents' marriage certificate (notarized), a completed application form (notarized), a copy of my U.S. ID, $62 registration fee, $39 translation/certification fee X 2 (total of $140). I was told to expect a 6-month wait before receiving 3 copies of my birth certificate. Since I'm not in a major hurry to get a passport, I'll probably just go the consulate route.

 

By the way, for anyone who doesn't read Polish but is trying to get a fast translation of forms and such, there is a Polish translation site at: www.poltran.com The site does require that you enter words using the Polish alphabet. If you are not able to do that on your keyboard, a method I use is to find a page on the Web in Polish, then copy and paste the letters I need from that page. Also, word processing programs such as Word have letters of the Polish alphabet that you can insert as symbols. The translation you'll get isn't perfect, but it should allow you to get the gist of the document.