Hi All,

For all interested - I found that the law becomes effective on 15 August 2012
http://en.yourpoland.pl/40_the-new-poli ... p-act.html

Regards

 

Hello,

I think I'm a relatively easy case but I want to make sure I have all the correct documents.

My mother is Polish, born in Poland in 1950 and emigrated to the US in the 1970s. Therefore I am a Polish citizen, correct? I was born in Chicago.

Here is my understanding of the documents I need for me:

- Apostille birth certificate copy (should I get more than 1?)
- Apostille passport copy (again, do I need multiple?)

I think that's it for me. My mother's documents are a bit more complicated:

- She only has a short form birth certificate from Poland. She needs to get the long form one, correct?
- Her Polish passport was confiscated when she became a US citizen. She has a Certificate of Naturalization saying that her prior nationality is Polish--is this enough to prove that she is a Polish citizen? Again I assume she needs an apostille copy of this document, and perhaps multiple.
- My father is not Polish. Do I still need to bother with their American marriage certificate?

I have to say this apostille business is a real pain but I think compared to others my situation is fairly easy. Am I missing anything, or is anything I listed not in fact necessary? Thanks for your help.

 

Hello again! Would anyone be able to point me to an English translation of the form I need to complete in order to register my birth certificate in Poland? I thank you all in advance for your help.

Don

 

While straightening out my mothers' belongings, I came across a piece of paper that says it is a declaration. It was done in 1950 at the DP Center in Munsingen,Germany and it has 2 witnesses that are Polish and apparently my grandparents had these people act as witnesses to the fact that my mother was born in Poland on the date specified. This document also mentions her nationality as being Polish. But it doesnt specify location of birth or parents. Would I be able to use that instead of the original birth certificate or will I still need the original? It does have a stamp verifying its authenticity though it is lacking a date as to when it was done. But I do have another document that shows my mother as being in Munsingen and that document is dated.
I have sent the scanned copy to a couple of lawyers that deal with citizenship issues last week and still awaiting their response.Thanks.

 

Hi all please help me. I have really strong connection to Poland because my great grandparents were polish, also city i am from Grodno used to be a Poland part before the war ends, i got all proof including pictures and even document that shows he was buying land in Grodno via Warsaw, he also was a polish solder and i have picture with polish form on him, in my birth certificate my nationality is polish as well, i also do speak polish and i am catholic i have many family members living in Poland as well, my mother and grandmother hold polish id cards (karta polaka). I got all papers needed to proof that i have right of blood, but i am stuck in UK right now asking for asylum and they dont give it to me actually, i am scared to go back to Belarus and start from there, because i might get forced by belarussian authorities and wont be able to leave the country to go to Poland or anywhere else for years i could face prison as well and minimum will have to pay a penalty for running away from army, it's long story, but one question should i go to Polish Embassy in London or Manchester, or should i contact solicitor in Warsaw for all this matter? Also if i go with solicitor how long will it take to obtain my polish citizenship? And if i understand it right i can still get it and apply for polish passport with this here in London for example, i have very complicated situation in my life and basically this is the only last chance to sort my life out is by getting Polish Citizenship if somebody can answer all this serious questions i would be really thankfull.. Cheers..

 

Im in the process of getting all the documents now. Been fun and challenging so far.

BUT.. my grandfather was the Polish one, and my father doesn't want to get Polish citizenship/a polish passport so that myself and my siblings can get one.

As i understand it, we need my father to get it if we want to get it.

Its a lengthy process already and i dont want to sit around for years for my dad to change his mind.

How much of the process from start to finish would he have to be involved in for us to pursue our confirmation of citizenship applications so we could get Polish Citizenship/Passports?

Would i just have to get his confirmation but not any documents, PESEL numbers or any of that? If so, would he actually be a full fledged citizen of Poland and would that affect his life in any way if he were to travel to Europe or Poland on an Australian passport?

 

I would suggest that you speak to Marcin Foryt of Eranium (http://www.eranium.eu). Contrary to my initial understanding of how the process works, he was able to get my citizenship without confirming that of my mother. I hope that helps.

Don

 

Roman Wisnieski, a legal advisor or a sophisticated crook

In late 2011, I discovered that I might be eligible to apply for a Polish citizenship as both my grandparents from my mother’s side were born in Poland. I was very excited about the possibility of holding a Polish passport and reuniting with my Polish roots. To kick off the process, I searched for immigration lawyers in Poland. I used various keyword phrases such as "get Polish citizenship" and came across Roman's website...

MOD EDIT: read more directly on http://roman-wosniewski.blogspot.com

 

Thank you sir!

 

My pleasure. This forum helped me so much.

Don

 

I actually have good news... My mother finally has her confirmation! (I'll be getting mine in a couple of weeks).
I've been looking for documents on her and her family for 15 years. The past 3 years was involved directly with getting confirmation.

Wow.... I've been reading these forums for those 3 years, and this place is an absolute wealth of information.

The most important thing I have learnt from this ordeal is that all documents need to be exact. All translations certified, all photocopies stamped from the consulate, all documents must make a nice, neat, exact story.

It's all done.

 

Seems i have hit a speed bump that could stop my quest for Polish citizenship

I finally got a letter back from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs about my grandparents. It appears that they might have gotten Israeli citizenship when they got there in late 1949.

My father was born in Israel in 1953. They all then migrated to Australia in 1955.

Correct me if I'm wrong (and i hope somebody does) but because they got citizenship in 1949 on arrival in Israel doesn't that mean that i am no longer able to claim Polish citizenship?

 

Auspol:

Do not quote me on this, but I believe that if your grandfather was of conscription age (don't remember what age range this is, but I'm sure it is on this site) he could not lose his Polish citizenship unless the Polish government approved. Your father being a minor may also play in your favor. I would suggest you speak to a lawyer as the devil is in the details. Good luck.

 

It is correct, the grandparents do not lose Polish citizenship in this case nor does the minor child (i.e. his father). The age range for military service is up to 50 years old.
My grandfather naturalized Argentinean in 1950 when he was 45 years old and he retained his Polish citizenship and so did his son (my uncle ) who was under 18 years old at that time. I hope this information helps you. Good luck

 

Polskiarg to the rescue!!! Always helpful and full of information.

 

Wow! If only you guys could have seen my frown turn upside down as soon as i read your posts!

I guess its safe to say that there's still hope yet

My grandmother was Russian, but my Polish grandfather was 31 years old when he took up Israeli citizenship so i assume that puts him within the age of conscription.

I have one piece of documentation from a "Warsaw survivors list" ( http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/holocaust/0203_Warsaw_survivors.html ) that states he fled Poland in 1939 for the USSR and what his last address was in Warsaw.

He then resided in the USSR in Stavropol from 1939 to 1946 where he met and married my Russian grandmother before officially repatriating back to Poland in 1946 (i have official documents of his and her repatriation by the Polish delegation to Stavropol).

Ive read somewhere that if they left before or during 1939 then they may also lose their citizenship if the acquired another?

I know he went back and forth from the USSR back to Poland a few times to try to find family members and bring them to the USSR for the duration of the war but i dont really have anything to prove that (unless i manage to find russian border prison documents from when he was caught.. fat chance of that happening).

Either way the list isnt really an official document or anything. Im just wondering if i should bother including this in my citizenship application or not if it will do me more harm than good.

By the way, if anyone is interested in my grandparents story and how i have gone about collecting documentation so far then i would be happy to tell it. Its been difficult because ive had to trace documentation from Australia to Israel, Israel to Landsberg displaced persons camp, to Russia and then to Poland.Im sure there would be quite a few people out there whose grandparents left Poland during or after the holocaust and had many stops during the journey to their final country of settlement.

 

Just get advice and use a service from reputable lawyers. It is worth the money spent for. Good luck!

 

I'm still collecting information. To be honest it seems like the more you hand to the lawyers or passport agencies, the faster and cheaper the case will be.

Polaron charges $700 for an elligibility test alone.

I barely have any Polish documents so I'm trying to make the strongest and most convincing paper trail all the way back to Poland from here in Australia to Israel, landsberg displaced persons camp in Germany, Stavropol in the USSR and Poland.

 

I used attorney Lukasz Piotrowski (http://www.polishcitizenship.org/) and was very satisfied with his work. My case was complicated by multiple inconsistencies in names between documents, and Mr. Piotrowski did a very good job of telling me what I needed to find to help my case, and of successfully arguing the case to the Polish government. The cost was quite reasonable, considering the complexity of the work.

 

Are they Polish lawyers? Contact directly lawyers in Poland and provide them with your case. They usually reply whether with payment options in case if your case is OK to be lodged or with any advise if you need any additional info . Some of them could help to search for documents in Poland - of course, it's for for an additional payment. IMHO it will be cheaper then ask someone from overseas (and pay for his/her service) to search for your documents in Poland, when you can ask "the same person" in Poland directly.