Is translating into Polish required for getting a Polish Citizenship?

I am applying to confirm my Polish citizenship. My father's birth record was written in Russian and my grandfather's was in German. Does the consulate require you to translate these documents into Polish?

You need to ask them - they may interpret things differently in different consulates.

Be warned that if they require a translation, then they'll demand a sworn translation.

helcha

Yes, of course they will always require a sworn translation if these documents are required for the process - these documents get sent off to Warsaw where everything is done in Polish.

The documents are from the Polish Archives and so I thought since they were Polish documents the Polish government would have the necessary access to information to confirm the details....but not sure....

The written Russian is difficult to translate because that script is no longer used. I did get a university PHD student and he struggled but was able to decipher but he is not an official translator....

I went through this process a few years ago and in my experience, everything that wasn't in Polish had to translated by an approved translator. If the birth certificates are awkward (I didn't present any except my own) you can present other documents such a army records, passports etc - anything that can confirm your ancestors were Polish. Some people like to get lawyers and other experts involved, but I managed OK on my own ... and with quite limited Polish I might add. After I sent to documents off, the process took over 2 years. I am not sure if using a lawyer would have speeded things up, but I'm sure it would have cost more!

Unfortunately you can't assume that the Polish government will be able to communicate across departments! They usually push it right back at you if it's not right. So it will significantly speed up the process if you provide them with everything they need in the form that they need it.

Also, an official translator will be able to read the script pretty well - they have all sorts of resources to allow them to decipher it.

thanks..really appreciate your help!