PESEL and the White Pages

Hello!

1. If I am a holder of a Polish passport, does it mean I have a PESEL number assigned to me? And if so, how would I find out what it is?

2. Is there an equivalent of the White Pages directory (residential address directory) in Poland? If not, how do you find peoples' addresses/phone numbers?

Thanks!

I guess so - all Polish citizens have a PESEL number.

Have you been granted citizenship but you're not resident in Poland? If so, you need to register yourself 'zameldować' with the local authorities. They will take your details and give you an ID card. This can be a long process (depending on the bastard sitting opposite you in the office) so the more background info you can give us here the more we can help you.

Hmm I've found something like this:


And according to that everybody getting Polish passport is also getting PESEL... But I remember that when Rostowski became a finance minister (he was born and lived before in the UK) there was a big news that he doesn't even have PESEL and It was confirmed, so looks like It's possible to have a passport and no PESEL.

Generally PESEL ia an 11 digit number, where first 6 shows your date of birth... for example If somebody was born on 15th December 1981 then PESEL is 811215 + 5 other numbers like 11766 or something... so check If ever gotten something like this, together with a passport maybe... and If not then probably you don't have It.

That would apply to me. I remember when I was filing for my Polish passport, I had to attach a form stating that I do not know my PESEL number or even if I had one. Received my passport but no mention of PESEL.

I was born in Poland, therefore always its citizen. Are you saying that the passport will not do in my dealings in Poland and I must "zameldowac" myself and need an ID card?

Well, I wasn't born in Poland so when I claimed Polish citizenship (Dad's Polish), I first received a letter confirming my status. You obviously won't need this if your birth is registered in Poland.

I live in Lodz, so my next stage was to go to my local 'delegatura' (local council) and 'zameldować (register). I had to show proof of residence and the letter confirming my citizenship. Christ the biurwa in the delegatura was a bitch. Seriously. She sat there with a face like an Easter Island statue with an arse full of razor blades. Anyway, after much crying and pleading, the cow registered me and I could move to the next stage.

Which was to go to the local 'Urząd stanu cywilnego' (USC - Registry of Births Marriages and Deaths) to register my Polish birth (and marriage, because I'm married). They processed my personal details for my ID card and calculated my PESEL, because, as you know, it's based on date of birth, sex and a couple of other things. Whether you're a homosexual / communist etc.

Yhen it was a short wait before I could go back to the delegatura and collect my card.

You should find the procedure a lot easier since your birth details will be in Poland. I'm assuming you're not in Poland at the moment? I would suggest getting in contact with the USC where you were born and asking them for advice, since as far as I know, they are the people who assign PESELs. Their number will be on the internet somewhere

No, I'm not in Poland...yet ;-)
Thanks for suggesting USC - I will contact them first to find out if I do have a PESEL number.


I did not realize that all Polish citizens have to register (zameldunek). And re-register if they move?
Leftovers from the communism regime, I presume?

I have a PESEL and I am not Polish

not true. i have a passport but no pesel.


yup, me too.


yup


yeah something stupid like that.

you get a pesel at birth... it actually starts with your birthdate (yymmdd then seemingly meaningless #'s... makes it hella lot easier to remember at least the first part of it ^_~) so if you were born in PL, you have a pesel.

Not sure where to find it... maybe on your birth certificate? I didn't think I had one either till I filed for a polish ID card and passport.

Good for you!


Are you a Polish citizen? if so, you should have a PESEL You need one for your ID card

shouldn't they have somewhere where they could look that up...
i mean, if you file for a doc saying 'I haven't a clue what my pesel is' can't they (for a fee, naturally) search your name in some database/ room of old filing cabinets and get the thing?

Exactly. I visited the Sopot Urzad Miasta online and found this formularz:
Wniosek o udostępnienie danych z ewidencji ludności, zbioru PESEL. Do you think it's the right document to find out my PESEL #?

RE: the White Pages - I guess there is no telephone directory for Polish residents?

If there is I don't think it is commonly used. When I set up a phone line I was asked if I wanted to be listed and I declined. I think most people do that.

There is a yellow pages for finding companies here:.pkt.pl

Don't know where the white pages one is though.

Oh, is my face red...Prompted by some of your comments, I examined my Polish passport closely (which I normally avoid like plague, since I hate my photo ;-)) and right under the passport number I found the PESEL #.

Please, forgive me for wasting your time!

Now, is the above mentioned ID card a dowod osobisty? And I still need it in addition to my passport? For what purpose?

Yes.


Well, If police is controling somebody then that's usually the first thing they ask about, If you want to buy alcohol and don't look much older than 18 then they may ask for dowód, just like when you want to open a bank account or do a thousand other things - in most cases you should be able to do that with a passport only, in some countries people don't have IDs so we probably wouldn't die without them either but every Polish citizen older than 18 and living in Poland must have It. Generally in Poland there's a big "dokument ze zdjęciem" fetish - you need one (a different one of course) If you want to go to a doctor, borrow a book from the library and often even to buy a monthly bus ticket.

Thank you all!

It finally all makes sense ( in my anal American mindset):

PESEL = social security #
ID card (dowod osobisty) = US drivers license
Polish bureaucracy = US Motor Vehicle Department in the 70's ;-)