Feedback / The image of Poland according to PolishForums [90]

Actually I found this website a couple of years ago but didn't join up at the time because I was put off by what seemed to me to be a large number of racist comments/threads.

Then a year or so ago I found this site again whilst googling for stuff about Poland and figured that that aside it looked like a good resource...

Law / Obtaining PESEL, ID Card and Passport in Poland [39]

I agree with Inkrakow - I am trying to get a Polish birth certificate but have some complications because I changed my surname by Deed Poll. I spent a month going around in circles at my local USC because they didn't know what to do. It took me just 5 minutes on the phone to the Consulate in London who exactly knew the problem and solution.

Language / I'm gonna learn Polish in a month! [86]

So you have had a month now plus or minus a few days. How have you got on? How did it go? What did you learn?

Life / I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK! [240]

Like Wrocław Boy, I have gone through the tearing-my-hair-out phase and am now in the expect-it-to-be-a-nightmare-but-be-pleased-if-it-isn't phase. It's much easier on the nerves this way.

Only yesterday I wasted two hours getting a copy of my daughter's birth certificate (because everyone here wants to keep your original) and wondered what the point of it all was. But I just accept it now as a fact of life and didn't let it annoy me.

@ Avalon

Yes you are right, but at least when you waste your morning being given the wrong information, you don't waste your wife's morning too, so speaking Polish helps...

Life / I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK! [240]

I understand everyone's frustrations. That is the reason why I started my blog - british-in-poland.blogspot.com to provide the info I wish I had had when I first came to Poland nearly 2 years ago.

The Polish bureacracy and lack of help for foreigners is a pain, but probably the only down-side I have to living here compared to many up-sides, so when I get frustrated with it I just have to remember that overall the trade-off is worth it.

I would advise any non-Pole living here to try and learn Polish as fast as possible because it really makes dealing with all this easier when you don't have to bring someone with you or help you all the time.

I know it doesn't help much here and now, but bear in mind that Poland is only just getting back on it's feet after 80 years of pretty much getting screwed over by other countries and not only do the rules need more time to change but also the mentality...

Law / Polish Citizenship for a foreigner whose parents was born in Poland [174]

yes - a sworn translator. Yeah the director of my local USC said he hadn't dealt with this before and said he needed to check what to do. When I can next be bothered, I will chase him up.. Not only luck - also patience!

Law / Polish Citizenship for a foreigner whose parents was born in Poland [174]

It's more complicated than that - you have to use approved translators (not just any translator). Also when I started my application (in Poland) I had problems getting the Urząd Stanu Civilnego to give me a Polish birth certificate from my UK one because the UK ones don't have certain details on it (such as father's family surname). In fact I am still waiting on them to decide what to do about it...

Law / Polish Citizenship for a foreigner whose parents was born in Poland [174]

I apologise now if my post is somewhat abrupt, but it is becoming quite tiring to repeat the same things over and over.

Your Grandmother was Polish. Thus your parent is Polish (you don't say if it's your maternal or paternal grandmother so I don't know if we are talking about your Mum or Dad here but it doesn't matter). Thus you are Polish. Doesn't matter that you or your parent never set foot in Poland, you are automatically Polish because you have Polish blood.

Do you qualify? Probably unless your Grandmother or your parent or you renounced Polish citizenship which is unlikely.

What do you qualify for?
Polish citizenship. If you are a Polish citizen you can then apply for a Polish passport. How can you have a passport of a country that you aren't a citizen of?

What do you do next?
As has been said many times already, contact your local embassy. Expect a long wait.

Law / Polish Citizenship for a foreigner whose parents was born in Poland [174]

From what I understand if you have a Polish ancestor then by blood rights you have Polish citizenship automatically.

To use this citizenship and do things like get a passport you first need to get CONFIRMATION of Polish citizenship. Talk to the Polish consulate in your country to find out about doing this.

But if your ancestor or anyone in the chain renounced their Polish citizenship then the chain ends and you aren't Polish. There are a few other complications too - search on this forum about it because this stuff is asked all the time.

Also the process can take a number of years, so don't expect to get an EU passport from this any time soon....

UK, Ireland / Posting from UK to Poland....not good! [53]

Yeah I had a problem with a parcel sent from Poland to the UK which was recorded delivery but didn't arrive. I had to wait 28 days from sending before they would look at tracking it. Tracking it took me 3 months. They sorted it out in the end but as Wroclaw says, if it takes 4 months in total to sort out then sometimes it just isn't worth the hassle...

Study / Gdansk / Tricity; university - information [30]

You could maybe get a Polish speaking friend to contact the Polish Red Cross pck.org.pl and see if they can advise. I would imagine if anyone would know, they would.

Law / Polish car insurance and how it compares to England [29]

Ah OK got it. In which case no, you're presumption is correct.
You would need to add her to your UK policy. The good news is that insurance companies are not supposed to be allowed to charge her extra for not having a UK licence (they are not allowed to discriminate across EU licence holders). The bad news is that she doesn't have any no-claims bonus whatsoever having never held her own policy.

Law / Polish car insurance and how it compares to England [29]

I'm confused now - where's your car registered? Who's the registered owner?

Law / Polish car insurance and how it compares to England [29]

Car insurance across the EU has been standardised by a number of directives.

See the link on the Europa.eu website which clearly says that "Wherever you are travelling in the EU, your car insurance policy will automatically provide the minimum cover (third party liability) required by law"

They have 3rd party (called O.C.) which gives you the minimum cover required by law. Of course you can pay more for higher levels of cover. Insurance is typically bought through agents (like the UK 20 years ago..) but you can buy direct from some of the big companies who have started advertising on TV about it.

To answer your specific question - no, probably not. In Poland it is the car that is insured rather than the person, so normally if I insure my car then anyone with a licence can drive it, rather than I can drive any car (as I might expect in the UK).

But that might give you what you are after anyway - if you just want to be able to drive someone else's car?

UK, Ireland / Posting from UK to Poland....not good! [53]


Just out of interest in which direction? UK to Poland or Poland to UK? My experience is 4 or 5 working days from Poland to the UK.

UK, Ireland / Posting from UK to Poland....not good! [53]

I run a website and send small parcels from Poland around the world, but mainly to the UK. In my experience I would say both Poczta Polska an Royal Mail are both "satisfactory" and nothing more. Our post to/from Germany seems to be the quickest.

We have had a couple of parcels "go missing" from the UK to Poland that weren't registered delivery. I am sure there are some thieving b******s somewhere along the line, but I wouldn't like to say where. I have read a number of articles about how Royal Mail sometimes use agency staff when they are busy and half the time the post goes missing or just gets dumped.

The only other thing regarding Polish post is that it's incredibly primitive. Check out Poczta Polska's website - it totally sucks! Is there any other country in the EU where the post service doesn't have online tracking? Hopefully that will change soon now that they are losing business to the new private post companies like InPost....