Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

1jola:
Yes, strange indeed...Perhaps she's still a Polish citizen and doesn't even know it. Guess we'll see.

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

delphiandomine

"Wow - I'd be interested to know why she did that - was it a condition of getting to leave Poland? But check carefully - she may not have actually done this, but rather simply declared to the US that she did so. There is a difference - Poland won't recognise a renouncation made to the US."

Good point: I will be speaking with her about these details, we'll see

"Anyway, the easiest way is simply to apply through the Polish embassy. She will need to apply for a long term Polish visa - category D, and I advise her to gather as much documentation as possible - such as proof of income (for a 6 month stay, I'd recommend that she shows at least 12000zl, or $4000), return flight tickets, doctors notes, etc - basically, make the case as watertight as possible so that they don't refuse her."

Good advice: I will look into that and keep all those points in mind.

"I don't have time right now to check thoroughly, sorry - but I wonder if she simply can't apply for a Polish ID card regardless? As far as I understand it, she should be able to simply reclaim it without too much fuss in Poland."

Thanks for your input!

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

Eurola:

She was required to give up her Polish passport when she became a legal US citizen 15 years ago. That was a requirement to become a US citizen. And when seeking asylum, it was a complicated process (2 years to get into a country that would accept you as a legal immigrant). But yes, you had to leave everything behind and go to the nearest country that took in asylum seekers, at that time it was Austria. Then the US took my parents in as legal immigrants.

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

"it would seem unlikely that it would be recognised by the present Polish state unless it fell under one of the various acts - which it wouldn't, as she left in the 80's."

delphiandomine: good point. I wonder if the Polish government even recognized her giving up her Polish passport and declaring or renouncing (is there a difference?) to the US government her Polish citizenship. Looks like I will have to have a deeper talk with her soon about this...why is this so complicated, all she wants to do is spend time with her mother...:(

Seems like it should be easy to do, she's retired after all....

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

Yes, to get US citizenship, you have to turn in your Polish passport and to renounce Polish citizenship, I remember when my parents went through that...

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

delphiandomine:

So then, if she surrendered her Polish passport and submitted an application for the renouncement of Polish citizenship to the President of Poland and received the President’s declaration of renunciation, she is officially just a US citizen, no other strings attached. So if that's the case, what should she do to stay in Poland beyond 90 days being just a US citizen?

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

No, she is officially not a Polish citizen. She was born in Poland and sought asylum in the 1980's. She renounced her Polish citizenship when she accepted US citizenship. So, she is just a US citizen. Based on that, if you wanted to stay in Poland for 6 months just to live there (not to work), how would you go about it?

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

delphiandomine-
She doesn't want to become a resident, just to stay in Poland as long as she needs to beyond the 90 allowable days with a US passport. So where do I look/go to get the visa application process going?

Travel / Visa to Poland (stay more than 90 days in Poland) [45]

My mother already went through this: she stayed beyond the 90 allowable days just with her US passport, and they told her that the next time she did this, there would be consequences. If you want to stay in Poland beyond 90 days, you need a visa they said. Now I just need to know how and where to get this process going.