Father and Grandmother Polish born - can I get a Polish passport?

My father was born in Poland in 1955, my grandmother in 1931. Both are alive and living in the United States today. I was born in the United States in 1985.

My father and grandmother immigrated here approximately in 1965. I am thinking about moving to Poland, to live/work, etc. and wanted to get my Polish passport. If you can let me know how to do this, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Michael

You can get a polish passport if any one of your parents currently holds polish citizenship. If they do not, they should get it (regain?) before you apply. But if they do the process is pretty automatic although takes about 6-8 months to complete.

Greetings from Warsaw

Thanks for the quick reply. So how do I check if my father still has his citizenship? Is there a way to check that?
Then once I do, let's say he doesn't have it, since he hasn't been back in over 40 years...what does he have to do to regain?

Thank you!

I would suggest you do some basic research, eg. contact polish consulates in the US, their websites etc. Google the topic too. See this link below, but do more research on your own:

polishconsulateny.org/index.php?p=95

Good luck

You might be able to - it depends. You can contact me for a free inital consultation - office@lindenia :)

MY GRAND MOTHER WAS BORN IN CHRZANOW POLAND IN 1908 AND LEFT POLAND IN 1939 TO MARRY HER LOVE . SHE NEVER CAME BACK AND SETTLED IN ISRAEL WHERE SHE DIED. i LOVE THE POLISH PEOPLE AND SEE MYSELF AS A PART OF THIS GREAT NATION. IS IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO GET POLISH CITIZENSHIP? i WOULD APPRECIATE ANY ADVICE AS WELL AS A NAME OF A LAWYER IN POLAND THAT CAN HELP..THANKS, GUY

That depends on when she took Israeli citizenship. However, I'd imagine that she took Israeli citizenship before 1962, which means that she lost her Polish citizenship and do couldn't pass it on to her children.

Thanks for your reply Harry All the best to you my friend....It is as you say so it looks like i am out of luck on that one....If anyone can offer better news please message me

You might want to be careful about requests like that. Polish law is pretty clear when it comes to people who took other citizenship before 1951 (and before 1962) but you may find you get offers from 'professionals' who can 'help you with paperwork' but for a large fee (which must be part paid in advance).

Yeah..but will they be able to deliver the polish citizenship?

No, not unless they are able to change Polish law.

Got this reply from Polaron in Australia:

Due to the fact that your paternal grandparents are Polish, you may be eligible to apply for Polish citizenship. In the enquiry form, you indicated that you have immigration documents from your family, that is a good start. For your application to be successful, we would have to provide the Polish authorities with sufficient evidence that your grandparents were in fact Polish and that they didn't lose their citizenship after leaving Poland. Along with the documents you have already mentioned, this can be achieved by providing birth and marriage certificates, expired Polish passports, residential registration cards, school records, army service records, naturalisation certificates etc. Although not all of these are required, the more documents we can provide the quicker the application will be processed.

If it is determined that you have insufficient documentation we would first have to conduct some research in Canada and Poland to obtain as many records as possible and retrace your family's journey. This means that if the outcome of the research is positive, not only you, but also any siblings or children you may have are eligible to apply for citizenship. We conduct the research first to establish your chances of success and avoid unnecessary costs that may incur, if the documentation can't be obtained from Poland.

If you are comfortable doing so, please email me through the documents you have from your family and I will then be able to let you know if these are sufficient to proceed directly with your application or if additional research is necessary.

Finally, I have attached an information pack about applying for citizenship through Polaron including a family tree form, which would be great of you to fill out and send it back to us.

@polaron.com.au

Anyone know if EU travel just as easy with Canadian Passport as with Polish?

I can offer you some good news: You're a citizen of a very successful and beautiful country. You don't need to go looking for favors from Poland or any other foreign countries.

Merged: Australian applying for Polish passport *IN* Poland - mother is Polish, but her passport expired

I am an Australian citizen. My mother was born in Poland and has Polish citizenship and an (expired) Polish passport. I would like to apply for a Polish passport, but I don't have any of the required Polish documents yet. If I understand the process correctly, I need to:

1. Register my Australian birth certificate at the registry office in Warsaw
2. Receive my Polish birth certificate from the registry office
3. Use my Polish birth certificate to then go and apply for a PESEL number (is this the same as a Polish ID card?)
4. Finally, use my PESEL number to apply for a Polish passport

I'm willing to go to Poland once, for 2 weeks or so, to speed up the process. At what point in the above process would be the best time to go to Poland? Should I go register my Australian birth certificate in Warsaw, in person, first, and then do the rest from Australia? Or would it best to go and apply for the PESEL number in person? I guess I'm asking at which point in the process seems to have the worst bottleneck that creates the 18+ month waiting times that we keep hearing about.

Any answers or advice would be much appreciated!