Length of time to receive confirmation of Polish Citizenship

I am organising to get my polish passport, but firstly i have to receive the confirmation of Polish Citizenship. This is not a problem because both my parents were born in poland and i have already sent all the documents required to finish my application through the consulate.

I would like to know how long it will take for my confirmation of polish citizenship to arrive from the application date. I am organising everything via the consulate and the consulate has sent my application off to Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki.

I have head it amy take several years since the backlog is great and the bureaucratic machinery cannot handle the demand. This is from 3-4 individuals trying to get confirmation of citizenship. But maybe one should not generalise. What does the consulate say?

Bull..... My friend got his confirmation (via consulate in LA) in 6 months. So if it's any longer go and investigate. Good luck!

Could be three months, could be two years. It depends on the individual case and which office is handling it.

Lets hope Zed is correct. I want to head to poland mid next year and so by then it would have been 15 months since completion of application.

I can understand why for some people it takes a long time because the have grandparents that were polish and have to go through a rigorous checking process. But my case is much simpler. I have all the documents they need:

- both parents polish birth certificates
- their polish marriage certificate
- dads current valid polish passport and PESEL number
- both parents polish passports from 1982 (long time ago, but helps with the identification)

and all of my parents and my Australian documents.

Also. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a "Polish Birth Certificate" from the completion of application. I heard it only takes a couple months.

I was in a similar situation and that stage took about 6 months.

I got my confirmation of citizenship in April. Papers were filed through my Wawa based lawyer at the beginning of October. He was very proactive and answered or passed along all queries promptly.

Your evidence is very strong and very complete. It should be processed quickly. However, there is a large backlog and what may take time is getting your file to the front of the queue. Also, you may encounter bureaucratic inefficiencies where your file gets misplaced, lost or your caseworker goes on maternity leave and no one takes over her cases. Any number of delays can occur. Keep your fingers crossed.

I will never understand why people use lawyers for something that is laid out clearly in Polish law.

...you use lawyers, because you cannot be there in person going from one blasted window and official to another and standing there like a 'spare part at a wedding', then getting the wrong information, finding out that you should have had a piece of paper stamped about 3 months ago, and now have to go through the process again...

Really, like I said my friend's application was processed by the LA consulate. No problems, no lines. It was supposed to take 6 months and so it did. No lawyers involved.

Hi,

I am in Australia and confirmed my Polish citizenship as my parents were Polish. It took 2 years for me to receive confirmation. Then got my passport straight after that. I did it all on my own, and had all the necessary paperwork/proof. So I agree with Terri's comment. If you can speak, read and write in Polish why do you need a lawyer to go through filling out the paperwork and speaking to the consulate.

I just know that from my own personal experience that it took 2 years, but then I heard rumors that others got it earlier as they knew certain powers to be. I guess it may be the old saying 'It doesn't matter what you know, but who you know'.

AUSPOL

hmmm, interesting.

some people say 6 months some, some people say 2 years.

after that i know i have to get my polish birth certificate and then once i get, i can apply for a PESEL number and then finally the holy grail...........the Polish Passport.

Im going to poland next year for 6 months to work. I read somewhere that once i get my citizenship i can apply for a temporary passport from the consulate. Can anyone tell me if they know anything about this.

I think that your case is simple and you will not have to wait as long as 2 years - it is a question of 6 months more or less I suppose. Once you get certificate about Polish citizenship you will be able to apply for temporary Polish passport from the consulate. It is valid for one year. In case of any problems I suggest to check the website polish-citizenship.

It took me nearly 2 and a bit years from application to obtaining my Passport.
Like it was previously stated, it all depends on how much a backlog there is, which office is handling it and if you have filled out all forms correctly.

Be patient - Poland is notorious for its red tape
Good Luck!

Can anyone suggest a lawyer in Poland whom they have dealt with and felt they were reliable and reasonably priced for the Confirmation of Polish Citizenship?

I cannot figure out who to choose or who to avoid.

Feel free to send me the information by private message if you do not want to post the information.

Thank you,
Chris

Merged: Notification of citizenship, how long does it take for written confirmation after it's been granted?

Thanks to this group for it's help in the past. We are planning a move to Poland and still have many questions.

1-A month ago my wife received notice from the embassy in New york that her Polish citizenship had been granted (based on parentage). We have yet to get anything in the mail (at our Polish address) confirming this. What should we expect next and how long should it take?

2-I plan to apply for residency based on her citizenship. We are both retired and will not seek any employment. Will I still have to travel on American Passport or are there Polish travel documents I can get, so we're not always in different lines at the airports.

Thanks

If I were to have my Polish citizenship confirmed, am I required to get a Polish passport or would they have any idea if I enter Poland with my U.S. passport as long as I'm staying under 90 days?

You're obliged to identify yourself to the Polish authorities using a Polish document.

Merged:

Decision time for citizenship petition

It has now been over three months since my attorney filed my citizenship petition with the voivode. I was last registered and worked in the voivodship where the petition was filed. The voivode has done nothing but make excuses that it should be decided in Warsaw, despite the fact that I was never registered there. Is this normal? How long should this process take?

I would wait another 3 months and then remind them. Also please remember that the granting of Polish citizenship is a privilege and not a right. They can refuse you without giving you any reason.

I did not petition to receive Polish citizenship. I petitioned that I was born a Polish citizen during the communist occupation of Poland. I petitioned that my citizenship by descent from a Polish citizen be recognized, and provided abundant documentation, all stamped, translated, and authenticated.

Every time I attempt to do anything with a Polish bureaucrat, they run me around in circles like this. It's like the communist era still hasn't ended.

Give over. The best advice for you is to sit tight and wait another 3 months, then gently remind them.
If you start causing trouble, they may put the papers somewhere and forget about them and they could remain 'somewhere' for years.They may even ask you to submit copies of everything you've submitted before as they can say that they have lost them.

Do you have written evidence that you have actually submitted anything?

Yes, Polish bureaucrats do their jobs much more to your advantage when unfailing courtesy is extended and an optimistic outlook is maintained.

Also keep in mind, that most bureaucrats do want to help but the system they work in is far too complex and byzantine to explain to outsiders (especially since the sum total doesn't make much sense).

Criticism of their performance is best kept to oneself.

So my lawyer received confirmation that the voivode has jurisdiction to decide my citizenship after much unnecessary delay. However, I have been summoned to produce several documents to "prove" that events never happened such as proof on non-service in the Israeli military. My family isn't Jewish, and wasn't in the Soviet Union, Anders' Army, or went anywhere near Palestine. Yet, they want me to get documents from Israel to prove my Polish citizenship. I consider this outrageous behavior from the voivode and evidence of bad faith on his part. I am considering contacting the Polish news media.

Do you live in Israel? If not, then where? Chances are the relevant agencies are used to giving out the relevant forms, just finding out which agency to ask is the problem.


By all means, try. But don't be surprised if they don't bite.

We aren't Jewish, and no one in my family has ever visited Israel, let alone lived there. The demand is further proof in my mind that the voivode doesn't want to follow the law, and never even wanted to address the petition. Other than writing the president of Poland, I don't know what else I could do if denied. I am letting the lawyer handle things for now, but think its very unfair, and unreasonable. They don't want people from the West to return to Poland.