Obtaining PESEL, ID Card and Passport in Poland

Hey everyone,

Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on the above subject title if possible?

I have just received confirmation of my Polish citizenship last week from the Wojewoda Mazowiecki, through my father who is a Polish Citizen.

Currently in the UK, although will be obtaining temporary residence in Poland in the near future (fiance parents) Can anybody tell me how I could acquire a PESEL number from here in the UK? E-mail application to Poland? Consulate?

I would also be interested if anybody also knew the process for obtaining an ID card and Passport.

Cheers all

talk to the consulate. we aren't it.

For a pesel i believe you need a resident card and be based at a Polish property for more than one year.

Not sure if it's one year but Wroclaw Boy is correct in saying that you need to register your residency with the local authority in person.

I've recently been through this whole process of getting a passport, PESEL and ID card as a UK citizen of Polish origin... What I did was take the confirmation of citizenship to the Polish consulate in London, fill out the application form for a passport, give them the photos + money + covering letter and then wait for the passport to arrive in the post (2 months later). The passport already had my PESEL in it. At no time did I have to give them an address in Poland.

Several months later I took the passport + proof that I had a permanent address in Poland (I used the land registry document of some property I own here) + photos + filled out form from my local Magistrat + money and 4 weeks later I picked my ID document (dowód osobisty). I believe that if you live overseas, you don't have to give a permanent address (meldunek) in Poland, but you should check with the consulate if that's true.

The only thing I think you need an ID card for in Poland is to register a car, but a Polish passport seems to work for everything else.

I also hear that they are going to abolish this ridiculous rule that means you need a registered address next year, so the ID cards won't have to carry it.


This may be true for foreigners, but it's not true for newly-minted Poles.

i don't have one of those cards but then i am not all too sure if that's pesel in my passport either.

PESEL is a 11-digit number, where the first six digits mean your date of birth (in the order YY-MM-DD), so if you're born in 1981, May 17, your PESEL would be 810517xxxxx

oh cool thanks for the explanation Krzysztof. it proves that i have some other number. hmm

mine has 7 digits and "AS" in front of them.

Do you know if you need a Pesel to buy car insurance? (Assuming the car is LHD and registered in Poland) Thanks

I certainly didn't.

Oooh thank you! All these bureaucratic hurdles are doing my blood pressure no good at all! Do you mind telling me which company you bought your insurance with? I've been told that the only company who will insure me are PZU and that they need a Pesel, but I've read on this forum about several that will insure foreigners. Maybe they are not all the same. Thanks

Interesting way to go about it 'inKrakow'

I have heard so much conflicting info about the time frame of getting a passport processed at the consulate, from your 2 months to others who've waited 7 months.

I've got the confirmation of citizenship to take, but its the first I've heard about a covering letter you mentioned, thought it was just Polish birth certificate, confirmation of citizenship certificate, photo's and money as well as filling in the application form (which I took from Poland - 3 fold card application) and PESEL application.

Also thought, a passport had to be picked up from the consulate and couldn't be posted out, did you get a reference number to check its progress on-line?

I will probably use the address of my fiances parents in Poland for temporary residence at some point to get an ID card as well.

It was 2 months from when I got all the other information together - that took about 10 months so it was 1 year from the moment I started the process.


I'm sorry, I wasn't clear - the passport was sent to the consulate by post. I had to give my Mum written permission to go and pick it up in my name.


you are joking aren't you! ;) They couldn't even manage to man the phones at the consulate over the year I was waiting for the passport let alone give out email addresses, so I'm pretty sure there was NO chance of being able to track progress online!!!

hmmm.. i sure couldn't get it any other way but in person; in chicago. i think it took maybe 3 or 4 mo but i couldn't get it when i got my notice so it sat there for another 4-5 mo or something. they did send me the temp one via post though.

Wow, one year!

Been sat on my confirmation of citizenship since I received it in June, thinking which way to do it with time just whizzing by.

Was it 2 months or 1 year from submitting your passport application to receiving your passport?

Whats the covering letter thingy about? Is it mandatory?

ask your Consulate - they were pretty helpful in London once I managed to track the right person down. It was the process of getting a Polish birth certificate issued and then the confirmation of citizenship that took most of the time. Once I had that it was pretty quick (relatively speaking).

Phew.......thats good to know it was the whole length of process...start to finish and not just one year for the actual passport application.

I've got my Polish birth certifcate and confirmation of Polish citizenship sat here gathering dust :-) so when I make an application, it shouldn't be that long hopefully. Did you put in a PESEL application at the same time as the passport application?

Just stalling at the moment, as I am going to Poland in October, and wondering if it would be quicker to get stuff sorted out there using a temporary address, not sure though.

I can't remember for sure but I think so. As I said, the people at the consulate held my hand all the way through the process and gave me the right forms to fill in.


It would be a logical approach I agree, but bear in mind that asking local 'urzędnicy' to do anything out of the ordinary causes them to go into meltdown and invent new rules so that they can get rid of you. At least in the Consulate they are used to dealing with these things and I believe everything has to go through Warsaw anyway. My advice would be to make a visit to your nearest consulate and ask them in person.

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.

tried to upload a file, no luck

hi there,
can non-eu member who is married to a poll wiv 1 child take polish citizenship,
after stayin in poland for 3month?

regards
sb

speak to your consulate they will advise ....

Hey everyone.

Well, booked the day off work Thursday and heading to the consulate in London to make my passport application. Got my Polish birth certifcate, confirmation of citizenship, 3 passport photo's and of course the most important - money!..............£85.......steep, but probably worth it. (Just hope it doesn't take a long time)

Cheers for all the advice.

------

Well, finally made it to the consulate in London today. I could have cried when I saw the queue, and even ended up in the visa queue to begin with, which resulted in me having to join the back of the passport queue when I got to the door.....ahhh.......

Took my Polish birth certificate and confirmation of citizenship certificate and 2 photo's. As it was my first passport, I had to fill in 2 passport applications, they made photocopies of the above 2 documents and kept the birth certificate. (still 1 original left)

Then it was over to counter 7 to pay.....£85 lighter and now up to a 4 month wait.....soon come I suppose, at least i won't have to queue when I go to collect my passport.

It saves time if you go to the front of the queue initially to get the application form from the guy on the door and then join the queue and fill it in there ready for when they let you in to see one of the staff at a passport counter.

Anyway, if anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to share my experiences.........

Hi Max8240,

I am just about to put in my passport application myself and I was wondering how long it actually took for the passport to be sent back?

I know they say 4 months, but I am hoping the actual process is alot shorter

Cheers!

Hi

I am a new Polish citizen and planning to go to Poland to issue an ID and a permanant passport. I only have a temporary one and I heard it is quicker and cheaper to apply for the permanent passport in Poland than in the UK.

I also thought that arranging an address in Poland (even if I don't live there), may be beneficial for future rights and conditions as a resident in Poland.

Has anyone have any advice or comments regarding the above. Anybody planning to go to Warsaw at the end of August?

Eddie

You could go through your Polish consulate. My understanding is you have to proof your Polish citizenship before you could get a PESEL. This can all be done through the consulate but does take time

Hi i am polish/American citisens may polish passport expires 4 y agow i wone gat new one now i dont andestood abauth thys pessel do sambary can expline thys to me

Not true, I received my PESEL while living in SA. I was born in Warszawa.

Hi ! I live in Tijuana Mexico at the moment and on christmas the house we lived in burned down along with my I'd passport and stuff... How do I go about gettin something with my name so I have some kind of identety on me !

Go to the Polish Embassy in Mexico City and report your passport/dowód osobisty as destroyed (you may need proof that there was a fire) or lost and get a replacement.