My parents were polish born, I was born in Canada. Is there any advantage to me having a polish citizenship, can it be done and what are the options? I may want to spend some of my retirement time there. Any help is appreciated.
If only one of your parents is Polish born in Poland - you are also a Polish citizen
If only one parent is a Polish citizen then the child's citizenship is not necessarily automatic. That is actually the parents' decision which citizenship the child will have. A child in this situation may, however, apply for the Polish citizenship if he/she is between 16 and 17 years and six months of age. After that, it is all an individual case. Persons whose only one parent has Polish citizenship are treated favorably in respect to their Polish citizenship applications.
Note: don't treat the above as legal advice. Call Polish consulate/embassy to make sure all the details are clear.
How easy is it to obtain a Polish passport if your grandparents were Polish born (parents were Canadian born)?
There is a "citizenship continuity" principle in the Polish law. That means that: if your grandparents (from both the mother and the father side) were Polish born then their children are automatically Polish citizens. If this applies to your situation then you are a Polish citizen.
My son is 21` years old. He was born in Canada. My husband was born in Poland and has a valid Polish passport. I am the mother of ny son and I was born in Canada. Please tell me the necessary steps to obtain a Polish passport for my son. Thank you.
First you have to apply for a certificate about having Polish citizenship. The application has to be submitted in a special department in Poland called urzad wojewodzki.
The Polish laws, or rather how they are interpreted, are quite complex. Basically, if one of your parents was born in Poland (provided they were born as Polish citizens), technically, you already are a Polish citzen. So, what you would be applying for is CONFIRMATION of your Polish citizenship, not Polish citizenship. This is an important distinction. You can also apply if one of your grandparents was born in Poland. Confirmation of PL citizenship can be done via a PL consulate but can also be done in person or through an authorised representative directly in Poland, at the Voivodship Office in Warsaw. You would need to submit evidence of your PL heritage, such as your parent's PL passport, residential address confirmation, military booklet, International Refuge Organisation travel document, school certificates etc, to prove that they have held Polish citizenship. You will also need to submit your birth certificate, copy of passport and documents related to your parent, such as their birth certificate, marriage certificate and a few forms. Note that being born in Poland is no proof of citizenship, which is the case in many other countries also. Everything needs to be translated into Polish. Note that depending on your particular circumstances, your parent's citizenship may also have to be confirmed, especially if you are applying under your grandparent. If you parent/grandparent has ever lived in Poland, this is done at one of the 15 regional centres (Voivodeship Offices) of their last place of residence.
The second part of the procedure is applying for your PL birth certificate (yes, this is done even though you were born overseas), at the Warsaw-Srodmiescie Civil Registry Office. Once you have both, you can apply for your Polish passport.
Some further advice:
1. You need to be sure that you are eligibile before you apply, otherwise you are wasting your time and money. There are several eligibility criteria, including dates of births of your ancestors (as legislation changed over the years in Poland), military service, acquisition of foreign citizenship etc.
2. Check all your vital records (birth certificates) issued by overseas countries for discrepancies, such as Andrew instead of Andrzej, Kowaslki instead of Kowalski etc. This creates major problems in Poland if not corrected at source. Most people of PL descent I have dealt with have discrepancies in their vital records.
3. Be prepared to wait (12 months to up to 3-4 years), particularly if you lodge via a consulate. Best way to do this is to nominate a family member or an authorised person who can make enquiries on your behalf in Poland and respond to any enquiries the VO might have. Delays are mostly caused by discrepancies in vital records, lack of Polish documents, Voivodship Office making their own enquiries at the Institute of National Rememberance (can take months) and incorrect certification of originals submitted at VO.
4. Because the Polish government doesn't actually tell you what you should lodge (the onus of proof is on you), the best way is to submit as many Polish documents as you can find (via family channels and archives).
Polaron does this commercially but we do have a Pro Bono program for those who cannot afford our fees. I am happy to send you an application form, just email me. We take a couple of cases a year, from those that are trully deserving and committed to the process.
"The second part of the procedure is applying for your PL birth certificate (yes, this is done even though you were born overseas), at the Warsaw-Srodmiescie Civil Registry Office. Once you have both, you can apply for your Polish passport."
How does one access the civil registry office from Canada? I'm a Canadian living in Vancouver and I've recently (FINALLY!) received confirmation of my Polish citizenship.
I called the consulate here in Vancouver to ask what to do next, and was told I need to register my birth certificate prior to applying for my passport, but was not given information on how to do this--just referred to the embassy website for Canadians.
I've been searching the website looking for info on how to register, but all I've found is the following:
Passports are issued based on Polish civil registration documents exclusively. It means that holders of birth or marriage certificates issued by a foreign registrar's office, for example, a Canadian one, should register this certificate in the Polish registrar's office and obtain a Polish document (an information about registering civil registration documents is available on the website).
If there's actually information on the website I'm using, I can't locate it. (Nor do I read Polish.)
What is the best way to apply to the civil registry office? I would think for a fee, I would be able to do this through the consulate but this was not suggested to me when I last called the consulate.
If you have already obtained the official confirmation of your Polish citizenship, then you should apply to the Municipal Office in Warsaw for a Polish identity card and for the Pesel number. You must have your Canadian birth certificate which will be translated into Polish and registered in the office in poland. Only after you receive your Polish ID card and pesel number, will you be able to apply for a passport. If you have any other specific questions about Polish law, you can write to us - law.firm@ prokonto .pl and we shall try to answer your questions.
However you will probably have to come to Poland personally to take your Polish id card because they usually don't give it away to anyone except for its holder.
Hi, if i have my baby in poland, provided that neither I or or husband are polish citizens, nor our grand-parents, can our baby have a polish citizen ship??
Thanks for the replies. I picked up my passport last Wednesday!
Easier than suggested above... I applied for my PESL through the Polish consulate in Vancouver, waiting a few months for it to come through, and then applied for my passport. In less than 3 months, my passport arrived! Much easier than first thought and no greasing of palms required. ;-)
First look into when your parents were born, emmigrated to Canada and when you were born. Then you will have to verify some facts in regards to the 1920, 1951, and 1962 citizenship acts and how each will apply to your parents and then you. This also can apply for you as well lsoltys.
On the website known as 'Poland Experience' there is a forum under Immigration to Poland where there is an ongoing discussion on how to obtain Polish citizenship. There is 3 parts to that discussion. In the 1st pt on page 5 is a posting by Naive Poland who mentions all the various documents you may or will need to have and prove connection to Poland in regards to obtaining citizenship.
Good luck with that. I have been trying for FIVE years to get Citizenship. I have my Mother and Fathers POLISH BIRTH RECORDS. My Father changed his name right after the war while in a DP camp in Wildflecken and the Polish authorities want LEGAL proof which is not possible. THEN they told me I can't apply via my Mother as she married before 19.1.1951 (???) and first I have to prove my Father is Polish before they will consider HER Polish. I think they make this stuff up as they go along. I have spent five years and a couple thousand dollars trying to do this, no luck.
I am trying to get my confirmation of citizenship. Is that what you mean by PESL? What documents did you need to submit? I am trying to go through my Grandfather who was born in Poland and came to Canada during WW2. The embassy in Toronto wasn't particularly helpful when I called. My parent and I are Canadian.
Poland is part of the EU, right? Is it possible to be canadian, have polish citizenship through grandparents, but live and work in another EU country like France? Would you have to pay taxes in both poland and france (as well as canada) or just france because that is where you are working? I know, confusing question, but I would like to know.
Is it possible to be canadian, have polish citizenship through grandparents, but live and work in another EU country like France?
Yes you can work in France because you are a Polish citizen. No you would not pay tax in Poland because you are not a resident of Poland, you would pay tax only in France.
Where does one go in Warsaw to change the birth name on a Polish birth certificate? I left Poland for France at the end of WW11 and my Polish christian nanme was changed from Henryk to Henri Andre - not officially registered - no-one thought it was important. I have lived with this christian name ever since but now to get a Polish passport I need to register a name change in Poland. But where?
Hi there, what was your situation when you applied? If it was similar to mine I'd love to know!! All 4 of my grandparents are Polish but my parents are Canadian as am I.
[Moved from]: Can I apply for my Polish Citizenship outside of Canada?
I'm a Canadian and Polish citizen, but my Polish passport is expired. I'm traveling to Europe soon, can I apply for my Polish Passport outside of Canada?
Since you are travelling to Europe you might as well apply in Poland. Your Canadian passport will get you visa and hassle free entry to every country in Schengen zone including Poland.
I'm half Polish, half Ukrainian and I was born in Canada. My mom is Polish, however I am not sure if she had a "Polish passport" at the time of my birth.
Would I still be eligible to get Polish citizenship?
