Polish Citizen, US legal resident, but no Polish Passport...

Maybe they offered this to people whose addressed seemed far from the PL embassy. Since I was a drive a way, they made me come back to get it.

Krakowianka is right, except they might mail the passport, it depends how far you live from the consulate. I was dealing with the one in Los Angeles, and yes, same scenario, no answer on phone, mailboxes full, no response to fax, email address failed... so I had to go there, bring birth certificate. You will need to have a Pesel#. If you don't have one, then you will need to apply for it. If you've been in US for a while and are a US citizen, your Polish citizenship must also be verified. Go to the consulate and they will tell you what to do. I paid $116 for the pesel and passport application. Plus about $12 for passport photos. They told me it would take 4-6 months.

Are you sure you're using the right addresses? These are liable to change with no notification. Call/write other consulates in the US and they might light a fire under the Chicago office or give you up to date info.

ha ha ha, this is the funnies thing i've read on this site so far! The Polish Consulate in Chicago is the biggest bunch of lazy people I've ever seen. There is only 1 lady at the window to serve the hundreds in line. But there are like 4-5 "office people" standing around in the back sipping coffee, telling jokes, and wasting time. Could they perhaps open another window & start helping??? NOOOO, that would be productive. For those that are familiar with how bereaucracy works in PL, can multiply that and know what goes on in Chicago. They feel there is no one here to "control" them, like there would in Poland.

The only way to get info or file or do anything useful, is to go to a Consulate. Waiting to get a response over the phone will only delay your process.

FYI - Chicago consulate does not take pictures, you have to have them with you. I saw (while waiting in line) they turned away most people's passport pictures. There is a difference between polish & US passport pictures, but even those matching PL requirements were turned away, because the lighting was too bright, or some other lame excuse. Needless to say, some pretty ticked off people (after waiting 2-3hrs in line) left to go re-take pics.

IN CHICAGO THE POLISH CONSULATE WILL NOT HELP YOU!!!

Wow.. so much misinformation...

You have a green card which means that you can travel back and forth on a Polish passport. It's that easy!

I just got my Polish passport, I've left Poland before I turned 18, so I don't have my Polish ID #... no problem.

It's quite simple actually. Just go straight to the Polish council, ask for a passport form and a form for your Polish ID #

It takes just few weeks to obtain your Polish passport. If you are in a hurry, you have the option to request a temporary passport.

I believe it is you who are providing inaccurate info!

The OP does not have a valid passport, and hence her question on how to obtain one. You need a passport to travel, period.


It is a lot more complicated than you state. You need more than just a "form" to get your passport renewed, perhaps you should take a look at the requirements. The process to get a new passport, while living in the US, takes 6months. It takes up to a month, if filing in Poland, which does not apply to the OP.

Can anyone help me?

I was born in Germany to Polish parents. I have a polish passport that expired about two yrs ago. I also have a green card that is valid until 2012, and will not be applying for US citizenship until then. I live in central FL, not at all close to Chicago, and would like to plan a trip to Europe for this summer.

Will I be able to get a PESEL#? -with a COPY of a German birth cert

Also, do I blindly plan a trip to Miami in order to renew it in person? -my understanding from the embassy's website is that the reps move from location to location in FL.

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated!

I went to dot gov and printed out forms to renew my passport last august. Cost of photos was $13.00 for three (2 must be sent with form) and mailed out a check for 75.00 and in a few weeks recieved it back with old passport. All this info at dot gov and can be done through the mail. I was told it would take forever because they are back logged. Not true so don't believe all this mis information. The only way to find out for sure is to go directly to the source as each case is different.

Sunshine, you are talking about the US Passport, when this whole thread is about the Polish passport.


Didn't you get the Pesel when you applied for a Polish passport?
From the PL consulate site:



You do not belong under the jurisdiction for the Chicago consulate. You must go to the one in Washington DC.

NEW YORK:
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

LOS ANGELES:
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

CHICAGO:
Arkansas, Illinois, Indian, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin

WASHINGTON, DC:
Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland

[quote=Krakowianka]
Didn't you get the Pesel when you applied for a Polish passport?

I was a minor, so my parents applied. Also I found my old passport and found that it had expired in '03. So, maybe that was not a requirement in '93?

And is the PESEL in the passport?

Another point I should make is that, when I received my first passport I lived in MI and it was issued by the Consulate in Chicago-the passport even has a stamp from there.

Good luck with this! My friend applied for his Polish passport from within the US over two years ago. The latest call to the Polish Consulate resulted in being told the passport had in fact been delivered to his address and if he didn't receive it, he needed to reapply!!!


The Polish Consulate travels to Tampa during the year. Call their office and someone can tell you when they will be there and you can apply (I hope you have better luck than my friend).

My polish passport expired a decade ago or longer. I think of renewing it, I don't know exactly why (yet), but I wonder if it will be costly and not to hard to do. I need to make that phone call to a polish travel agency...

Yes.

If it wasn't on previous versions, it is now. If you have never had a Pesel #, then they'll initiate the process for you while you do the passport renewal (this is the part that causes delays).


Either your friend had missing paperwork, or something odd. The normal wait time should not exceed around 6 months. Also the passport is sent certified mail. They wouldn't want lost passports floating around the US.

He had to retake his pictures, but he has been told it was delivered over two months ago and they gave him a tracking number for the package. When he calls with the tracking number, he is told the number doesn't exist. Yes, there is something going on; however, trying to get a straight answer has been impossible. He has decided to wait until he has US citizenship and just get a US passport, but it has been a frustrating process to try to help him through.

Try reading this article and contacting the person with the email at the end of the page.

[quote][Krakowianka:/quote] Gee I haven't been addressed as Sunshine in ages. I didn't like it then and don't now either. What should I call you Wise-a-$-$ ?

not really, i just had to show them my expired passport and fill out 2 forms and plunk down couple of hundred $. that was it. quick and pretty easy.


US passport, i am guessing.. polish one, you have to go to the ambassy or consulate in person.


i sure didn't. still don't have it but i do have my passport. they gave me some other number but it is NOT pesel.

[quote=rdywenur]Try reading this article and contacting the person with the email at the end of the page.


there is no need for you to be a C**t here.

For all my dual-citizen friends (US-Polish),

Officially, from the time you enter Poland, and have Polish citizenship, Poland will only recognize your Polish citizenship. What this means (among others):

a) they are allowed not to inform US Embassy when they arrest you, you are allowed to contact the Embassy on general terms only (thus you are using your phone-call quota or whatever, never been in this situation).

But!, most importantly:

b) They MIGHT not let you leave Poland on a valid US passport. They will let you enter, but they will not let you leave, until you get a valid Polish passport. If their system shows them you are a Polish citizen, it will all depend on the border policeman's good will from then on, however, they might deny your request to leave Poland.

Caveat emptor.

PS. Just go to another Schengen country and depart from there... But you did not hear it from me.

Tamm, I just traveled last spring on US passport, a perfect example of polish citizen (name and all). France, Poland, Germany..nobody asked for a polish passport. What are you talking about?

hmmm....

After DoS:

travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1000.html


Thus, if you leave the Schengen area in Poland (thus encounter Polish border police) you might get into trouble. Examples: all Schengen flights from Polish airports to non-Schengen countries, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia border crossings.

In theory they might also check your travel documents when crossing intraschengen border while exiting Poland and harass you then - but probability of that happening is I think extremely small.

However: they must have you in the PESEL database (probably), a "Polish" name won't do - they cannot just claim you are a Polish citizen based just on your name.

This is old and I didn't read it all, so apologies if I'm off point.

The original poster is a green card holder without a US passport (and can't get one - he is not a US citizen). He needs to have a Polish passport to be admitted anywhere but the USA. He can enter the US using his green card only.

If one is a dual national and a US citizen he must enter or leave the US on a US passport. I believe Poland has the same rules for it's citizen so a dual US - Polish citizen MUST have BOTH passports to travel to Poland, but only a US passport to go elsewhere. He leaves the US on his US passports, enters and leaves Poland on his Polish passport, and returns to the US on his US passport.

hello looking for help please with regards to getting a polish passort- i am already a us citizen but want to obtaina polish passport for retirement purposes - once a member of solidarity with few years of service in prison.. I was told that in order to get a polish passport I need to get PESEL number but Where?? polish consulate in washigton DC is useless- not sure what to do- can anyone help?

I got my passport even before the solidarity movement and I got my EU passport last year with a PESEL number in it! I have no idea how it was done, but I gave them the old passport, filled out a short form, pictures, paid some fees and Voilà! Got my new passport two month later. Take your old passport to the Polish consulate and let them worry about the PESEL.

you have to have your PESEL when filling the form...

Curious. If you were a member of Solidarity, then you were in Poland in 1980 at the earliest. Everyone was issued a PESEL in 1979 or so, so the internet says.

I most certainly did not fill out any PESEL form.
Delphia's answer makes sense. It would explain that my first, old passport had it assigned already without me even knowing it. So, asia_august's passport has to have it too and the clerks in the consulate in Wash DC should know what to do. I'm glad the consulate in Chicago knew.. :)

not a PESEL form.... you have to put the PESEL to the passport application, don't you?

dear pgtx, I did not know what PESEL was or if it existed until last fall. As I said, all I had was my old passport and some short passport renewal form. If it asked me for a number, I would not put it there because I did not know the number. They figured it out...Geez, I'm glad that you weren't the clerk who accepted my application! lol.

i'm also glad.... ;)

my son is 1month born in poland my wife is polish and am african, we want to visit france for 2 days , can we fly with our 1 month old baby to france without passport or what documents do we need to fly him, also can the mother put his name on her passport to fly to france ?