Marriage certificate required for Polish passport (I'm a Polish-American)

Hi,
I was hoping if someone here might know the answer to this question. I am a Polish American (male) born in the United States to a Polish father and American mother. With the help of my family in Warsaw, I recently obtained my confirmation of citizenship and Polish registered birth certificate. I would like to apply for a passport and PESEL (at the New York consulate) but was told that because I am married, that I would need to also present a Polish registered marriage certificate. This makes no sense to me. My American wife changed her last name to mine, but mine has not changed, it is exactly the same now as it is on my Polish birth certificate. Why would I need to do this? If I were simply to go to the consulate and not mention that I am married, would this be a problem for me later or for my children?

Any advice here would be welcomed greatly! Thanks!

I'm surprised, you're looking for help on PF. This is not exactly a site to get serious answers from people (especially in this particular case) but good luck anyway.

Actually, considering the bureaucratic chaos in Polish offices and consulates, PF may be a good place to meet others who already have braved the system. Localization of the birth certificate (as ledski did) should not even be the proper path any more, because it has been replaced by obtaining the so called apostille that makes foreign documents valid in Poland. The governing law (the Hague convention) went into effect in 2005, but bureaucrats don't seem to care. Law is law, bureaucratic practice is bureaucratic practice. I am at the beginning of the process (getting a passport for my daughter), so I cannot share more experiences.

Does anyone else on the forum have experience with this? Thanks!

I don't have personal experience of this particular situation but I've had plenty dealing with Polish red tape. As far as I know there is no requirement for a non-Polish resident Polish citizen to show a Polish registered marriage certificate but that doesn't mean there is no requirement. You could speak to a lawyer about this but your best bet is to simply write to the consul and ask for the legal basis on which they request a Polish registered marriage certificate before they will give a Polish citizen a Polish passport. By legal basis, I mean the name of the act and the relevant sections. That might just produce a reply along the lines of 'Sorry! We misunderstood what you wanted. There is no need for a Polish registered marriage certificate.' But if they do reply giving chapter and verse, just reply asking them how you register your US marriage certificate with them.

If they're asking for it - they're asking for it. It might not be legal, or correct - but it's usually just much easier to give them what they want.

But as Harry wisely says - ask for the legal basis on which they base the request. Everything (if legal) has a basis in law - they cannot ask for something imaginary. However, if they're asking for it (and they will have plenty of experience with such people) - then it suggests that there may indeed be a legal requirement for you to obtain a Polish marriage certificate.

I wonder how you'd obtain such a thing, however...

These are the legal basis: Ustawa z dnia 29 września 1986 r. o aktach stanu cywilnego

By law all Polish citizens must have their marriage registered in Poland. If a Polish citizen doesn't have a permanent address in Poland (never lived in Poland) she/he must register the marriage in Urząd Stanu Cywilnego Warszawa-Śródmiecie. You don't have to do it in person. Familly member or friend can do it for you.

And God forbid, if you ever divorce your wife, you will have to get divorced in Poland too or legally you will still be married in Poland Speaking from experience, I inherited some land in Poland. I had to find my ex, who I divorced in Canada 13 years earlier and beg him to sign some legal papers. He was surprisingly kind enough not to ask for a half of my inheritance but legally he could

To clarify, you don't need to get married in Poland, you need to register/report your marriage to obtain a marriage certificate, the same way you would register a birth of a child to get a birth certificate.

But because you don't have PESEL yet, I suggest you do it through the nearest Polish Consulate. It will take a bit longer and cost much more money.

Might as well register the marriage similarly to registering your birth etc. It will make it easier if you want to get passports for your children. Just watch parking around the consulate, tow squads looking for out of towners. Park in a garage...

Thanks to all of those who posted answers above. I am registering my American marriage certificate in Warsaw and will just have to wait until that process is finished to apply for a passport. It probably will be good to have anyway.