Certificate of confirmation of Polish Citizenship or loss of Polish Citizenship
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS:
Citizens over 18 years old, who were born of Polish parent(s) outside of Poland and/or have never possessed any documents proving their Polish nationality (e.g. a Polish passport or ID), must obtain an official certificate confirming their Polish citizenship or its loss. The Citizenship Sections of the Provincial Governor Offices in Poland are entitled to give legally binding decisions confirming Polish citizenship or its loss. Only having received such a certificate, the citizen is allowed to apply for the Polish passport at the consulate.

PROCEDURE:
Confirmation of Polish citizenship or its loss is granted by a Provincial Governor (Wojewoda). An applicant residing outside of Poland submits an application through the Consulate of Poland in the office closest to the applicant's legal permanent residence. Submitted documents are verified by the Consulate and transferred to the respective Citizenship Section of the Provincial Governor Office in Poland, which is determined on the basis of the applicant’s last residence in Poland. Provincial Governor Office of the Region of Mazowsze in Warsaw is the only Citizenship Section to issue confirmation certificates on applicants who have never resided in Poland.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

ATTENTION: All documents submitted before Polish authorities need to be either Polish or translated into Polish. Each translation has to be certified by a consul. Plain photocopies of documents are not accepted by Polish authorities, therefore, each copy of a Polish document needs to be certified by a consul (not an American public nottary!) and each copy of a foreign document needs to bear the “apostille” seal of authentication!

Each applicant over the age of 18 submits the following documentation:

1. An application form - a request to a Provincial Governor (Wojewoda) for confirmation of citizenship (form No 1)
2. A meticulously filled personal questionnaire (form No 2)
3. A statement declaring whether the applicant had ever officially renounced his/her Polish citizenship before or after immigrating to the US (form No 3)
4. A curriculum vitae (resume, short biography), signed by the applicant, containing the following information: place and date of birth; names and a surname as stated in birth certificate; parents’ names; marital status; learned and practiced profession; position held; the last place of stay in Poland (with an accurate address); the date of leaving Poland; information about documents on the basis of which the applicant departed from Poland; a date and a place of a marriage ceremony; personal details concerning spouse and children; countries of previous residence before coming to the United States; any other information proving ties with Poland; names and a surname changes; information about the applicant’s military service.
5. Copies of documents proving all facts asserted in a resume, including, but not limited to:
- A certified copy of birth certificate,
- A certified copy of marriage certificate or any other document certifying applicant’s marital status,
- A (copy of) previously held Polish passport,
- Any documents proving Polish citizenship of the applicant’s parents,
- Any military documents belonging to the applicant.
6. A copy of a Polish passport or a “travel document” which the applicant departured Poland with (if applicable) and arrived in the USA (for applicants born in the US: - their parents' documents). If the applicant does not possess such documents, he/she is obliged to inform about this fact in writing.
7. A certified copy of a presently held valid passport.
8. Documents proving any legal changes to a name, if such were made since the departure from Poland.
9. A document proving US citizenship (a certified copy of a naturalization certificate and/or a passport).
10. 1 passport photo.

CONSULAR FEES:
All payments should be made either in cash or Money Order paid to the "Consulate of Poland."
• Application fee - $432
• Consular certification of translation into Polish - $34 per page
• Consular certification of the photocopies of Polish documents - $34 – per document

PROCESSING TIME:
Processing times runs from the moment of submission of the complete application to one of the Provincial Governor Offices (Wojewoda) in Poland. The processing time varies from one Provincial Governor Office to another and depends on the complexity of the particular case.

Notes:
• All forms and declarations should be filled in the Polish language and contain a date, place of their submission, and the applicant’s signature.
• All documents in foreign languages should be translated into Polish and are subject to authentication in the Consulate General of Poland in New York.
• Documents submitted to the Consulate will not be returned and cannot be used for any other purposes.
• Consular fees are paid on initiation of the procedure. Regardless of the result of the whole procedure, fees are not returned.
• If both spouses apply for the confirmation of Polish citizenship, each of them fills in a separate application, writes his/her own resume, and encloses all documents separately.
• During the processing of the case Consulate may require some additional documents.
• Procedure will be initiated (all merits and documents of the case considered) only after submission of complete documentation. If the applicant is unable to prepare all documentation properly (e.g. does not speak the language or does not know how to obtain all documents) she/he may require legal assistance of a professional lawyer.