BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Polish Culture Polish Beauracracy and Stupid Laws

I've come to the conclusion that trying to obtain a Polish passport in Poland is nothing short of impossible. It is full of catch 22's.

First, I'm told that I need a translated and notarized birth certificate and a power of attorney paper from the Polish consulate that lets me go through this whole process and get a passport since I am under the age of 18.

Second, I meet the director of the Passport office in the Jaslo city hall. Well you'll need those papers, but first you have to have your birth certificate entered into the city record, then you have to establish a place of residence, then you have to get a "Dowod Osobisty" (Personal I.D. which is only for people 18+ in Poland), and then you can obtain your passport.

Thirdly, I go to the city hall to have all this done. "I'm sorry, but you have to have a place of residence before you can enter the birth certificate into the city records." "You can't have a place of residence because you never lived in Poland and you're a foreigner." So finally the lady in the office tells me that I have to get a temporary place of residence, then send my birth certificate to Warszawa to be translated and entered into the records their, then go to some Provincial building in Rzeszow where I can become a citizen, and then eventually get a passport. She sends me down to the office where I can get a temporary place of residence and the biggest catch 22 happens. "You can't have a place of residence without having your birth certificate in the records." (This was after the first lady said I had to have a place of residence first.) So finally the situation was explained to her and I got the card. Then I come back to my aunt's house and tell her she needs to go with me to city hall to sign a paper that says she will allow me to reside at her residence. Thing is, she needs the deed to the house as proff, but everything is in her deceased husband's name. Largest roadblock of them all.

Finally, I've come to conclusion that Polish Beauracracy is completely worthless (nothing new in that.). I've decided to drop the struggle in Poland, then continue it in the U.S. through the consulate, which seems to be much easier because I don't have to meet any of those stupid requirements.

Oh yeah, that discussion about the law that says "If your parent or grand parent came from Poland, you automatically have citizenship," is a lie. The only way that is possible is if your parents up to the 3rd month of your life make it known formally that you will have dual citizenship.

Maybe it is easier to receive a Polish passport here in the USA? I have my daughter written to my Polish passport in spite of the fact that she was born in Maryland! I just needed her birth certificate and she is automatically considered Polish because she is my child.

It may be that Polish officiels have no idea how to give passport to anybody who lives abroad. Here in the Washington embassy this was quite simple.

From what I know, it "is" easier. You just fill out a bunch of forms, send them some money, and within a few months you have a passport. By then you're considered a citizen, can obtain a place of residence, and do all that other stuff.

Jaga, she is Polish because she is your child. That doesn't mean she's a Polish citizen (sadly), unless you announced that she'll have dual citizenship.

It's a joke because person A tells you to see person B with said paperwork. When speaking with person B, they say that person A was wrong and that you need to go back to them.

Hussar, it's the same in Russia. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> You can wait in ten different queues to get something done, and each of the ten people will tell you something that 100% contradicts the other nine people. Eventually, you just get so tired and frustrated that you yell loud enough at someone, and then magically everything happens the right way.

Even more puzzling, you can be sitting in one office with one desk and one official, and he will even contradict himself a million different times. Best thing to do here - cut down a whole forest's worth of paper, have everything filled out 50 million times, bring along a bottle of vodka, and you'll eventually be taken care of. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Haha Eric! Sometimes things have to be handled that way, but you forget about the whole forest worth of paper is also all the money from your wallet that pays for the filled out paper each time. After this experience, I no longer have any doubts why some people don't return to the country or why their kids know nothing about it.

Hussar...lily here

Enjoy the pierogi in Joslo - the best in the world!

lily

Lily, where are these pierogi in Jaslo which you consider the best in the world? I remember you mentioning a hotel or something near a hotel. I'd love to try them.

Hussar,

I am not sure I was clear. It is just that the Polish embassy and Polish consulates in the USA are dealing with people who live in the USA but have Polish citizenship on a daily basis.

My daughter is considered Polish since she was born to the Polish citizen (me) and I did not revoke her citienship until she was 3 months old. If I would try to revoke her citizenship now it would cost me 5 thousands dollars as far as I remember.

I had to renew my Polish passport, I was also changing my name since I got married here. It was not all that very simple here in the embassy because they did not considered my marriage papers from Texas as bounding documents. I am not sure what was missing there but we had to call the civil office somewhere in Texas so that they would deliver more proof that we got married.
Still, there was not a big deal to add my daughter to my passport, we needed only her birth certificate.

Ahhhh.... I see what you mean. So hopefully my process won't entail such dumb things.

It probably cost much more to obtain a Polish passport in the USA as compared to Poland but it is worth not to lose your time to deal with the clerks in Poland