What Documents Do I Need for Polish Citizenship By Descent?
LIST OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR DUAL CITIZENSHIP WITH POLAND
For most people, figuring out the exact documents you need and tracking them down is one of the hardest parts of becoming a citizen in Poland.
In large part, that’s because there isn’t an official list of documents you actually need. The list is specific to the circumstances of your case. That’s why so many people rely on experts to help. But below, we’ve gathered a lot of helpful info for you when asking the question “What documents do I need for Polish citizenship by descent?”.
For more information on Polish Citizenship by Descent in general, check out our full page here.
Documents Needed for Polish Citizenship
The list below shows you the documents needed for Polish citizenship by descent.
- Your Birth Certificate
- Your ancestor’s Birth Certificate
- Any Marriage Certificates if you need to show name changes
- Proof of Citizenship for your ancestor:
- Polish passport
- Karta Rejestracyjna Reemigracyjna (Re-emigration Registration Card)
- Polish ID Cards
- Karta Meldunkowa (Registration Card)
- Książeczka Wojskowa (Military Book)
- If you don’t have proof of citizenship for your ancestor, you will need supporting evidence:
- Official translations of any documents not in Polish
- Receipts showing you paid all application and administrative fees in full
I need to translate a document into Polish, how do I do that?
If you do end up needing to translate documents, that’s okay. It isn’t very difficult, but you do need to follow these steps:
- Gather all documents you need translated
- If the document is from a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, you do not need to translate them. You can get an apostille—a certification that allows you to easily use documents between countries. You get an apostille from the Secretary of State’s office or Notary commissioning agency in the country of origin. Sometimes, you’ll still need a translation, though.
- Get the document authenticated in the country of origin
- If you don’t have an apostille, get the document legalized through the Polish consulate or embassy in the country of origin
- Use a sworn translator (certified by Polish authorities) to translate the document into Polish
- Submit both the authenticated document and its translation (or apostille) to the voivodeship governor
- Wait for it to be legalized one final time
Are there any special documents required for Polish Dual citizenship?
Luckily, there are no special documents you need for dual citizenship, because Poland allows dual citizenship.
Get Help Finding the Right Documents
Knowing the documents needed for Polish citizenship is half the battle. Getting them in front of the right agencies, in the right order, and all on time is a different story.
We help people become citizens of Poland every day. No matter the challenges you face or what the individual circumstances are, we are here for you when you are trying to determine the documents required for Polish dual citizenship.
So reach out for a FREE consultation call. We’ll go through what documents you have, what documents you need, and what your next steps are.
This page was last updated by Marco Permunian
