Ask Prof. Adamski
Polaron's Blog
Prof. Adamski – An expert on Polish Citizenship and Passports
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About...
Prof. Adamski knows everything there is to know about EU passports, family research and PL citizenship.
Born and bread in Poland, he is old enough to remember General Jaruzelski and the First Secretary Gierek. He remembers the empty shelves at supermarkets and mile long queues in early 1980s. He has seen it all and understands how to deal with bureaucrats of all persuasions.
Prof. Adamski can hold your hand during the long months of waiting for your EU citizenship confirmation. He is that kind of a guy. Direct but caring and very, very clever. Beware of his sharp wit and barbed comments, delivered with icy precision. He does tell it like it is!
So. What are you waiting for? Ask Prof. Adamski now! If not, go back to where you came from: www.polaron.com.au.
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Please respond to last question….
1. Rubes – 09/06/2011
Hi Prof.
My Grandmother was born in Poland in 1908. Did the laws at that time allow for citizenship to pass from females? Would I be eligible through her?
Reply
Polaron – 09/09/2011
It really depends whether she married, and if so, what year… Could you let us know?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Reply
Rubes – 09/09/2011
Thanks Prof.
My Grandmother married in Palestine in 1935. My grandfather was also Polish but that may be harder to prove, hence my question.
Hi Prof.
My Grandmother was born in Poland in 1908. Did the laws at that time allow for citizenship to pass from females? Would I be eligible through her?
It really depends whether she married, and if so, what year… Could you let us know?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thanks Prof.
My Grandmother married in Palestine in 1935. My grandfather was also Polish but that may be harder to prove, hence my question.
My Grandmother married in Palestine in 1935. My grandfather was also Polish but that may be harder to prove, hence my question.
Hi Prof.
My Grandmother was born in Poland in 1908. Did the laws at that time allow for citizenship to pass from females? Would I be eligible through her?
Dear Prof. Adamski,
My grandparents were both born in Poland and were Polish citizens. My grandmother was born 1908 in Lodz and my grandfather was born 1909 in Sieradz. My grandparents were married in Belgium in 1936 of which we have an official Belgium Marriage Certificate which states their places of birth in Poland, as well as their childrens place of birth which includes my father who was born in Brussels, Belgium. They did not apply for Belgium citizenship so were always Polish citizens.
My grandparents both immigrated to Australia in 1937 before the war started and both became Australian citizens in 1942. We have obtained through the official Australian Archives in Canberra a copy of my grandfathers Polish passport. For my grandmother we only received a copy of her Australian naturalisation papers which show her nationality as Polish. If required we could possibly apply for her Polish passport as well. They were both Jewish and they moved because of their fear of persecution. I heard if you claimed for another citizenship before 1951 you had to renounce your Polish citizenship?
Can I or my father be able to claim polish citizenship based on the above details?
For my father the Belgium embassy said as his father never became a Belgium citizen he has no rights to Belgium citizenship even though he was born in Belgium.
Based on what i provided above, what official documents would we need if any to possibly obtain polish citizenship if we have a claim? I appreciate any help in ascertaining our ability to obtain Polish passports. Thank you in advance.
Hello David,
It does sound like you may be eligible! Provided your grandfather was of conscription age when acquiring Australian citizenship, it should be fine. All depends on what sort of documentation you have…
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Prof. Adamski,
I am an Australian citizen by birth and I am very interested in Polish citizenship. Both my grandparents were born in Warsaw, my grandfather came here by boat in 1950 after WW11. I have his polish passport from when he arrived in Australia in 1950 confirming his place of birth and year. He obtained Australian citizenship in the 60s (which I also have documentation of). Upon reading your responses to other posts I am fully aware the process of citizenship is time consuming and costly, however I am passionate about regaining my heritage and would love to live in my grandfathers place of birth in the future. Do I have any chance of obtaining citizenship although my grandfather became an Australian citizen, and also because my father was born in Australia not Poland? Any help whatsoever would be appreciated.
Dear Prof, Adamski,
I have since acquired more information. My grandfather was born on 10th of February 1932 in Lodz. He came by boat to Australia when he was 17 (1949). I have his birth certificarte, baptism and passport. I have a document stating he was given permission to permanently stay in Australia in 1951. He was then naturalized in 1961 and I have his citizenship papers to confirm this. I have read information pertaining to The Polish Citizenship Act of 1920, and I am seeking some clarification in particular in relation to te following excerpt ”
Regarding Loss of Nationality:
1. A Polish citizen loses his/her Polish nationality, if he/she obtains foreign citizenship. There is a special exception to this rule for men. Men aged 18-50 were eligible for active military service and could only acquire foreign nationality after obtaining permission from the Minister of Military Affairs. Men who did not obtain permission are still considered Polish citizens by the Polish Government”. Now my grandfather migrated between 1920-1951, however he did not obtain citizenship until 1961, furthermore he was between the ages of compulsory military service and he definitely didn’t serve in any army. Would you be kind enough to help me with my enquiries? If you need more information I have a wealth of documents, just unsure which ones are useful and which are not. Thanks in advance for your assistance
Sarah
Sarah, it sounds like your grandfather was definitely covered by the military conscription legislation in Poland, and the passage you are quotting is most certainly correct in every detail. The conscription age varied between 17-50 and 17-60 at various times, and there were also specific provisions for war times.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hello Sarah,
Your case – given you have your grandfather’s Polish passport – is actually easier than many of our other clients! The place of birth of your father and yourself are irrelevant and on the face of it, you would be eligible. The key to the process is to be able to prove your Polish ancestry by submitting relevant documentation to the Polish government, and having Polish documents is essential. Sarah, please feel free to email us further information or questions, or call us on 1300 88 55 61. You can ask for Eva or Siska.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Prof
My father was Chuna Moszek Weincier (formerly Wajncygier) born in Laskavzew, Poland on the 23rd May 1906. His father’s name was Yitzchak Meyer Wajncygier (or Wajncyger). Chuna Moszek arrived in Cape Town in 1929. He received his nationalisation certificate in April 1950. Am I eligible for a Polish passport as well as my children and grandchildren?
Dear Esther,
You may be eligible, but it would all depend on what documents you have in your posession to prove your ancestry. Do you have any Polish documents at all?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Professor Adamski,
Thank you so much for generously donating your time to help us with
these confusing issues!
My situation:
Great-Grandparents
Immigrated from Sambir in 1913 to the USA.
Great Grandmother
Born approximately 1890
Arrived in USA 1913 – sailed from Hamburg.
Listed Sambir as last place of residency.
I believe I saw her listed on a US census somewhere as born in Poland
but these were decades later.
Relatives living there: Father and Grand Father.
Listed on ship manifest as Austrian with Polish nationality.
Spoke fluent Polish.
Had 2 children with her when she arrived (ages approx 5 and 1 year
old).
Was apparantly pregnant on the ship with my grandfather.
His birth is listed just a few days after she arrived as born in
Rochester, NY. I don’t know if he was really born on the ship or not
but he had Amerian citizenship.
Great Grandfather
Born a few years before great grandmother but not sure of exact date – possibly around 1883.
Having trouble locating his ships manifest but he apparantly sailed a
few months before she came to the USA.
Spoke fluent Polish.
Now here is where it gets trickier. He apparantly died within 3 years
of arriving. We have little info on him so I don’t know if he ever
got US citizenship. Death approximately 1915. On the single death
notice in a log book of miners deaths it listed him as Austro
Hungarian.
She got remarried in 1918 to another foreigner. I do not know if he
was a citizen or if or when they got citizenship.
So what are the chances of getting Polish citizenship or being
recognized as a Polish national?
On a side note, I don’t know if you answer questions relating to the
history of the region but I was wondering about the climate of the
area just prior to 1913. What would motivate them to immigrate? I
know there were economic reasons but were people expecting WW1 to
break out?
Regards and thank you again,
Jennifer
Dear Jennifer,
Prior to 1917, the Polish state didn’t exist for 123 years and the area your family comes from appears to have been under the Austro-Hungarian Empire rule. Many Poles immigrated to the US at that time, seeking better lives. In terms of political climate, Poles of that era were very patriotic and have staged a number of unsuccessful uprisings, in the hope of re-establishing the Polish state but it wasn’t until after WW1 ended that this happened, under General Pilsudski’s command.
Your family history – not unusually of course – is quite complex and unless you have a lot of Polish documents, I’d say it would be very difficult to prove your lineage and Polish citizenship. A lot more research would have to be done and you can do a lot of it yourself through the US archives, to start with. Please let me know if you need more information on how to go about it. Archives in Poland are rather fragmented and difficult to get information out of, so it’s just a bit of a hit and miss scenario. Again, we could try to write to the cities your family originates from and check.
Apologies for the delay in replying to you, Jennifer. Your post got junked for some reason.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thank you for the information. I am doing ok on the US end of the archives but I have reached the point that I do need to contact the Polish archives.
I am curious about their citizenship in the Austro-Hungarian empire. If they were from Sambir (modern day Ukraine) prior to the establishment of the Polish state, would they still have any Polish citizenship? Does Poland recognize Poles that lived in this circumstance? Or would Poland’s view be that they were citizens of A-H, and therefore not eligible as citizens of Poland?
Regards,
Jennifer
Hello Prof.
My grandfather was born in Poland in 1920. Out of his family only he and 2 brothers made it out of WW2 alive, although they have all passed away now and details and documents are hard to come by.
He crossed the borders into Russia where he met my grandmother during the war. After the war was over he returned to Poland to search for remaining family and property, only to find his property had been taken over by Poles.
He and my grandmother went to Germany, where my grandmother gave birth to my uncle in a US zone. We have documentation from there.
They found out there was some family in what was then Palestine, so they left for Palestine in 1947/48. They became citizens there and i have documentation and palestinian passport looking travel papers.
At around 1953 they made their way to Australia with 2 brothers my grandfather located. My uncle isnt sure, but he thinks that they came to Australia as Israeli citizens, not Polish. We have documents of the ship tickets.
There is only one polish document we found and my friend thinks it looks like a land ownership form of some sort. Aside from this theres only bits and pieces of the document trail since Poland, mainly because they lost everything in the war.
As far as i know he didnt give up his polish citizenship.
Would my father, me (his son) and the rest of my brotehrs and sisters be eligible? Ive looked through your eligibility test. I was thinking that maybe it would be better if i came to a meeting at polaron with all the documents i have so that you could give me your opinion there.
Thank you.
Richard
I might also add that as far as we know he never served military service in Poland and definitely didnt in Israel or Australia. His father served in the army though.
What army did his father serve in, Richard?
Dear Richard,
For some reason, your email got spammed and I only just found it, along with several others! My apologies for that.
You are more than welcome to come with your documents, our office is open 8-5.30 every day but best to make an appointment to make sure I am here.
In terms of your eligibility, it’ll all depend on whether the males you’d be applying under were of conscription age at the time of becoming Israeli citizens. At various times, it was 17-60 and 17-50. Eligibility is one thing, being able to back your heritage up is another, of course. The Polish government does require documentary evidence be submitted as part of your application, so a lot more research would have to be done. If your family members went back to Poland after the war, there would be records of that and the Polish government would certainly have to give you access to this under the FIO provisions.
In any case, please let us know if you’d like to have a chat about your circumstanes.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Prof. Adamski,
My grandparents were both born in Poland and were Polish citizens . My grandmother was born 1906 and my grandfather was born 1887. My grandparents got married in Warsaw, Poland 1929. My grandmother immigrated to USA in 1929, and became a US citizen about 1932-1949. And my grandfather became a US citizen some time before 1935. They were both Jewish and they moved because of their fear of persecution. I heard if you claim another citizenship before 1951 you lose your polish citizenship? Will my family and I be able to claim our polish citizenship? And what documents will be request to claim our polish citizenship? Thank you in advance, Carly
Dear Carly,
Dear Carly,
Thank you very much for your email.
In order to establish your eligibility, we would need to know what documents you may have in your possession proving your heritage and your grandparents’ Polish citizenship. For example, do you have the passports they arrived on? Do you have their birth certificates?
The 1951 rule applies to everybody, except for males of conscription age, which varied from 17 to 60 and 17 to 50 in different periods. It might be touch and go for your grandfather, depending on the actual year he became US citizen. If he was born in 1887, as long as he became citizen of US BEFORE 1937 or 1947, you should still be eligible. In any case, we would need more information, and evidence of his being a citizen of Poland.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
thanks for the reply.
my grandmother was born in 1926 near Warsaw and my grandfather was born in 1921 in Warsaw. they got married in 1948 in Germany. my father said that my grandpa was in the polish army. my grandfathers name was boleslaw Zablocki and my grandmothers name was maria Zablocki(formally ochocka).
my grandparents came to Australia in 1950 by boat.
they had my father in 1963 and my parents had me in 1991. on my dads birth certificate it states that his parents were born in Poland. i am waiting for documents from the Australian archive.
do i need to get a copy of my grandparents birth certificates if so where can i get them from.
thanks.
Well, it does sound like you may be eligible, particularly given your grandfather’s army service. You can apply for a copy of your grandparents’ birth certificates from the local civil registry offices, or possibly via the consulate. In order to be successful in the overall process, you would need to provide evidence of your heritage, and supply as many Polish documents as possible, including the military service details of your grandfather. Please let me know if you require any further information.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
hi prof. adamski
i was just wondering if i could become a polish citizen. my dads parents are both polish and came to Australia in 1950 by boat my dad was born in Australia and doesn’t have a polish birth certificate. does my dad have to become a polish citizen before i can apply for it. my grandparents got married in 1948 in Germany. so what documents do i need to become a polish citizen
Dear Ayden,
Given your heritage, both you and your father are already Polish citizens so if you want to get a Polish passport, you would be applying for confirmation of Polish citizenship (different process than applying FOR citizenship). Whether you are eligible or not largely depends on the dates of birth and marriage of your grandparents, and what documents you have to prove your heritage and their Polish citizenship. Your father may need to have his citizenship confirmed as well, but it all depends on your individual circumstances and I would have to have a bit more information to be able to offer you specific advice. Could you please provide some more information on the background of your family?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
thanks for the reply.
my grandmother was born in 1926 near Warsaw and my grandfather was born in 1921 in Warsaw. they got married in 1948 in Germany. my father said that my grandpa was in the polish army. my grandfathers name was boleslaw Zablocki and my grandmothers name was maria Zablocki(formally ochocka).
my grandparents came to Australia in 1950 by boat.
they had my father in 1963 and my parents had me in 1991. on my dads birth certificate it states that his parents were born in Poland. i am waiting for documents from the Australian archive.
do i need to get a copy of my grandparents birth certificates if so where can i get them from.
thanks
hi prof. adamski
i was just wondering if i could become a polish citizen. my dads parents are both polish and came to Australia in 1950 by boat my dad was born in Australia and doesn’t have a polish birth certificate. does my dad have to become a polish citizen before i can apply for it. my grandparents got married in 1948 in Germany. so what documents do i need to become a polish citizen thanks
Dear Ayden,
Yes, you may be eligible, provided you have relevant documentation proving your heritage and your grandparents’ Polish citizenship can be proven. You would need to do a bit more research and concentrate on gathering of relevant documetation.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
sorry my math is off. He was 33 when he naturalized in the USA.
Dear Prof. Adamski,
I was wondering if you could clarify the following points:
1. I was told that because my grandfather was of conscription age (in his 20s) when he naturalized as a citizen of the USA. He retained polish citizenship because, Poland did not revoke citizenship for males who “naturalized” without authorization of the Polish government.
2. Then I was told that because he married my grandmother in Moscow (where he lived temporarily before immigrating to the US in 1949), Polish authorities might raise a question about the possibility that he may have served in the Red Army and may require proof that he did not. Otherwise, he would lose his citizenship and I would no longer be eligible. Are you saying that this is not true?? That because he was of conscription age he would not lose his Polish citizenship even if he had served in the Soviet Army.
3. I am not entirely sure if he was a Russian citizen or if he served. I have heard all kinds of stories about his time in Russia…all from 3rd parties and some conflict. Some stories say he served other not. Some stories say he escaped and deserted from the army. I know that he definitely hated Russia and immigrated to the USA in 1949. Not sure how. There are no documents at all.
Anyway, if, in fact, conscription age means that he does not lose his citizenship even if he served in another army then, I would be so thankful if you could send me a link to the that section of Polish law so that I can quote it. Or copy and paste the section for me. That would be so helpful.
Thanks again for all your help….This process is taxing! overwhelming! expensive! and confusing. Having you as a resource is invaluable.
Again, that section of law and confirmation that I am understanding correctly would be immensely helpful.
Also, will the Polish government really ask for some records from Russia just because he married my grandmother in Moscow? If so….I don’t even know if such records exist or who to contact..
-Miriam
Dear Prof. Adamski,
Please forgive my impatience and obsessiveness
I replied to your question with more information regarding the year of birth (1916). Would this be considered conscription age in Red Army service occurred around 1942, 43, or, 44??? What was the ‘age of conscription’? I am really anxious to know this information in order to develop a solid strategy for my case. Thank you so much again…and again, please forgive me.
Thank you again,
Miriam
On the face of it, the person in question would be eligible. The age of conscription varied from 17 to 60 and 17 to 50 but whichever legislation applied, the person is likely to have been covered. The hard thing will be getting a military service certificate from Russia confirming the army service. It takes months.
Good luck, and let me know if I can be of any further assitance.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi Professor,
My name is Cassandra Rykiert. I do not know much about my polish ancestors except that both my grandparents on my fathers side were born in Polamd. I do not have birth records to prove this, but I do have a collection of papers from the Australian National Archive including passanger cards, natralization papers, certificates of identity from the international refugee organisation. My grandfather was born on the 12.08.1924 in Oswiemcim Poland and my grandmother was born 04.05.1922 in Opoczno Poland.They arrived in Australia on the 30/05/1951. My father was born in Australia in 1955. Am I eligible for Polish citizenship?
Thankyou,
Regards Cassandra Rykiert
Respected Prof.Adamski,
I got the Polish Citizenship Confirmation (the Desicion Certificate) a month back, I waited for 14 days before filling for a ID
BUT when I finaly went after 14 days to Urzad Miasta office the people working there asked me to count 14 days without the weekends,(m sure there is no such LAW) but cant HELP, I went after 14 days (excluding weekend) and NOW they says THEY CANT work on my ID, everything is done, the decision is public here (in Lublin) BUT not done in WARSAW yet, so will have to wait still for a month. I still dont get where in warsaw it needs to be updated YET?
I would appreaciate if you could be kind enought to Please let me know is it TRUE? and if Yes on which website in warsaw can I check the update about my case? (for eg the way I check in BIP of Lublin Governor Website).
Apperciate in advance and expecting an earliest answere from your side,
yours truely,
Al
by the way does it make a difference if that service was also not done voluntarily…in other words the person ended up on russian territory and was forced to serve in the red army?
Dear Miriam,
Foreign army service prior to 1951, no matter what circumstances, does mean loss of Polish citizenship for males. However, depending on the year of birth, the person’s citizenship may have remained intact if he was of conscription age at the time of army service. It is a complicated area of law, and I would need a bit more information, specifically the person’s date of birth to be able to comment further.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thank you Prof Adamski,
I think the individual was born in 1916 and did not serve voluntarily. The person was forced to serve in the Red Army when he found himself on Soviet controlled soil in 1943. I heard that the individual later deserted the Red Army and escaped USSR teritory. Little to no documents remain from that period. There is not certainty about if service occurred. However, I want to know if, in fact,service did occurr at that age and other these circumstances, if it would make any difference with regard to retention or loss of Polish citizenship
If an jewish polish ancestor served in the partisans and then the red army(after 1943) during wwII would the polish government consider this service in a foreign military and therefore, result in loss of Polish citizenship? Is any exception made for service in partisans or red army during time of war, if there was no intention to renounce polish citizenship and if it was done for survival and in order to fight a common enemy — nazis?
Good day Professor. I wonder if you could confirm as to whether or not I am eligible for Polish citizenship.
My grandfather, aswell as both of his parents (my great-grandparents) were all born in Poland & they came to South Africa around the 1920′s – 1930′s.
My grandfather became a South African citizen on 14 October 1947, while my great grandmother became South African on 1 November 1951 & my greatgarndfather became a South African on 14 August 1951. None of them ever renounced their Polish citizenship, nor did they ever serve in the South African army, or hold public office.
Am I still eligible for Polish citizenship even if my grandfather accepted foreign citizenship (South African) before 1951, while my great grandparents became citizen of South Africa in 1951, as I see that new laws were in place then (Polish Citizenship Act of 1951)?
Thank you
Joel
Dear Joel,
It all depends on the year and month your grandfather and great-grandfather were born. Acquiring another country’s citizenship prior to 1951 does mean losing your Polish citizenship, however, they may have been protected by the compuslory military service conscritpion which varied from 17-60 and 17-50 years of age at different times. Are you able to provide me with their dates of birth?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Good day Professor
In response to your post on 22 May, my greatgrandfather was born in November 1894, while my grandfather was born in 1925 (not sure of date).
I have been informed that I require my grandfather’s Polish birth certificate as part of my application for confirmation of Polish citizenship, and a lawyer from Poland told me that my application will be declined as a result of a lack of such document. Is this true? I do have my grandfather’s naturalisation certificate i.e. when he became a South African citizen, and it shows that he was born to Polish parents,that he was born in Siemiatycze, Poland and that he was a Polish citizen prior to naturalisation. He became a South African on 14 October 1947 (Polish Citizenship Act of 1920 was in place) and neither my grandfather, nor my great-grandfather, had ever served in the South African Army. Has anyone else had the same problem regarding the Polish birth certificate on one’s grandparent?
Thank you
Joel
Reuben – 04/14/2011
HI Professor,
My grandfather was born in 1904 and my grandmother 1908.
They married in Palestine(Israel) in 1935 where my father was born in 1939.
Both my father’s parents were born in Poland at the start of last century. They fled Poland in 1935 and went to Palestine where my father was born.
My grandparents did not serve in the armed forces but my father did as it was compulsory.
The family emigrated to Australia in the 1970′s.
Am I eligible for Polish Citizenship?
Dear Reuben,
It will all depend on the year your grandparents were born and married. Do you have these dates? Are you able to email them to me?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
HI Professor,
My grandfather was born in 1904 and my grandmother 1908.
They married in Palestine(Israel) in 1935 where my father was born in 1939.
If that’s the case, Reuben, you can only apply under your grandfather. This is provided he was covered by conscription age, meaning that he has not lost his Polish citizenship by becoming an Israeli citizen when the state of Israel was established, and that he has not renounced his Polish citizenship to the Polish government. It will also depend on the type of documents you have to be able to prove your grandfather’s Polish citizenship.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Prof Adamski,
Three of my great-grandparent immigrated from Poland around 1905-1910, (The other was born in Maryland to Polish parents). I am now seeking Polish citizenship for my mother, myself and my son. I contacted one lawyer who said that since they immigrated before 1918 it is not possible.
So far, the information that I have is a 1920 and 1930 census report that states the date of immigration and current naturalization status. It appears that the only great-grandparent who was not naturalized was my maternal great grandmother. I also have the actual ship information from my great grandfather when he first came to New York.
I would definitely like to peruse this, but I was discouraged by the lawyer. With the limited information that I have provided, do you think it is possible for me to get citizenship?
Hi,
I’m an Australian living in Melbourne with a polish born father. A few years ago I went through the long process of obtaining of confirming my polish citizenship (with the intention of then obtaining a polish passport to work/travel in europe), yet plans changed and after obtaining citizenship confirmation I did not acquire a passport as was no longer moving overseas. I am now planning a holiday to poland and have heard that as a polish citizen, I may encounter difficulties entering and leaving poland on my australian passport. Can you please advise of any issues with this, and my options – i.e., must I obtain a polish passport (and if so, what steps are required now that I have confirmation of citizenship, at that time I was not issued with a birth certificate, is this recent?)or can I obtain some kind of letter from the consulate to exempt me from this to allow my travel in and out of poland on the australian passport? Also, my husband was born in Poland and migrated to Australia in 1991. He is currently 32, will he need any kind of military exemption prior to returning to poland?
Dani,
As an Australian, you can enter Poland on your Australian passport and remain there for 3 months. If your Polish birth certificate has not been registered, then you cannot apply for a Polish passport. You will also need to register your marriage certificate in Poland. You will have no problems entering or leaving Poland on your Australian passport. Many people of Polish descent, myself include, travel on Australian passports without a problem. Military service is no longer compulsory in Poland.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Prof Adamski,
Both my children would like to apply for Polish Passports. My husband was born in Krakow, 20th January, 1948, he migrated with his parents (who were both born in Poland) in December 1961. On 25/05/1971, he was granted Australian citizenship. Sadly, he died from pancreatic cancer on 21st July 2009. I was born in Tanzania, East Africa, however, my mother was born in 1920 in Nowy Sacz, Poland, as was her father. Do you think that it is possible for my son and daughter to be granted Polish passports? They would like to travel to Poland and possibly live there with my cousins for about a year.
Hello Ewa,
I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s death. It sounds like your children would qualify under either sets of parents, even though you were born outside of Poland. In a way, applying under their father is easier as we wouldn’t have to confirm his citizenship. Could you let me know what documents you have on him that were issued by the Polish government? Would you, for example, still have his original Polish passport he left Poland on?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Professor Adamski,
I am an Australian Citizen – naturalised in 1956. Last December I was given confirmation of my Polish Citizenship (born in Poland to Polish parents and grandparents). I now need a PESEL and passport. Could you please tell me what documents are required to get these and where. I will be in Warsaw in July 2011 for 3 months.
Due to WWII I have a different d.o.b and first name on my Polish birth certificate to that on my Naturalisation certificate and my Australian passport. All this was explained when I was getting my Polish citizenship. The difference is 2 years on my d.o.b. and my Polish name Henryk was changed when I studied in France to Henri.
Dear Henri,
The procedure is somewhat complicated, but here it goes:
1. If you want to retain your new name (Henri Andre), you will need to carry out a change of name procedure in Poland, which is done through the Warsaw registry office.
2. If you decide to revert to Henryk, you will need to change your name on your Australian passport. This is easily done as long as you produce your Polish birth certificate, translated into English to provide evidence the name you were born under. If you decide to do this, you should also be able to correct your date of birth.
In other words, you should aim for your Australian ID (passport) to match your Polish birth certificate either by changing the details here, in Australia, or changing your name in Poland to what you use here. The issue of your date of birth will definitely need to be address with the Australian authorities, and I suggest you provide them with the translation of your Polish birth certificate and ask them to correct it as the error was made years ago by an Australian authority (Immigration Department). The change of name in Poland can be done when you are there, but also from Australia, via the Polish Consulate or Polaron.
We would be happy to assist you with any aspects of this, so please feel free to email us directly at projects@polaron.com.au.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Professor Adamski,
Thank you very much for your reply and as you say, my problem is rather complicated.
I feel it would be too much for me to go ahead with all the bureaucracy and as I know I am a Pole, I guess having a passport wouldn’t change things much as currently, with Schengen, I can still visit my homeland for 90 days each year.
I really wanted it for my children who would like, in the future, to visit Europe and would therefore need a Schengen passport if they want to stay and work there. I’m hoping that all the documentation the bureaucrats have on me in Warsaw (the file is 5cms thick) will be enough for my children to obtain Polish passports if they so desire.
Isee my problem is difficult and it would be too emotional.I have had a gut full of ul Dluga and Pl Bankowy in Warsaw.
I have given my children your email in case they need help in the future.
Thank you once again.
Dr Henri Andre Stoksik
I know what you mean, Henri! Poland is still quite bureaucratic in many ways and I can understand that it can get quite annoying for someone who has kept such close ties with their country of origins. Any time you wish for us discuss your children’s application with us, feel free to contact us again.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
As a Polish passport holder, I have obtained work in the UK. Are there any other requisites to which I need to attend?
Izabela, you will also need to ensure you are registered with the Home Office. I suppose your employer would be the best source of information on the UK requirements.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
My parents were Polish citizens, born in Poland in 1910 and 1911 respectively. During WW2 they were in Russia and returned to Poland after the war. They moved to Germany, lived three years in Sweden (where I was born) and migrated to Australia in 1949. Both of them are now dead but my sister, who was born in Poland, is still alive and living in Melbourne.
Am I eligible for Polish citizenship? Will I be able to get a Polish Passport? If so, will my children be able to obtain Polish Passports and be able to move around and work in the EEC?
How long does the whole process take? What is required? Approximately what is it likely to cost?
Dear Ben,
Thank you very much for your email. Without seeing your family documents, it is difficult to be precise about your chances of confirming your citizenship. We do assist many families in your circumstances and your case looks promising in terms of the dates and time lines you have provided me with. If your citizenship is confirmed, your children and grand children would also be able to benefit. Once your citizenship is confirmed, you can apply for a Polish passport but if you are going through the process for your children only, you don’t even need to do that. Even though you were born in Sweden, your birth certificate will have to be registered in Poland and you will be issued with a Polish birth certificate. This will also be the case for your children. And yes, the Polish passport enables their holder to remain freely in EU, including work, study and property ownership. The process takes several months to years, depending on the documents you have and your family circumstances. The cost also varies but as a rule, we encourage all our clients to go through the eligibility assessment which is a low cost procedure that can help ascertain the likelihood of obtaining Polish citizenship for our clients. We have a 100% success rate with our clients so feel free to contact us on 1300 88 55 61. Ask for Siska who is our International Communications Coordinator and she will be able to give you some more information and send you a free information pack. We help many people all across the world obtain their Polish citizenship and passport and look forward to hearing from you.
I need a Polish Passport application form. Cannot locate one anywhere on the internet, even in Polish. Need to assist in translating – urgently.
Hello Izabela, the forms are not available on the internet, and you will have to attend the appointment at the consulate personally, as they the forms are pre-printed and need to be filled in on site. The consulate will also take your fingerprints, and as such, personal attendence is required.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
hi there my name is raejeane im am a south african citezen,i have just started reasearching my polish ancestery,my granmothers father was born in poland,all i have to prove it is a copy of his id stating he was born in poland and a work permit stating he could work in south africa also stating his nationality was polish,can i use these documents to claim a polish passport
Dear Rae Jeane,
Without seeing the documents in question, all I can say that these documents may be useful. Were they issued in Poland or SA? Where in Poland was your grandmother’s father born? What year did he come out to SA, if applicable? Have you looked for anything in the Polish archives? Have you approached the SA archives? It would be useful if you could find archival items via the SA archives, which may shed some more light on your family’s history.
Please feel free to contact me again, I do have to say, however, that I would need some more information to be able to provide you with more clear advice.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Yours
hi prof adamski.i have went to the sa achives,they had told me i would need to get his death certificate has he had past away in south africa,his id i have is a copy of his polish identity card which was copied in south africa,the permit card allowing him to work in south africa is the original stating place of birth worsaw poland,the identity card is a copy issued in south africa,stating he is a foreigner,i am in process of trying to get his death certificate,will the polish achives or embassy be able to locate who he was on there system
Hi Professor,
I am currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio USA. I have always been very interested in my heritage. My grandmother is 100% polish, but she was born here in the US. She was the first in her family that was born here. My question is am I eligible to obtain Polish Citizenship? My wife and I have always been interested in pursuing our careers in Warsaw, so I was just curious about where we stand. I’m in the IT field and she does food and hospitality management, so we have skills to offer.
Thank you,
Matt Gibson
Hi Matt,
Prof. Adamski is currently on leave, however I may of assistance to you. Your Grandmother’s place of birth (USA) is irrelevant as Polish law runs on the ‘law of blood’. If she is Polish then you are also a Polish citizen according to Polish law. However, the process that you need to go through is called a Confirmation of Polish Citizenship which is an administrative task to prove to the Polish authorities that you are indeed a Polish citizen. There are quite complicated laws relating to this in Poland and as such it is difficult to say on the face of the details you have provided if you are 100% eligible. As Prof. Adamski is out of the office for a few more weeks, may I suggest contacting Siska at Polaron (International number: +61 3 9551 8266) who is a colleague of Prof. Adamski as she may be able to assist you in realising your dream of obtaining a ticket to Poland. Alternatively you can contact Siska via email by navigating through the Contact Us page on the Polaron website.
I hope this is helpful.
Regards,
Prof. Vasili
Dear Prof Adamski,
Thank you for this outstanding blog, it clearly helps hundreds of people.
I wonder if you could help me with this query:
I was born in Australia and am a citizen. My father is polish and possesses a polish passport (I think it is current, but am not absolutely sure). I also have a polish passport, but unfortunately it expired in 2007. I would now like to apply for a new one, but wonder if I need to prove my citizenship, or my father’s citizenship first, and whether I will need a PESEL?
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Yours truly,
Krispin Hajkowicz
Brisbane, Australia.
Dear Krispin,
Prof. Adamski is currently on leave. I can suggest calling Siska at Polaron on 1300 88 55 61 to answer your question in the mean time. Prof. Adamski will be back in action later in the month.
Regards,
Prof. Vasili
Hi. My father was a polish jew who escaped poland in 1939 and moved to Australia. He was born in 1920 and died in 2006. He was 63 when I was born in 1983 and I have recently become very interested in gaining a Polish passport. I have contacted family members and unfortunately noone seems to know where his birth certificate is however my older sister has his last passport and I believe I would be able to get that from her and I have also ordered a colour copy of his naturalization certificate from recordsearch.naa.gov.au. I believe that is all the docs I would be able to get a hold of and I am interested to know if that would be enough to qualify me for a Polish passport.
Hi Julian,
Prof. Adamski is currently on leave, however I can suggest the possibility of undertaking genealogical research in Poland to try and locate your grandfather’s birth certificate. The team at Polaron can assist you and would be more than happy to speak to you about assisting in your application for a Polish passport (including locating documents pertaining to your Grandfather). Call Polaron on 1300 88 55 61 and ask for Siska who will be able to assist you and answer any questions you may have.
Regards,
Prof. Vasili
Dear Professor Adamski,
I’ve recently begun researching Polish Citizenship through ancestry. My great grandparents emigrated to the US in 1910 from Poland. I’ve read that if they emigrated before 1918 that I am disqualified. Can you confirm is this is absolutely true? I have many of their original documents but do not want to invest the time to seek out the rest if the effort is futile.
I greatly appreciate your help!
Thank you,
Mac
Dear Mac,
No, that is incorrect as far as I am aware. It all depends on when they became US citizens, married (in the case of females) and their conscription age (in the case of males). If you have original documents, especially Polish ones, it is worth doing further research. The key to the process is to have Polish documents proving their citizenship at the time of departure (yes, even though Poland did not exist prior to 1917 on the map). The difficulty is that the citizenship legislation in Poland is very liberal and as such, the burden of proof is on you. In other words, the Polish government wants you to submit your application before they can tell you if you are eligible because each case is assessed on its merits. Please feel free to send more info, including dates.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Greetings
I would like to ask the Professor what are the chances of and potential time length of me obtaining a Polish passport ?
I am 23, was born in Australia to Polish Parents, both born in Poland and moved from there at 20 (give or take) or so.
I have never been there but intend on going when I organise my passport. I speak OK polish (dont need to that often) and understand better than ok…
What are the usual costs involved and what would be the best way to organise?
Should I visit the consulate and speak with them instead ?
thanks
nick
Dear Professor Adamski,
I am just starting to enquire about confirming my Polish citizenship. I am a second generation Australian (both parents were born in Australia – mother in December 1950 and father April 1951). All four of my grandparents are from Poland (now all deceased). I am curious to know if I am eligible or if dates get in the way. My maternal grandfather was born 1910 in Dzikowiec (from what I understand near Rzeszów) and my maternal grandmother was born November 1918 in Janopole (near Czerwonka). My paternal grandparents’ family both come from around Krakow – my dad’s father was born in 1912, his mother in 1919.
The only documentation I have about my maternal grandfather is his legitimacy id card as a POW and the dogtag from the POW camp – for all intents and purposes we have no record of his birth certificate (it may have been lost in Australia) but I have written to his parish in Poland requesting one.
I do have some documents pertaining to my maternal grandmother, but the documentation is largely copies. For instance, her birth certificate is attached as a copy to the Military Government of Germany form – so that would mean it’s not valid as an official document?
I have searched my family names via NAA and the only record that comes up is a record of their names on the passenger list. Is there a way to get more detailed information from the archives? From what I understand all grandparents never renounced their Polish citizenship after WWII, but just stated that it was not possible for them to return to Poland. My grandmother visited briefly in the 1970s/80s to visit family but I believe that may have been on an Australian passport.
This is all very confusing – so I apologise for rambling. I am very interested in history/ genealogy and my family roots and my family are all saving to visit Europe in a couple of years. However, with all the money going into that and not being all that cashed up to begin with – I don’t know if we could afford to get all this done and confirmed by then.
Many thanks, megsiek.
Dear megsiek,
The first thing I would do is a MANUAL search at NAA as the least they should have are your grandparents’ naturalization certificates, incoming passenger cards, medical records prior to arriving in Australia, Refuge Travel Documents etc. Please speak to David or Darren at the Melbourne office, they are both very helpful.
I think the dates add up so that you are eligible but you would still need to check army service, public service and citizenships of other countries your grandparents may have obtained prior to their Australian. This means that you would only need ONE grandparent to base your application on. I would concentrate on grandparent only at this stage, to be able to contain the cost as research – whether you do it yourself or through a professional company – can be expensive. Chose the grandparent with the strongest documents.
Any documents dating back to your grandparents’ time of departure from Poland/Germany are valuable, even if they are just copies as they would be a good start.
As a general comment, I just wanted to say that your citizenship will be for life and is a one off expense. It will open a lot of doors for you in Europe and would be, in my view, a good thing to invest in. If you are prepared to do the work yourself, it is possible to have this done fairly quickly and inexpensively, it all depends on your priorities in life I guess.
In the meantime, please feel free to keep in touch for some guidence and support!
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Professor Adamski,
Many thanks for your response. I am willing to go ahead – I live in Sydney so I would like to get in touch with someone from the NAA here. Do you have a person that I could contact in Sydney to gain access to my grandparents’ records?
To the best of my knowledge, none of my grandparents had anything other than Polish and Australian citizenship – my maternal grandfather was a member of the Polish armed services, conscripted in 1934. They all resided in Poland permanently until WWII when they were sent to Germany and from there came to Australia. Does this mean I would be eligible?
The person I have the most documents from is my maternal grandmother who liked to hang onto everything. I take it that she would be my strongest claim out of the 4 grandparents?
Thank you for your kind offers of guidance and support,
megsiek
I’ll be in Sydney on the 24th of June so let me know if you want to catch up for me to have a look at your documents. We do take some pro bono cases on from time to time, and if we like you
we may be able to take your case on if you are on a tight budget. In exchange, you would have to tell the world how wonderful Polaron is. 
I will have to find out a contact at the NAA Sydney office but they are all pretty helpful there (a bit slow, though, as in librarian and archivist slow, not developmentally delayed
)
Your best bet would be your hoarding grandmother but if any of your grandparents served in the Polish army (and you’ve got proof of that), that would also be good evidence to submit to the Polish government).
Anyhow, feel free to organise a time with me when we’re in Sydney.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Professor Adamski,
You are quite prompt with your replies and very generous with your information – so I am very appreciative of your support.
I would be thrilled if you could look at the documents I have! Sydney is notoriously difficult with its transport system and infrastructure and I unfortunately live in an area a way away from the city so I would require some notice of where to meet ahead of time so as to best organise my way there. If there is a way to contact you privately, that may work best.
I would have no problem telling the world how wonderful Polaron is – I have already mentioned you to my aunty (my dad’s sister) to enquire about her claim and that of her children. Fingers crossed that you like me
Getting to the NAA Sydney office would be the easiest, although my sister will be in Melbourne at the end of next month.
The only record I have of my grandfather in the Polish army is the POW card (which offers the year of conscription and that he was able to wear the allied uniform). I have submitted my grandparents’ information to the ITS in Germany to see what records/documents they have but am still waiting for a reply.
I understand from some of your other replies that if I include my grandfather I will need an official document from the Australian government that he didn’t serve in the Australian army. Is that correct? They arrived in September 1950 when he was 39 years old.
Many thanks,
megsiek.
Pan Adamski, My mother is a Polish citizen that has resided in the U.S. for over 40 years. Recently her Polish passport expired and she planned to return to the old country over the summer. Is driving all the way to Chicago her only option in renewing this passport or are there quicker avenues in which to accomplish this? Please help! She is very sad and stressed. She has all of her documentation:i.e. greencard,state I.D., and various certificates proving her place of birth, but no certificate of naturalization. What can we do?
Basha, if your mother has a passport that just expired, the consulate should be able to renew it without having to go through the process of confirming her citizenship. Various consular posts interpret the law differently, but in Australia, for example, the consul will renew the passport in these circumstances. This is only possible if she has got a PESEL number (the Polish social security number) but if she doesn’t have it, she should be able to apply for it via post. The trouble is, however, that she will have to travel to Chicago as the new passport procedures require for her finger prints to be collected and sent real-time to Poland. I can imagine her distress, especially if she has been able to renew her passports in the past without going to the consulate personally. What I suggest you do is to contact the consulate and get them to committ on what needs to be done and how, to save her distress and worry and do what you can by post.
The other option, of course, is to travel to Poland on her American passport and renew it whilst she is there. Please let me know if you need any morer information or advice.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Professor,
am Lebanese married to Polish, we had 2 boys that were instantly granted a Polish passport at the Embassy of Beirut upon stamping their translated versions of certificates of birth, and without any appointment.
had our 3rd boy lately, and as the Counsil was abroad, the Vice Counsul (don’t know wether she’s moddy or not), but:
- we couldn’t apply for a passport before taking an appointment after one week (they hardly have few clients at the Embassy)
- she asked for double fees if we need to stamp the translated certificate of birth (that was already verified!), otherwise we need to wait 1 week (what for?!)
- she asked to send the birth certificate to Poland and validate it with a polish version then get it back to the Embassy in order to make for the new born a passport or let him apply for a visa (previous new borns were allowed for a 1st passport before registering them in Poland)
- my wife should authenticate her empowerment to her family in Poland at the Embassy (you know for each stamp, the Counsul charges 40$, the thing that will cost a fortune at the end)
- Now I need an invitation from my Parents-in-Law to get a visa while going with my wife and 3 kids !!
did the Polish laws become so bound ?
It does seems that way doesn’t it
Well I am very grateful, I can
ask these questions otherwise I would be quite stressed !
The Consulate specifically asked for further documents to prove my grandfathers Polish Citizenship hence why I aked bout the NRI..
If it takes months or years, I am not going down the route..
Do you think writing to the registry that supplied a ‘no document found’ regrading the BC will provide anything valuable?
They don’t like documents from Parishes I need something official..
How could I recall passport details, or an id card, or citizenship applications? Can this be found anywhere??….
I am confident in recalling the documents from the German registry… That’s one at least
A million questions.. and a thousand thank you’s !
Professor, thanks again.
I didn’t submit he’s passport, as I am not allowed access to it.
I have all the travel documents from the NAA with he’s arrival, boat information, port etc..
He didn’t serve in the Australian army, but this i didn’t provide proof of. Should I apply for this just in case they ask?..
He doesn’t have any public service records or foreign army service records either.. so this sounds hopeful ?!!….
Appreciate your assisance & wisdom.
Catherine.
That’s a shame about the passport… But the authorities in Poland might have access to records anyway to prove he did have it. Except that the burden of proof is on you, so they may ask you for it without going to the trouble of checking it at the National Remembrance Institute, where all records are kept. You can wait until the Polish government asks you to provide evidence of your grandfather’s army service or apply for a certificate from the National Archives of Australia. They should be able to provide you with a certificate stating no army service, as it takes a couple of months to issue. Ask for David Wagland.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thanks Professor, I might aswell access the info before I ask.
I really appreciate the contact you’ve provided within thr NAA, I’ll contact him straight away.
I’ll let you know how I go.
Thanks again !!!!
Dear Professor,
You are right ! The have written and asked for further documents, anything written in Polish language that can confirm my grandfathers citizenship / passport details.
Do I contant the National Rememberance Institute directly and work the details that I have already such as DOB etc…?? If so, do you have a contact that I should try? I received a letter from Poland stating that he’s birth certificate couldn’t be located, is there a better way to source this information?
Also they weren’t happy with the birth certificate of my mother and my grandparents marriage certificate as it was supplied by a Parish in Haltern, Germany and not an official government organisation. Would I contact the German Consulate and ask for advice on the best place to acquire the official documents that they need?…
Aah this is soo difficult !!
Ah but I’m always right, Catherine!
You can contact NRI but the waiting times are months if not years. Their website is multilingual, including English, the address is http://www.ipn.gov.pl. The letter from Poland to confirm his BC hasn’t been found just needs to be submitted to your case officer, and that should be fine, unless you want to try other places in Poland where he may have been born. Some records are located in Church Parishes, other at Civil Registry Offices, others may be at the Archives (over 100 years old) so it may be a bit of a hit and miss.
Yes, you can contact the German consulate and they should be able to assist. They are very prompt and organised.
Take heart and be patient, you will get there in the end: one step at a time!
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Professor,
Czesc!!
I am happy but somewhat saddened to be finding this blog after the ordeal I have gone through manually, having to source all the documents to put together an application for a Polish Citizenship through my mother who was born in Germany in a Polish camp after the war in 1947. Previous to that my granparents were made to leave Poland and work in Polish camps near Haltern and I have since tracked down, all there marriage certificates, my mothers birth certificate and all of there Citizenship details from the NAA..
The only paper I couldn’t produce was my grandfathers birth certificate, which I was advised was possibly destroyed during the war and I have written confirmation of this. The NAA stated that they still held Polish citizenship, I guess my question would be does this apply to my mother still?… Unfortunately, I know that one of my aunties has all of the necessary ID cards and passports but won’t grant me access or my mother to these documents. Do you think I have provided enough documents? I have already submitted a full application to Polish Consulate in Sydney about a month ago know.. and haven’t heard a word. Is there anything else I can do??
Dziekuje!
Catherine.
Hello Catherine,
Families, hey? If you read through this blog, you will see that I have provided explanations to other people about how it all works, but in a nutshell:
1. Your mother is already a Polish citizen, and so are you. The Polish law provides for this through “juris sanguis” or the “blood law”. The process you are going through is called confirmation of Polish citizenship.
2. To prove that you haven’t relinquished or lost your citizenship, however, you need to submit evidence of one of your grandparents’ still being a Polish citizen. So if you submitted your application on the basis of your grandfather, his birth certificate won’t be enough. You will need to submit evidence of his arrival to Australia (the NAA docs are fine but need to be notarised), his Polish passport (if applicable and available), his International Refuge ID card and any other documents (army booklet, school certificates etc) attesting to his Polish citizenship. The fact that the consulate remains silent after a month may mean that they haven’t even looked at your application or that they are reasonably happy with what you have sent them and sent it off to Poland. BTW, the consulate acts as an agent and won’t get too involved in the facts of your application. Once it gets to Poland, you will be allocated a case officer at the Voivodship Office in Warsaw who will look at your case and contact you in case of queries. You will then be contacted via the consulate to respond.
What should have happened I guess before your lodgement is that you should have checked your eligibility, which is the trickiest bit of the whole process. Poland applies retrospective legislation to all the cases, in other words, they check whether anything may have affected your grandfather’s citizenship from the time he left Poland until his death, and in turn make you illegible. Things to watch out for are foreign army service, public service and several other considerations. When we work with our clients, these are the first things we check as otherwise you would be wasting your time and money chasing something you are not entitled to in the first place. Please feel free to write to me for more information!
I hope I haven’t confused you but it is a very complex area of the Polish law and there is no easy way to explain it all. Let me know if I can help any further.
Yours sincerely
Prof. Adamski
Hello Professor Adamski, and thanks for the quick response !!
It is more than appreciated !!
In response to your I would like to ask the following question…
1. What are the factors other than the ones mentioned ie. Public service, etc that could make you inelligible? He has none of those mentioned applicable !!
I worked with a translator that assisted in the whole process, and was recommended by the Polish Consulate office in Melbourne. So I would assume, that under he’s advice I should be ok.
I provided, like I said confirmation that my Grandfathers birth certificate was never received, documents from the NAA all notorised about he’s immigration, application for Australian citizenship and I recalled he’s Aust Citizenship papers that was a copy of the record showing that he still held Polish Citizenship and the dates on he’s passport.
Along with, all the normal documents stating he’s marriage in Germany and the birth of my mother.
I am hoping that they have sent my papers to Poland, and that the process was complete!!
Appreciate all your assistance Professor.
Dziekuje!
Catherine.
Hello Catherine,
Did you submit any Polish documents, such as copy of your grandfather’s passport, school certificates, army records? These are good documents that would make your case stronger. From NAA, you will also need your grandfather’s travel document that he arrived on in Australia, such as Interntional Travel Document from IRO or Red Cross. You will also need a certificate from the Australian government stating that he never served in the Australian army if he became an Australian citizen prior to 1951.
In terms of eligibility, it is quite a complex area but the main things are no foreign army or public service prior to 1951.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi,
im so confused about getting a polish passport, my parents and sister were both born in Poland, but me and my twin brother were born in Australia. My parents are now both Australian citizens, does this still mean i can apply for a polish passport and be a citizen?
and if i can, what documents do i need? would i need my parents birth certificates?
thanks for your help
Hello Maciej,
You are in fact a Polish citizen already, because of your parents’ origins so what you would have to apply for now is CONFIRMATION of your Polish citizenship. In terms of what documents you need to submit, it all depends on when your parents left Poland and whether they have valid Polish ID card or passport (if not, they will also have to have their citizenship confirmed). This is all done via the Polish consulate or directly in Poland. Could you please provide me with more information about your family, namely:
1. Where in Poland are they from?
2. When and how did they leave Poland?
3. Do they have valid passports?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi Prof. Adamski
my parents were both born in tarnow, they immigrated to Australia in about 1984, and they came via plane, they both have Australian passports, however im not sure if they have polish ones anymore, although my mum did visit Poland several years ago, and when i asked she said she did not need a visa or any proof to stay in the country ( she stayed for 7-10 weeks). both my mums parents were also born in Poland, and i was the first generation to be born in Australia. im a bit confused as i keep reading certain articles which say certain people may have lost there citizenship? im not sure if that would relate to my parents as my sister went back a month ago, and did not need any supporting documents either.
thanks for all your help.
Maciej Szarek
Hi Maciej,
Since your family are fairly recent arrivals to Australia, the process of confirming your Polish citizenship should be quite easy. Now, if one of your parents has a valid Polish passport, it will be even easier. But if not, one of them will have to get their citizenship confirmed before you can get yours. The reason your mum didn’t need a visa in Poland is that she probably travelled on an Australian passport and therefore was able to stay in Poland for up to 3 months. Whilst I don’t think your parents didn’t “lose” their citizenship, in order for you got get your citizenship certificate, you will have to prove it that nothing happened between 1984 when they left Poland and now that made them lose their citizenship. For example, some people leaving Poland at that time renounced their Polish citizenship. I doubt very much your parents did this (it was quite rare). The grey areas and confusion are more profound for people who left Poland during or after WW2, without any documents or who served in foreign army, or acquired their second citizenship before 1951. In your case, I’d be fairly confident that your application should be pretty straight forward, because your parents left Poland in the 1980s.
So to summarise:
1. If your parents (or one of them at least) does not have a valid Polish passport or ID card, one of them will have to apply for confirmation of their Polish citizenship in the city where they last resided prior to leaving Poland (you can apply via the consulate, directly to the Voivodship Office in Poland or via Polaron).
2. You can lodge your application for confirmation of your Polish citizenship at the same time but it will go to Warsaw as you’ve never lived in Poland. Documents such as your birth certificate (original with an Apostille and translation), notarized copy of your Australian passport will need to be submitted as well. Plus documents proving your ancestry (relationship to your parents).
3. You will also be issued with a Polish birth certificate (even though you were born in Australia)
4. Confirmation of Citizenship + birth certificate will enable you to apply for a Polish passport.
If you do go through the process, please remember to apply for an army exemption. Military service of 12 months is compulsory for all males. As a dual citizen, you’d be exempt.
I hope all this makes sense, it is quite complex!
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
hello my name is kumar living in germany with my polish wife.
we are married with each other from five year an our marriage is resitered in poland from 5 years. my question is can i apply polish
citizenship bais of my marriage.pls send me answer.
thakyou
Dear Kumar,
To be eligible for Polish citizenship, you would need to live in Poland for 5 years or more. So unfortunately, you cannot apply for Polish citizenship even though you have been married to your wife for more than 5 years but live in Germany.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi Prof. Adamski,
I am very keen to find out whether I am eligible for a Polish Passport through my Grandparents. I am attempting to plan a trip to take my Mother back to see where her parents are from etc
I am fascinated to go and find out as much as I can because I have no relatives that I know of on my Mums side of the family. I would love to see all the places that my Grandpa has told me about from his childhood.
Anyway, I dont know exact facts and dates but here is my best for now. I was born here in Australia.
My grandmother born in Poland around 1925 and Grandfather in Ukraine in 1922. I was recently talking to him and he was very confused about his citizenship saying that some of his documents state that he is Polish, some say Ukraine. All I know is they both worked in Germany on some sort of labour camps in WWII and met and married there and had my Mother in Germany in 1946. Apparently I am not eligible for a German passport because Mum was an Australian citizen when she had me.
In 1950 they moved out to Australia and became Australian citizens at some stage. All very vague I know. My Grandmother passed away in 1990. I would really love to find out so much more. I do know that my Grandfather has documents of all sorts relating to before WWII and who he worked for during the War etc. Would my mother and I both be eligible for Polish Passports? Where on earth do I start? thankyou so much for your time.
Dear Dave,
I suggest you contact the National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au) to request a search on your grandparents. The NAA database is one of the most comprehensive and well organised archives in the world. Your grandparents’ folios are likely to contain photos, immigration records, health files, naturalization certificates and lots of information on their background prior to coming to Australia, amongst other things. I think you will find a lot of detail on your grandparents. The Ukrainian/Polish citizenship is a bit of a grey area because, of course, a large part of what is now Ukraine belong to Poland to WW2. It would be good to see what the archival records contain on your grandfather’s citizenship. The NAA research is always a good start, as the records are likely to be very accurate and informative. Once you have obtained those, please feel free to contact me again for further advice.
Yours sincerely
Prof. Adamski
Hi Prof Adamski, I have accessed documents from the National Archives. I have my Grandparents Naturalisation paperwork from 1962 and their records of arrival in Australia in 1950. My Grandfather was born in Krywka, Poland in 1922 but it says he is Ukrainian and also my Grandmother was born in Plawno, Poland and listed as Ukrainian. some documents say she is polish some Ukrainian. I dont understand all that at all. Where do I go from here? Do I need to find birth certificates or passports? Your help much appreciated.
David Turley
David,
The fact that they are variously listed as Ukrainians/Poles is not unusual because the shifting of the borders post WW2 created quite a lot of confusion. As long as your grandparents come from areas that used to be Poland between 1918 and 1945 and they considered themselves Polish, not Ukrainian then you would still be eligible. The documents you acquired from NAA need to be therefore used selectively so that the Polish authorities only get the essential information/documents and the least Ukrainian references are introduced, the better. Finding birth certificates would be your next steps and finding Polish passports (or other Polish ID documents such as army booklets, ID cards etc) would be your key to success.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi David! Let’s just say the town of Krywka/Kryvka was NOT very large, and I’ve to sets of my family from there and are actively working on our family’s genealogy.
I would love to talk with you about our shared location.
Good luck Jeffrey and David. And do let us know how you went!
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi Jeffrey, I reached a bit of a dead end in the Polish passport because the documents even though saying my Grandparents are born in Poland state that they are Ukranian. I know very little about the town of Krywka. Do you still have family there?
Hi Jeffrey, I can find out very little information about Kryvka. does it even exist anymore? The only references I can find on the web are to do with the beautiful old church from there that was shifted in 1930 to Lviv.
Hi I have recently been to find Krywka. My husbands mother is from there and we were looking for records family etc. Krywka no longer exists. The sight is a group of trees, fruit trees there is a creek running through it. As we sat at the site of Krywka there were deer, butterflys and bumble bees surrounding us. It was a beautiful place and well worth us making the trip. Lutawiska is close by and the people there wee amazing. They helped and welcomed us in every way possible. If you contact me I can email you fine photos. Good luck with your quest.
Wow, it sounds really beautiful. Shame about the disappeared village…. Where are the records held? Were you able to work that out?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi Steph, that is so wonderful you got to visit Kryvka and I would absolutely love to see the photos as would my mother. I am definitely going to visit there with Mum. Did you find any information about where the town records are held? thankyou so much for your help Steph. Please contact me again. How can I get the photos? Does my email address come up with this reply?
Hi Steph, I would really love to see some photos of Kryvka. Could you please send some through to me when you get a chance. many many thanks dave.turley@hotmail.com
Dziendobry Professor Adamski,
Mam na imie Ania Lawrynowicz. Urodzilam sie w Polsce ale wyjechalismy do Kanady w rok 1992. Od roku 1992 jestem Kanadijski citizen ale nie zrobilam moj Polski Passport. Od 2005 jezdzilam po krajach i teraz jestem w South Afrika. Chcem pojechac do Angli na albo studia albo dla pracowanie, ale nie mam moj Polski Passport i chcem wiedziec czy moge to zrobic tutaj??? Nie chcem jechac do Kanady tylko do zrobienia passportu i wtedy wyjehac do Angli, chcialabym to wszystko tutaj zrobic. Moje rodzice zrobili swoje Polskie passporty w ostatnim roku i teraz ja sie kopie bo tego nie zrobilam z nimy. Pszyjechalam do South Afrika zeby byc z mojim nazyczonym ale sie rozlismy. Co mozesz mi poradzic???
Dzienkuje bardzo
Aaah, I finally get to show off my Polish language skills!
Pani Aniu, wiec jesli urodzila sie pani w Polsce, to sprawa powinna byc dosyc prosta, tym bardziej, ze rodzice posiadaja polskie paszporty. W pierszej kolejnosci bedzie musiala pani poswiadczyc swoje polskie obywatelstwo (to robi sie w Urzedzie Wojewodzkim ostatniego miejsca zamieszkania), wystapic o numer PESEL (mozliwe, ze juz go pani ma, jesli wyjechala pani z Polski po 1977 roku) a dopiero potem o paszport. Moze to wszystko pani zalatwic w konsulacie (SA lub UK), albo bezposredino w Urzedzie Wojewodzkim w Polsce, a powrot do Kanady jest zupelnie niepotrzebny. Najwazniejsze jest zlozenie o poswiadczenie obywatelstwa, a to powinno byc dosyc proste i szybkie. Prosze dac znac, czy chce pani jakichs dalszych wskazowek.
Pozdrawiam serdecznie
Prof. Adamski
Hi Professor,
Both my grandparents originate from the border of Ukraine/Poland with my Grandma born in Lvov. My grandparents were issued a document for stateless persons and persons of undefined nationality in lieu of a passport (issued by the Military government for Germany) .This document is stating that they are both Polonaise nationality. My Grandma was born on 15/4/1921. My grandfather was born in 1914 (I am not certain in which town). They both married prior to travelling to Germany in May 1945 during the war to work as farm helpers for the German government. My uncle was born in Germany around 1947. My grandparents left Germany via Naples for Australia to escape the war and start a new life in March/April 1949. I understand all these dates can change which border was considered which country etc during these times. I believe Lvov was Poland when my grandma was born. I am wondering if you could help clarify whether I would be eligible at all for Polish citizenship/Polish passport. My mother would be able to assist with her own citizenship through her parents if we are eligible. Any information you can assist with is appreciated. Thanks
Dear Sarah,
The eligibility is assessed on the basis of the place of birth (your family qualifies because Lviv did indeed form part of Poland before WW2) but also on several other considerations such as foreign army service, conscription age (for males), marital status (for males and females), public service, renounciation of PL citizenship, acquisition of AUS citizenship etc etc etc. If your grandparents considered themselves Polish and not Ukrainian, this would be reflected on their documents at the time of immigration to Australia (which it is, by the sounds of it).
The key to the process is, however, to have as many documents to prove your grandparents’ story as possible, including documents issued by PL government, which is of course difficult, given the circumstances. I think your case would be worth pursuing. It would be great if you could provide me with a bit more information, such as the year of your mother’s birth, the year your grandparents became AUS citizens, whether they ever held a Polish passport etc
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
The conscription age in Poland was 60 for a period of time, then it was reduced to 50 years of age. Conscription requirements covered males’ Polish citizenship, meaning that they would not lose their Polish citizenship by acquiring another country’s citizenship provided they were of conscription age at the time of becoming another country’s citizen. So, if your father was in 1914 and became a British subject in 1950, he was still under the age of 60 (or even 50), meaning that he did not lose his citizenship.
Having said that, there are several other “tricky” requirments like this to do with public service, spouse’s nationality etc that would need to be considered before you can be sure you are eligible and not wasting your time and money on the process. This is just one example. But overall, your case does look good.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
You mention “tricky” requirments with regard to public service in your answer. Upon graduating from the Polish Medical School of Edinburgh on 15 February 1946, ZWG worked in the NHS as a Doctor in his own private practice, not as an NHS Hospital Consultant. My mother was born British and continued to be British through out their marriage.
Your mother’s citizenship doesn’t normally have bearing on your case. I say normally because if your father lost his citizenship (due to the conscription age legislation) but married your mother (provided she is a Polish citizen), his – and hence yours – citizenship would be protected. Your father’s medical practice would not affect your citizenship in my view, but again, without access to further information and, more to the point, documents, it is difficult to be absolutely sure. I hope this helps.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
My father, ZWG, was studying Medicine and was a flying officer when the Nazis invaded in WW2. He was ordered to fly to Riga, locate the Polish interest section of the British Embassy and he was told they would help him and his fellow officers to the UK. The British Embassy gave him his ‘Certificate of Identity’. He made it to the UK and reported for duty to the Air Attaché of the Polish Embassy in London, where he was given a written acknowledgment of arrival noting the ‘Certificate of Identity’ as his Polish passport. He was assigned to the Polish Squadron of the RAF. He married my mother, a British citizen, on 24 Nov 1943. He graduated from the Polish Medical School in Edinburgh. I was born on the 24 March 1950. He was naturalised in the UK on the 16 May 1950. He is also a recipient of ‘The Order of Virtuti Militari’. I have the above documents as well as his baptismal entry in the Church registry. From your experience do I have a strong case for confirmation of Polish Citizenship?
Sounds like you have a really strong case there, EGL. Service in the Polish army adds a lot of substance to your application, as do all the documents you have listed. The tricky bit is to ensure that by acquiring his British citizenship your father hasn’t lost his Polish one. Depending on his age (I don’t have his birth date) and the actual date of his becoming a British citizen, his Polish citizenship may have been affected. In other words, you will need to check your eligibility properly against the Polish legislation (there are several acts of parliament governing Polish citizenship).
Please let me know if you need more information.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
ZWG was born on 14 January 1914 in Wilno, Poland. He was naturalised in the UK on the 16 May 1950. I am not aware that he ever renounced his Polish citizenship.
Hi im wondering if you can help me. I am trying to apply for Polish citizenship. I have a certified copy of both (NAATI) my grandfathers Australian Citizenship Act 1948 and his certificate of authority to remain in Australia. I also have his passport do i need to get a certified copy of his passport? Also I am going to get a certified copy of my birth certificate but not my passport or drivers licence would this be ok? or do i need a certified copy of my passport as well. I am also going to get a certified copy of my fathers birth certificate would this be enough proof of evidence along with the application letter and bios. If you could please help me to know what needs certifying and if im missing anything it would be great below is a list of thing i have
My Drivers licence
My Birthcertificate
My passport
Grandfathers bio
Grandfathers passport
Grandfathers evidence of citizenship Australian (certified)
Granfathers Certificate of authority to remain in Aus (certified)
Declaration (in Polish) what other than Australian citizenship(s) you hold (or held) 9.
Declaration (in Polish) whether you, your parents or grandparents ever renounced Polish citizenship
Grandfathers death certificate
Sheree – all original documents need to be notarised by a Notary Public and accompanied by an Apostille (JP certification is not sufficient for international purposes).
All vital records (birth and marriage certificates) need to be Apostilled in original form (copies are not accepted).
You will need to submit your father’s documents as well, so that his citizenship can be confirmed.
ou will need to have everything translated into Polish, including your grandfather’s death certificate.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
http://www.polaron.com.au
Dear Professor,
My mother was born in poland in 1947 but is an Australian citizen.
Am I able to apply for Polish citizenship to obtain an EU passport?
Thank you.
Yes, she would be able to apply, provided she can confirm her Polish citizenship first. Given she left Poland after WW2 and was born there, she has a good chance but you would need to make sure that her citizenship has not been affected by events that took place after she’s left Poland. Are you able to provide me with a bit more information as to her movements post 1947?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thanks for your response. My mother isn’t seeking Polish citizenship. I’m seeking Polish citizenship in view to attaining a EU p’port based on her place of birth. Her parents immigrated to Israel when she was 2. To my knowledge, all she has is a Polish birth certificate.
Many thanks.
Dear Aaron,
Let me explain how it all works in a bit more detail:
1. Your mother’s Polish citizenship would have to be confirmed before yours can be. Poland’s citizenship laws means that you have to prove your ancestry, by submitting documents referring to your ancestors originating from Poland, in this case your mother, as well as vital records confirming your relationship to them.
2. You would be applying for CONFIRMATION of your Polish citizenship (strictly speaking, given your mother’s origins, you already are a Polish citizen) not applying FOR citizenship (different process altogether).
3. Your mother would not have to apply for a Polish passport but would be required to go through the confirmation before you can benefit from it.
4. Once you receive your certificate of Polish citizenship, you would also have to obtain for a Polish birth certificate and only then you could apply for a Polish (EU) passport.
Before you do anything though, I suggest you check whether you are actually eligible. Events such as acquisition of another country’s citizenship prior to 1951, renounciation of Polish citizenship, army service, public service in a foreign country and many other events could all affect your citizenship.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
My grandparents were born in poland moved to australia during ww2. They have now passed away. I have travelled to Poland & obtained my grandfathers birth certificate. we also obtained entry papers. marriage certificates. My father & i would like to apply together. is this possible through your company?
Yes, of course it is! Please contact Kasia on projects@polaron.com.au or 1300 88 55 61.
Happy to help.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hello!! My name is Pavel, tell to me please, whether I can ask the Polish citizenship if the grandfather of my grandfather was the Pole, its surname Sokolovschii, and it was the architect. Has arrived to Moldova, has constructed here church and remained here to live. Thanks
Hi Pavel,
It all depends on the dates. When was your great-grandfather born in Poland? What year did he go to Moldova? Do you have any documents proving any of what you know?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
dear Prof. Adamski,
We arrived in the mists of winter in 1966, I have a polish birth certificate, my parents renounced their polish passports and came over to australia as refuges, now my father fled poland during the nazi occupation over the border to russia as he was a liberal jew we have pictures of him in a polish army uniform , of course he married my catholic mother after the war hence i came along . we have a stronge family tie back in poland and i am eagerly wanting to go thru this adious process of obtaining a biometric polish passport. please advice me as to the steps to take. yours sincerely mira komaroska
Hello Mira,
If you were born in Poland, your journey towards confirming your Polish citizenship will be much shorter than most people’s, as they usually rely on their parents’ or grandparents’ heritage. Being born in Poland in itself is not proof of one’s citizenship so what you need tell me is what you mean by “my parents renounced their Polish passports”. Do you mean in Poland, or in Australia? Did they give up their passports, or their Polish citizenship? Being a minor, you would have been included on your mother’s passport. Do you still have it? I assume you have lived for some time in Poland, since you were born there. Do you have any documents, such as school certificates etc? Once I have a better picture of your family’s history, I will be in a better position to provide you with more information.
Please feel free to email me off this forum, at info@polaron.com.au.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear Prof. Adamski. I am wondering what the newest developments in the machine translation technology are. We have all tried the online translations that produce garbage and can only give you the gist of the meaning, at best. I notice google has google translation now. Google being google, it has to be good, right? Are translators heading for extintion?
Thanks
Andy
Hardly, Andy. What google has basically done, is collected one huge library of words and expressions. You would think that everything has been said on the internet at least once but human translators are going to be around for a while yet. Just think of the word “run”, for example. Can you think of the various ways it is used in English, depending on the context? So just imagine what happens when it is translated into another language.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Dear the professor,
So here is the situation:
I am an American citizen. My paternal grandparents were born in Poland (grandfather, deceased, born in Rypin in 1910, which I guess would be Congress Poland; grandmother, living, born in Gdynia in 1920-something). Grandparents emigrated to US in 1951 as “displaced persons,” though never became citizens. Father born in 1952 American citizen jus soli. There would not appear to be a break in Polishness.
I guess the first question is whether or not I have a chance of successfully applying to confirm citizenship. My father has never confirmed citizenship for Poland so he does not have a passport nor any citizen documents. Should he confirm his citizenship first? Does he have to?
A bigger issue is that due to the whole “DP” thing there is a want of paperwork and that which is available is almost useless (marriage certificates from outside Poland, the only legitymacja I have found so far is a POW ID card, etc). How difficult would it be for one to obtain proper paperwork (assuming of course all the “data” I have is correct; my grandparents were not fans of talking about the pre-emigration life)?
From what I understand this process is difficult enough having everything.
thank you for your time.
Dear Jeff,
Thank you for your enquiry. Technically speaking, you are a Polish citizen already, because of your ancestors. You just have to prove it (or confirm it). Easier said than done, of course, as you rightly point out.
The Polish citizenship law is quite liberal, which is a bit of a double edged sword in that the onus is on you to prove that nothing happened between the time your grandparents left Poland (and because your father was born after 1951 you can apply under your paternal OR maternal side) to affect your citizenship. The Polish government doesn’t really tell you what it is that you need to submit but, obviously, you would need to prove who you are and how you are related to your father and then show the link to one of your grandparents. As part of your application you would need to provide evidence of your ancestors’
“Polishness”, which would include things like their Polish passports, school certificates, ID cards, residential registration documents, army records, birth certificates etc. In the absence of those, the Polish authorities will accept International Refuge or Red Cross travel documents and other archival records, however documents issued by Polish authorities are preferred and more valuable.
In answer to your question whether your father would have to confirm his citizenship, the answer is yes, although he would not have to apply for a passport. You can lodge your application to include your father’s.
Interestingly, to confirm your citizenship you do not have to speak Polish, or prove that you are a person of good character (i.e. you may have a serious criminal conviction and still get your citizenship confirmed).
Your POW card is very valuable, too, Jeff, as it shows that your grandfather served in the Polish army, meaning that he would have to be a Polish citizen prior to being captured.
If I were you, I would start with the US archives, to see what they have on your grandfather. You may be surprised what you find and given your grandparents’ reluctance to talk about it, archives are usually a great source of information and documentation. You may have to apply under the Freedom of Information provisions. The next step would be to apply to the Polish archives, to see what, if anything, they have on your grandparents. Where you’d apply depends where they lived and what they did before the war. Were they at school? Did they work? What did their parents do? Did they have a registered business?
But in the first instance, I would actually speak to family members to see who’s got what. Every family has got a box of papers, photos and documents and an aunt or an uncle interested in famly history. Also, is there anyone left in Poland? Can they be contacted and asked to help?
You are right about this being tricky, it all depends on how committed you are to the process and how much you want the EU citizenship, and why.
For most people I have worked with, the confirmation of citizenship is part of a bigger picture, and a bit of a journey to discover your Polish roots. It is an enriching process, and one that helps you understand who you are.
I hope this has been of some assistance. Let me know if there is anything else you need to know.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thank you for your reply, Mr. Professor.
I am going to have to look outside of the family for records as everyone claims to have nothing (on either side of my parentage, my mother was born outside of Poland following the war and moved to the US with her family as DPs. She obtained US citizenship in the late 1960s so I think that I could just as easily attempt to confirm through her, but she does not know the location of any of her parents documents and I do not know if her documents–her records all come from Germany–would be helpful to me.) Neither of my parents had their birth registered with Poland and surviving grandparents were not too fond of even speaking about the old world–refusing even to provide the names of their parents claiming that was not information that the family needed to know. Searching my very uncommon surname has shown me that it is unlikely that there is still living family members in Poland, though their might be. But I would have no idea who they are. The only real information I have are birth dates and likely cities of birth (coming from a marriage certificate which was not issued in Poland and a POW ID) of my grandparents. It is all made more confusing because I have no idea how to obtain vital records from Poland. I know nothing of the language and it seems that all requests need to be in Polish. Not that it matters as I cannot even read the information which is always only in Polish.
As this is a long process I am really trying to get everything together in the shortest amount of time and at the lowest cost. I want to find sufficient documentation to ensure an easy process, but even that is more difficult than I had anticipated as I have come to find that there are no passports or other relevant documents that would simplify this endeavour. I have found several services that provide legal aid in the process, but I am unsure as to how much information they would require. I am also not sure of the added costs of procuring such services.
Again, thank you for the reply.
Dear Jeff,
Whether you can confirm your citizenship on your mother’s side largely depends on the year you were born. If one of your grandparents was in the Polish army, your case gains quite a bit of strenght, if it can be proven. Are you based in Australia, Jeff? If so, your first step should be the National Archives of Australia, which keeps EVERYTHING on EVERYBODY. You’d be surprised what you can find! If you are US-based, they also have pretty good archives so that should definitely be your starting point. The cost of document aquisition is relatively low in Poland, however, if you don’t speak the language, it can be tricky. This is why professional researchers charge top dollar for finding documents.
There are ways around it, and if you like, I can email you some forms that you can submit to the National Institue of Rememberence, who should have some details on your ancestors. Another good source of information are the local archives (for documents over 100 years old) of the town your family comes from and Civil Registry Office (for newer records). Please feel free to email me off the forum for the forms, info@polaron.com.au
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
The worst thing about this all is that I can find nothing on either side of my family (my mother–born in Germany to Polish parents and obtained US citizenship in late ’60s– has very basic documentation all from Germany and my father has nothing, besides the POW ID card of my grandfather and my grandparent’s marriage certificate, which comes from Germany.) Family members claim to have nothing and I am running out of sources. Times I thought I have found a hit have been wrong.
I have looked into services to provide legal aid on the internet, but the majority the sites have not been updated in a long time and none provide any information as to what is actually provided nor costs associated with the legal services. Currently it would appear that at least three individuals would be applying for the confirmation of citizenship. I can imagine that this would be quite costly. Then I am not sure if I would still need to obtain the documents (not speaking Polish I am not even sure to whom to make the inquiry). I cannot even find out if one can obtain vital records easily in Poland. I would make the trip if I was able to obtain documents that way.
As far as the application for the confirmation of citizenship goes, my brother and I could apply for a confirmation at the same time as one of my parents as I understand it. Does this cause the duration of the process to be lengthened? Am I looking at even longer to get a response if I apply with my parents?
I really do not want to give up on this, but I have been seeking out documents within my family for the better part of a year and coming up empty due to my family’s lack of desire to share history on one side and the problems of the people who would have such knowledge being deceased on the other.
Ultimately it seems to be very frustrating. If only my family had come from another place where it would be easier to obtain necessary information. Or even if I could find family in other places that would have information. My surname is quite rare and I come up empty. It is all the more frustrating because I know that it can still take up to a year to be processed. It seems like I am just wasting time that would be better spent elsewhere.
Thank you very much for your advice and assistance.
OK, just a couple of pointers, Jeff, hopefully helpful:
1. You only have to confirm citizenship of ancestors that are still alive so, and you only need one, not both sides of family.
2. In your case, you would have to confirm your mother’s citizenship and your own, that is if you were born after 1951, otherwise your eligibility may be affected.
3. Families can be difficult and sometimes they have a very good reason (i.e. they may have done something they are not particularly proud of, or have gone through some very difficult times) so you need to be patient and diplomatic. Let them get used to the idea. This is very common and most families do come around. Have you actually explained to them why you are wanting to do this?
4. Whilst it may seem frustrating, just think of how much you are learning, about yourself, your family and your family’s history. I am not sure whether this is helfpul to you, but please see it as a bit of a jourrney, and take one step at a time. Because you see, at the end of the day it is not just about a piece of paper. I think you’ll find that by exploring your ancestry, you will discover your Polish roots and even if you find that you are not eligible, or that there is not enough documentation available to prove your citizenship, you will be richer for it. For example, the thing about Poland is that the buildings your grandparents grew up in are still likely to be there, depending where they come from. Have you considered going to Poland personally? I know there is a cost involved but this may be the best option for you, whereby you visit all the offices personally, and believe me, people are helpfull, once they see you are making an effort to re-connect. And wouldn’t it be great if you did find some family still living in Poland?
By the way, just to make you feel “better”, some applications take 3-4 years to complete. It all depends on your family circumstances!
Take care and keep in touch.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Professor,
I made some enquiries last year about confirming Polish Citizenship but have put it off for now partly because of the cost and time and with more pressing priorities at the moment. My query is perhaps more from my children’s perspective (I have two daughters) who are still very young but I would like them if they get the opportunity when they are older to perhaps study and work in Europe.
I am Australian born with Polish parents, my father moved here in the 1960′s and became a citizenship some time ago, my mother came to Australia in the early 1970′s after marrying my father and has kept her citizenship since, in fact her last passport was a Polish passport when we visited Poland in the 80′s (this has since lapsed) and both my brother and I travelled on this passport (We were both under 18) at the time.
After nearly 40 years in Australia Mum has finally decided to become an Australian citizen. Just wondering whether this will in turn make things more difficult for myself when confirming Polish citizenship and thus making it more difficult to pass this to my daughters.
Secondly, how difficult would it be for my daughters to apply for passports based on my wife’s ancestory (who is not Polish) she has a Maltese father who lived in the UK for ten years (but never became a citizen) he is now an Australian citizen and her maternal grandfather was from Yorkshire UK – we still have his passport from when he entered Australia in the 20′s or 30′s. He has since passed away.
Dear George,
Thank you for your post and let me reply to your queries in order:
1. Your mother acquiring her Australian citizenship will not affect her Polish citizenship in any way, however, the fact that her Polish passport has now lapsed means that she would not be able to simply renew it, should she choose to. She would, in fact, have to go through the process of confirming her Polish citizenship before a new passport can be issued. The new, biometric, passports contain security features and require fingerprints, in line with the newest EU regulations.
2. Given you were born after 1951 (I assume), you can apply for confirmation of your citizenship under your mother OR father (you only need one parent). Your children could easily be included in your application for confirmation of citizenship and would need their mother’s permission to register their birth certificates in Poland.
3. The fact that you used to be a holder of a Polish passport is very helpful and would not only speed things up in Poland in terms of how long it takes but it is also pretty much your key to success. You are very lucky that your mother had you travel to Poland on a Polish passport because this would make things much easier for you should you ever decide to apply for your confirmation.
4. UK ancestry visas are tricky as the UK government is making it more difficult to obtain. You have to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country and be able to prove that one of your grandparents was born in the UK prior to March 1922, you may be eligible to live and work in the UK for five years. To be eligible you must:
Be a citizen of a Commonwealth country
Be over 17 years of age
Have a grandparent who was born in the UK prior to 1922
Be able to work and intend seek employment in the UK for the duration of your visa
Be able to support yourself without relying on government funding
Ancestry visas are normally issued for 5 years. At the end of that period, if you have lived in the UK continuously, you may apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). After spending 12 months on ILR, you may be eligible for UK citizenship.
Do let me know if there is anything I can assist with.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thankyou Professor,
This is very useful information, ironically I remember complaining back then that I couldn’t have an Australian passport (because I was still a minor) how the world and times have changed.
Yep. Hard to believe but it’s cool to be Polish again. And here is an example of Ponglish for you:
empetrójka – MP3 player
sorki – sorry
czat – chat
kastomizacja – customisation
dezajner – designer
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thanks Professor Adamski for providing all that information about Polish and British passports. It is very much appreciated. With a Polish grandfather on one side, and a Welsh one on the other, it looks like my kids won’t have any trouble obtaining EU passports. Must remind them to bring their Mum some nice French perfume on the way back
Kind regards
Cathy Litwin.
Hello
My ex-husband recently acquired Polish citizenship by virtue of the fact that his parents were both Polish nationals. This means that he can now obtain a Polish passport – does the same apply for our children?
Thanks and regards
Hello Catherine,
Yes, they should be able to. If your husband has already received his confirmation of Polish citizenship, and his Polish birth certificate, he can now proceed to apply for his Polish passport. As of 29th June 2009, Poland has introduced a new format of passports with biometric features (including a chip and fingerprints of the bearer) so the waiting time for a passport is now of up to 6 months. Your husband will have to travel to Sydney, assuming you live in Melbourne, to apply for his passport, or he can wait for the Sydney consulate representatives to visit Melbourne, which they do every couple of months, to attend a short face-to-face interview. If he wants to, he is able to apply for a 9 month interim passport, which is issued here in Australia and costs $22. The 10 year Polish passports are produced in Poland, and are brought over by personal couriers who travel to Poland four times a year to collect them, for security reasons, hence the delays.
Now, your children will have to have their birth certificates registered in Poland as well, and they too, have to go through the process of confirming their Polish citizenships but now that your husband has his, it is a mere formality, especially if they are under the age of 18. If you have male children, you should also apply for a certificate of army exemption (military service is still compulsory in Poland) through the consulate. Let me know if you need any more information on that.
Unfortunately, as a spouse you do not qualify for a Polish passport but you would get a spousal visa if you ever decided to live in Europe with your husband. Unless, of couse, you take the plounge and live in Poland, which, after 5 years, would make you eligible to become a Polish citizen.
Good luck and let us know if there is anything else you need ot know.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
I just notice you say your ex-husband! Sorry, Catherine.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Thank you Prof. Adamski for your very comprehensive and informative reply. I’m sure my kids will take advantage of the possibility of obtaining a Polish passport. It would certainly facilitate travelling around Europe.
Would you happen to have any information about obtaining UK passports? I was born here, but my father was born in Wales, of Welsh and English parents.
Thanks again
Kind regards
Cathy Litwin.
Will look into it and let you know, Catherine. Ancestry visas used to be relatively easy to get in the UK but some changes were made in recent times. Many Australians took advantage of the fairly lax regulations in the past but the screws have been tightened. Interestingly, although Australia is still part of the Commonwealth and the Queen is our head of state, Australians do not qualify for any special treatment. Young people (under the age of 30) can apply for holiday making visas which are valid for 12 months out of every 2 years but other than that, Australians are not able to work in the UK.
Anyhow, I will provide more info shortly.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
OK, the way it works is that if you are a citizen of a Commonwealth country and you can prove one of your grandparents was born in the UK prior to March 1922, you may be eligible to live and work in the UK for five years. This type of visa allows you to live, work and cross the borders without restrictions. This visa can only be applied from outside of UK. To be eligible you must:
Be a citizen of a Commonwealth country
Be over 17 years of age
Have a grandparent who was born in the UK prior to 1922
Be able to work and intend seek employment in the UK for the duration of your visa
Be able to support yourself without relying on government funding
Ancestry visas are normally issued for 5 years. At the end of that period, if you have lived in the UK continuously, you may apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). After spending 12 months on ILR, you may be eligible for UK citizenship.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi, it’s me again, Prof. Adamski. I heard you on the radio on Tuesday! Well done.
Yes, Cath. I was interviewed on ABC, Life Matters. How nice of you to follow my illustrious career and media adventures.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
My grandmother is a Polish Jew. That means I’m ellegible for citizenship, right? because of what the Nazis did, yeah?
how long does it take to get the EU passport?
I am going to Europe next month, is that enough time?
Dear andxious to travel,
You are likely to be eligible for confirmation of Polish citizenship but it depends on a number of factors. For example:
1. Is this your paternal or maternal grandmother?
2. What year was she born?
3. What year did she leave Poland?
4. On what documents?
5. Do you have any documents relating to her, such as passports, refuge travel documents, birth certificates etc?
and on and on and on it goes…
Average processing times vary, from 9-24 months. The Polish government looks at your grandmother’s life history and decideds if anything happened between the time she’s left Poland and now to affect her citizenship. As her descendent, you would only be eligible if her citizenship is not affected by army service, renounciation of citizenship etc.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Your
Hi prof. Adamski
I was just wondering how many native Australian languages are there?
What a great question, Marie! At the time of white settlement, it is said that about 300 Aboriginal languages were spoken in Australia. Only about 10% of those survived, and many of them are dying. Very sad to see that happening, Marie.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi,
a freind and i are having a debate and came across your site.
Can you please confirm what is the most commonly spoken language in the world?
Thanks.
Dear Oliver,
The most common language in the world is currently Mandarin, spoken in mainland China and a number of other countries.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
do you guys translate websites?
if so how much does it cost and how do you do it?
Yes, we do, Stacey. First, we turn our typewriters on…
Just kidding. Translation of a website, often called localisation, is more than just a straight translation. Stay tuned, lesson no 1, 2 and 3 in how to prepare your text for website translation coming soon.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hey there Prof. Adamski,
I work for a small community org’ out in Frankston. We are in the process of having our brochures translated from English into a few languages but we are struggeling to work out what languages are spoken in the area. Can you help?
Cheers
Craig
Frankston? Bogan and Australian. Oh, how politically incorrect of me! Blush.
But seriously. It depends who your target audience is. Is it young people, older people, recent migrants, more established communities? What are you trying to communicate?
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi, can anyone tell me why Magister in Polish doesn’t get translated as a Master’s Degree into English? Isn’t that an equivalent degree? I am in the process of having my qualifications recognised but my translator tells me that he cannot translate it as Master’s. Help!
Cath
Educational certificate translations can be tricky if there is no direct equivalent in the other language. In Poland, and in many other countries, the school system isn’t quite compatible with Australia. When assessing your qualifications, Australian authorities tend to try and “fit” them into the local reality, and it does mean “under-assessment”. For example, the old Magister that you are refering to is usually assessed at Bachelor level, or Honours, if you are lucky. This is because a Master’s Degree is a post graduate degree in Australia, done following completion of a Bachelor Degree, wheareas in Poland, it wasn’t. Now that Poland’educational system has been reformed, things are more aligned, so your Licencjat is accepted at Bachelor level here. For the old Magister Degrees, you should ask your translator to provide you with a translator’s note explaining all this.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Great website, guys!
Speaking of weird English words… Vomitory?
A) Backstage area at a fashion show.
B) Dungeon at a boys’ boarding school.
C) Passageway leading to a set of seats in a theatre.
It’s C, of course. Who knew…
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
How about this? There is only one word in English that has five vowels in a row. That word is queueing.
Knightsbridge has six consonants in a row. Latchstring does, too.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
In between Socrates and Nitzche, I’ve been reading crime novels. In John Sanford’s Hidden Pray, he uses the Russian word “gavno”. Translated literally, it means “s*it” in English, but, in the book, is used to mean “damn!”, “bloody hell!” or “s*it!”, as in “I can’t believe this is happening!”.
John’s linguistic advisors, whoever they may be, got it wrong. “Gavno”, as used by the books’ characters means “bulls*hit” so every time someone says “I can’t believe this is happening to me!”, they’re actually saying “This is bulls*it!”. No wonder they are killing each other all over the place!
Must let John know to use “блин” instead.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
I found a language called Sundanese. Isn’t that the same as Sudanese?
Mememe
Nope. Sundanese is spoken by about 27 million people … in Indonesia.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Katelance, there is no language called Sudanese but what a great question! A version of Arabic, called Sudanese Arabic is the most common language of Sudan. Dinka and Nuer are the most popular languages in the south of Sudan, whereas in the north of the country, Nubian languages such as Meidob, Nobiin and Kenzi-Dongolawi are widely spoken, as well as Bedawi and Beja.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Kate, Kate, Kate… How silly of you. Why would you expect people to just speak English. That would be sooooo boring. And just think about words like coffee, tea, casserole, shampoo and potato. They came into English from somewhere, you know.
OK, ladies. It is easy but very short-sighted to say that everyone speaks English and if they don’t, they should. The world would be so much poorer for it, though, don’t you think? And the English language itself comes in many varieties.
Whilst it is a very common business and internet language (over 85% of internet traffic is in English), something like 5000 world languages are here to stay. True, many of them are dying or a on the verge of extintion but each language is unique, rich and beautiful in its own way. By the way, do you know where the words coffee, tea, casserole and potato come from?
Your truly
Prof. Adamski
Got you there, guys! You thought French, right? Na.
Coffee – Turkish
Potato – Spanish
Shampoo – Hindi
Casserole – Greek
Tea – Chinese
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
Hi prof. Adamski
I was just wondering what language they do speak in Sudan. I always thought there was a language called Sudanese. Also, why can’t everybody just learn to speak English???
Well, annamelba, you’d expect it to be hard because you are getting another country’s citizenship. Having a Polish mother doesn’t make you Polish automatically, if you have never lived in Poland. So of course the Polish government will want you to prove your ancestry before they give you that elusive piece of paper, the confirmation of your Polish citizenship! Why wouldn’t they? Every country does.
Having said that, I emphathise with you because the rules are difficult to understand and follow, even if you do speak the Polish language. Having worked with hundreds of people in your situation, all I can say is that IT IS WORTH IT IN THE END. You do get total freedom in Europe, in terms of travel, visas, work, studies etc.
What YOU need to do is to treat your Polish passport as a mini project, to which you have to commit. It will be expensive, frustrating and long, I can assure you of that.
The first thing is to gather all the documents in your family’s posession. Every family has an uncle or an aunty with a box of old documents. Grab them and make copies. Ask questions, make notes, write lists. And then you have to decide if you are going to this on your own, or through a company, like Polaron.
Yours truly
Prof. Adamski
I was wondering about the Polish passports. My mum is Polish and I tried to go through the consulate to apply. It turned into a nightmare so I just left it. I went to UK, stayed there for 12 months, can’t go back for another 12 months. Why is this so hard???