Poland in Canada

You can file an application to issue a passport for a child with any Republic of Poland consular office you choose. Remember that you must collect the new passport in the same office in which you filed the application.

An application to issue a passport for a child is filed personally by:

• the mother and the father or, respectively, a legal caretaker or court-appointed guardian, or
• one of the parents or legal caretakers appointed by the court or the court appointed-guardian, provided that they produce:

1. a written consent of the other parent to issue a passport for the child, which contains a confirmation of the parent’s signature by the passport authority (regional governor or consul) or a notary; the parent may also grant their consent to issue a passport for the child by sending to the consular office’s Electronic Inbox [insert the inbox address here] a letter granting the consent and signed with a qualified electronic signature, trusted signature or personal signature;
   The consent should contain:

1) the name(s), surname, PESEL number, if assigned, and if there is no PESEL number, the date of birth and series and number of a valid document confirming the identity of the consenting parent;
2) the name(s), surname, PESEL number, if assigned, and if there is no PESEL number, the date of birth of the minor on whose behalf an application to issue a passport document is made;

2. a final decision of the court demonstrating that the other parent is not entitled to decide on whether the child is to be issued a passport;
3. a final decision of the family court in which the court grants consent for a passport to be issued to the child without the consent of the other parent;
4. a full copy of the Polish birth certificate demonstrating that the child’s father is unknown (no acknowledgement of paternity or court paternity testing);
5. a copy of the death certificate of the other parent.     

A child over 12 years of age must be present when an application for a temporary passport is filed. The consular employee will take their fingerprints.
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You can make an appointment to file a passport application through the e-konsulat system.

IMPORTANT! Parents no longer fill out a handwritten application.
You can file an application to issue a passport or temporary passport to a child with a consul in electronic form during a passport visit. A consular employee will file your application using an electronic form and the parents need to confirm that the child’s details are correct by placing their signatures on a dedicated device (signature pad).

• A colour biometric photograph of the child – check what does the photograph have to look like.
  Filing the photograph together with the application is mandatory. You cannot replace the photograph or send it later. If no photograph was attached to your application or the photograph does not comply with requirements, the passport authority will notify you that your application has been rejected.
• Valid passport documents or valid identity cards of the parents.
• A valid passport document or valid identity card of the child, if such documents have been issued.
• A full or abbreviated copy of the Polish birth certificate, if the child does not have a PESEL number assigned.

If the application is filed by a legal caretaker or court-appointed guardian, court-issued documents that confirm an entitlement to make an application on behalf of the child should be produced. 

NOTE: if you apply for a passport and there are justified doubts as to the child’s identity, citizenship or other details required to file a passport application, the consul may ask you to submit additional necessary documents.
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• The fee for issuing a passport for a child over 12 years of age is 81 CAD.
• Fees are collected at the cash desk of the consular office when you file the application.
• The fee is collected in cash, money order, certified bank check (credit cards, debit cards or personal checks are not accepted). Consulate General in Toronto accepts debit and credit cards except American Express.

Producing a school ID card or a similar document confirming that the child attends a school is not necessary.

You will not pay less if you file an application to issue a new passport for a child before the validity of the current passport has expired, in the following cases:

• the child’s details found in the passport, such as their name(s) or surname, have changed (passport replacement is then mandatory), the child’s appearance has changed to a degree that makes determining their identity difficult,
• there is no space in the child’s passport for new visas or stamps confirming that they crossed a border.

When you file your application, the consular employee will tell you the anticipated date of collecting the passport. You will also receive a written confirmation of filing the application. The confirmation will feature the number of the child’s passport application which you can use to check the progress of the case online.

If your child needs a travel document at short notice, for example when they have to travel urgently, file an additional application for a temporary passport while you are waiting for a biometric passport to be issued. You will receive a temporary passport faster than a biometric one. 

IMPORTANT! If you plan to travel abroad using a temporary passport, check the current regulations defining the rules of entrance and stay on the territory of that country. Make sure that you can cross the border using a temporary passport and for how long it remains valid (when entering and leaving).

A child’s passport can be collected by either parent (caretaker) personally in the office in which the application has been filed.

On the date of collecting the new document, bring the child’s previous passport (or temporary passport) to the consular office – the former passport document will be voided, except for pages containing valid visas, and returned to you.

IMPORTANT! If you receive a passport document by mail, YOU NEED TO ACTIVATE THE PASSPORT ON YOUR OWN using a dedicated electronic service. In order to activate the passport, you need Internet access, the number of your new passport and the application number (which can be found in the confirmation of filing a passport application).
Consider that you can no longer change the method of collecting the passport from personal to courier once the application has been approved during your visit to the consulate.

Does not apply.

How can I obtain the first passport for a child born abroad?
First you must transcribe the child’s foreign birth certificate so that you can obtain a full or abbreviated copy of a Polish birth certificate. The (biometric) passport includes the PESEL number which cannot be assigned without a copy of the Polish birth certificate.

How to obtain a PESEL number?
If a passport application is filed for a child who does not yet have a PESEL number, the consul applies for assignment of the PESEL number.

Remember that the consul will not apply for assignment of the PESEL number otherwise than in connection with issuing a passport or temporary passport.

What should be done if one of the parents cannot be present to file a passport application for a child?
The parent who cannot be present to file a passport application for a child may grant consent for the document to be issued to the child by filling out a relevant statement in written form. The parent’s signature on such statement should be confirmed by a notary or passport authority (consul, regional governor). It is also permitted for a parent to grant consent by means of a letter in electronic form signed with a qualified electronic signature, trusted signature or personal signature. The letter should be sent to the consular office’s Electronic Inbox [insert the inbox address here].

What should be done if either or both parents have invalid passports or identity cards or do not have an identity document at all and they want to file an application to issue a passport or temporary passport to a child?
Lack of a valid identity documents prevents a person from being identified. In such case, the consul cannot accept the parent’s consent to issue a passport document to the child. The parents need to obtain passports or identity cards first.