Poland in Canada

The mother or the father, as well as a court-appointed legal caretaker or a guardian submits an application online.

Go to www.gov.pl > Services for citizens > Documents and personal information > Obtain a passport for a child.

NOTE: A temporary passport is issued in difficult and urgent life situations (e.g. death of a family member, sudden illness, theft or loss of documents while abroad, as well as in urgent situations due to the child’s attending school).

Documents to prove exceptional circumstances should be attached to the application.

A consul can issue a decision refusing a temporary passport if the criteria to issue a temporary passport are not met.

The new online service allows you to make an application for a temporary passport for a child who is under 12 years of age and has a PESEL number without the need to visit a consulate.

NOTE: If you attach a scan or a photo of a document (e.g. the consent of the other parent to issue a temporary passport for a child with the other parent’s signature certified by a passport authority or a notary), the consul will inform you that you must deliver the original of the consent in person or by mail. Not filling in the application will cause a temporary passport for a child to be refused.

Legal basis: Article 78 of the Act of 25 June 2015 Consular Law, according to which evidence in proceedings before a consul is an original document or its copy certified to be true by an appropriate authority.

An application submitted by e-service should include documents or their copies made in an electronic form and signed with an electronic signature – qualified, personal or trusted signature. According to Article 54 of the Act on passport documents, failure to complete a submitted passport application results in the consul’s decision to refuse a passport issued within 30 days from the application date.

To use the new passport service, the mother, father, or a court-appointed legal caretaker or guardian of a child under 12 years of age should have a digital signature – qualified, personal or trusted signature.

It is possible to set up and authenticate (confirm) a trusted profile, which will allow you to use trusted signature, without leaving home by using electronic banking and online by a video conference.

A trusted profile can also be personally authenticated in Poland at a confirmation point (revenue offices, branches of the National Health Fund or Social Insurance Institution) or abroad before a consul Confirmation of a trusted profile on the ePUAP platform. 

IMPORTANT! To be able to submit the application you need the other caretaker’s consent: mother, father, a legal caretaker, or a court-appointed guardian. For more detailed information go to the tab Consent to issue a passport for a child. 

You will need:

• one current colour photo of the child in a digital format to be attached to the e-application; take the child to a photographer not earlier than 6 months before the application date. It you want to take the photo yourself, check how to take a passport photo;
• proof of payment of a passport fee transferred to the consular post’s bank account (after you have submitted the application, it will not be refunded);
• if the other parent does not register his/her consent personally at a consulate/passport office in Poland or through the e-service Consent to issue a passport for a child or does not send his/her consent to the authority’s electronic inbox (ESP) Send a general letter, the other parent’s consent to issue a passport for a minor with his/her signature certified by a passport authority or a notary must be delivered to a consulate in person or by mail;
• if the other parent has been deprived of parental rights or his/her parental rights have been limited, a document stating the scope of parental authority (decision of a family court) must be delivered to a consulate in person or by mail;
• if the mother and the father disagree or the consent cannot be obtained from one of the parents, a family court’s decision allowing the child to receive a passport must be delivered to a consulate in person or by mail.

NOTE: You do not have to have the other parent’s consent when you make the application. The other parent can give his/her consent later.

• The fee for issuing a temporary passport is 59 CAD. 
• The fee for issuing a temporary passport awating a biometric passport is 22 CAD. 

After you have submitted the application, the fee will not be refunded.

A bank transfer must be made to the proper consular post’s bank account. Please, check for details by contacting relevant consulate.

Postage fee differs —if you choose to have the passport delivered by mail/courier please contact relevant consulate.

NOTE: Describe the bank transfer properly: the child’s name and surname, and date of birth, e.g. Jan Nowak, 01.01.2021

NOTE: delivery of a passport by courier is only possible in the case of application for a passport for a child under 5—see section How to collect the passport documents?

Your passport fee will be smaller if the child has the Large Family Card.

It takes up to 14 days to process the temporary passport application.

When you submit the application online, you receive a proof of receipt with the number of the passport application, which will be useful to:

• check the progress of your case: See if your passport or other passport document is ready,
• ​​​​​​activate a temporary passport on your own (only possible in the case of temporary passport for a child under 5).

The consul will inform you if fixing of any formal defects of the passport e-application is necessary. It can cause your case to take more time.

COLLECTION IN PERSON

You apply for and collect a temporary passport at the same office.

A child’s passport can be collected by:

• mother,
• ​​​​​father,
• legal caretaker,
• court-appointed guardian.

NOTE:

1. Child under 5 does not need to be present when you collect the passport.
2. Child between 5 and 12 must be present during the collection with one of the parents, a legal caretaker or a court-appointed guardian. You do not have to make an appointment to collect your child’s temporary passport.

On the collection day of the new document bring:

• valid identity document (personal identification card or a passport),
• the child's previous passport (or temporary passport) — current passport will be cancelled, except for pages with valid visas, and returned.

DELIVERY

If you choose to have a temporary passport for a child under 5 delivered by a postal operator:

• the consul will decide if there are reasons to allow the passport document to be sent by mail; otherwise, the consul will inform you that there are no such reasons and that you must collect the document yourself;
• if the consul agrees to send the document by post or by courier, the applicant will have to activate the temporary passport him/herself using a dedicated electronic service Confirm receipt of a passport or other passport document delivered by a courier; to activate the passport you will need: Internet access, the new passport number, and the application number (can be found on the confirmation of application receipt).

How can the other parent consent to the issuing of a temporary passport for a child?

Consent of the other parent:

1. available only for persons who have electronic signature – qualified, personal or trusted signature:

• Should be registered online at www.gov.pl > Services for citizens > Documents and personal information > Passport > Give consent to issue a passport.
• A parent can also send his/her consent to the electronic inbox (ESP) Send a general letter.

2. for persons holding a valid passport or an ID card:

• Alternatively, a parent can come to a passport authority in Poland or abroad (before a passport decision is made) to register his/her consent. For more detailed information go to the tab Consent to issue a passport document for a child. 
• In the case of written consent with a signature certified by a passport authority or a notary its original must be delivered to the consul, in person or by mail.

What to do when one or both parents’ passports or personal IDs are invalid, or they do not have any identification documents, and want to apply online for a passport for a child under 12?

If a person has no ID document, it is impossible to identify him/her and to apply for and consent to issuing a temporary passport for a child. Parents must obtain passports or IDs for themselves first.

Additionally, to use the new passport service, the mother, the father, a court-appointed legal caretaker or guardian of a child under 12 years of age should have a digital signature – qualified, personal or trusted signature.