Poland in Canada

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

An application to issue a temporary passport must be filed personally by you.

You can make an appointment to file a passport application through the e-konsulat system. 
As a rule, it is not possible to make a passport appointment by phone. In cases of hardship and urgency caused by random events (such as death of a family member, sudden illness, theft or loss of documents while staying in another country) contact the nearest consulate by sending an e-mail to describe your situation and attach supporting documents. Remember to state your name, surname, place of residence/stay abroad and phone number in the email.

IMPORTANT!  You no longer need to fill out the application by hand.
You can file an application to issue a temporary passport with a consul in electronic form during a passport visit. A consular employee will file your application using an electronic form and you need to confirm that the data are correct by placing your signature on a dedicated device (signature pad).

• You need to submit a colour biometric photograph – 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 consul will notify you that your application has been rejected.
• A valid passport document or valid identity card (if issued) confirming your identity and Polish citizenship.

NOTE: if you apply for a passport and there are justified doubts as to your identity, citizenship or other details required to file a passport application, the consul may ask you to submit additional necessary documents. 

• The fee for issuing a temporary passport while waiting for a biometric passport to be issued is 22 CAD.
• The fee for issuing a temporary passport for reasons other than waiting for a biometric passport to be issued is 59 CAD.
  NOTE: If a temporary passport is issued, reduced fees do not apply (such fees are only applicable to issuing a biometric passport).
• 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.

Remember! 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). 

You will receive your temporary passport as soon as possible.

You can collect your temporary passport personally in the office in which you filed the application.

On the date of collecting the new document, bring your 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!​​​​​​ ​In justified cases, especially when travel to the consular office is particularly difficult, the consul may waive the requirement of collecting the passport document personally. Discuss this when you file the passport application. You will have to cover the cost of mailing the passport.

The consul will mail the temporary passport to a specific address you provided by a mail operator or carrier, taking into account the security of the dispatched document. Your former passport will be voided before the consul has sent a new one.

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.

The consul will refuse to issue a passport on the request of:

• a court that is conducting proceedings in a criminal case, proceedings concerning a fiscal crime, proceedings related to a minor or civil proceedings against the passport applicant,
• an authority conducting preliminary proceedings and an authority conducting enforcement proceedings in a criminal case, including proceedings concerning a fiscal crime, against the passport applicant.
  In these two cases you may not appeal against the decision of the consul refusing to issue a passport document.

The consul refuses to issue a passport document when:

• based on the submitted documents and available registers, the passport authority did not confirm the details of the passport applicant to be entered into the passport document which have been stated in the application to issue a passport document;
• based on submitted documents and available registers, the passport authority did not confirm the citizenship of the person who filed the application to issue a passport document;
• the applicant failed to pay the required fee for a passport or temporary passport.

If the consul issues a decision refusing to issue a passport to you, you can appeal the decision through the consul to the minister competent for internal affairs.

You may not appeal a decision refusing to issue a passport document if the decision was made on request of a court or another authority conducting proceedings.

Can I receive a temporary passport?
A temporary passport is issued solely in specific cases. Such passport document can be issued to persons:

• staying outside the territory of the Republic of Poland (if they so wish and file an application for such document to be issued);
• whose fingerprints cannot be physically taken, if this obstacle is temporary;
• in urgent situations:

- to return to the place of residence,
- related to illness,
- related to illness or burial of a family member,
- related to professional activities,
- related to compulsory education of persons who do not have capacity for legal transactions or have limited capacity for legal transactions and are under 18 years of age, to the development of their individual skills, or to provide care to such persons, if necessary;

• staying outside the borders of the Republic of Poland, if they have not been assigned a PESEL number, in particularly justified cases, if circumstances prevent or considerably hinder assigning the PESEL number and issuing a temporary passport is necessary due to the protection of material rights and interests of the person who is to be issued the temporary passport.

Can I file a temporary passport application if I lost my identity card and I have a new passport valid for 10 years ready to be collected in Poland?
You can file an application with the consul to issue a temporary passport to return to Poland. Remember to bring the temporary passport issued by the consul with you when you collect your new passport from the office (in Poland).

I lost my passport document. What do I have to do?
If you lost your passport, you need to notify the passport authority of this immediately. If you are abroad, the passport authority is the consul.

Filing a passport loss notice with the consulate means that your document loses its validity as of the date of notifying the consul.

You do not need to notify passport loss personally in the consulate if you have a trusted profile, qualified certficiate or e-identify card. In such cases, you can notify the loss or damage of your passport document either in writing using an electronic form or online via the provided electronic service. 

In addition, you can also notify the loss of a passport document by means of a written letter with a signature certified as your own by a notary

Remember! If you find the passport whose loss you have notified to the consulate, you should immediately return the document to the passport authority (the consul if you are abroad).
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