Poland in Kenya

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.

The new online service allows you to make an application for a 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 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 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.

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. 

NOTE: If the child was born abroad and does not have a Polish birth certificate, first you need to transcribe (register) a foreign birth certificate with a Polish Register Office. You can do it on your own, through a member of your closest family, or a legal representative at a Register Office in Poland or through a consulate.

If the child doesn’t have the PESEL number, you will not be able to make a passport application online, even if the child’s Polish birth certificate is already available (issued as a result of transcription of a foreign birth certificate). For children who don’t have their PESEL number, applications for passports or temporary passports can be made at consular posts only, after you have made an appointment via the e‑Konsulat system. 

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 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 is €35.

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

A bank transfer can be made to the proper consular post’s bank account only after consulting it with the Consul.

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

Postage fee—if you choose to have the passport delivered by mail/courier the fee is covered by the sender (for exact prices kindly contact delivery cmpany eg. DHL, FedEx).

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 (€18).

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 passport on your own (only possible in the case of 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 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 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.

Can I apply for a passport for a child online if I do not have a Polish birth certificate?

No, you can’t.If the child was born abroad and does not have a Polish birth certificate, first you need to transcribe (register) a foreign birth certificate with a Polish Register Office. For children who do not have their PESEL number, passport applications can be made at consular posts only, after you have made an appointment via the e‑Konsulat system.

How to obtain the PESEL number?

The Polish birth certificate is necessary to obtain the PESEL number which is then entered in a passport. The consul requests for the PESEL number to be issued in connection with a passport application for a child made in person at a consulate.

How can the other parent consent to the issuing of a 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.

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 if one or both of the parents have invalid passports, personal IDs or do not have any ID documents and want to apply online for a passport for a child under 12 years of age?

If a person has no ID document, it is impossible to identify him/her and to apply for and consent to issuing a 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.