Poland in US

You can file a passport application in any Republic of Poland consular office. Remember that you will collect your passport in the same office in which you filed the application.

Yes, you need to file a passport application in person.

You can make an appointment to file a passport application through the e-konsulat system.

IMPORTANT!  You no longer need to fill out the application by hand.

Your passport application to the RP consul can be filed electronically during your 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 passport authority 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. 

• A document that confirms your right to pay a reduced fee for issuing a passport or be exempted entirely from payment (such as a student ID card, Polish pensioner ID card etc.).

• The fee for issuing a passport is 122 USD.
• Fees are collected at the cash desk of the consular office when you file the application.
• The fee is collected in cash, cashier’s check, money order or credit/debit card.
• You are eligible for a reduced fee for issuing a passport if:
  • you are a school or university student aged between 18 and 26;
  • you are an old age pensioner, disability pensioner or person with disability; 
  • you are wholly dependent on your spouse who is an old age pensioner, disability pensioner or a person with disability in the meaning of the above provisions;
  • you are staying in a residential home or care facility; or you are relying on social assistance in the form of fixed allowances pursuant to the provisions of the Social Assistance Act of 12 March 2004 (Dz. U. 2021, items 2268 and 2270, and 2022, items 1 and 66);
  • you are receiving a carer’s allowance, attendance benefit or allowance paid to carers of persons with disability, granted pursuant to the provisions of the Family Benefits Act of 28 November 2003 and the Act on determining and paying allowances to carers of 4 April 2014;
  • you are a veteran or a person to whom the provisions of the Act on veterans and certain persons being victims or wartime and post-war repressions of 24 January 1991 apply;
  • you are a person classified as an anti-communist resistance activist or a person repressed for political reasons pursuant to the Act on anti-communist resistance activists and persons repressed for political reasons of 20 March 2015;
  • you are a person whose involvement in regaining independence and sovereignty by Poland or respecting political human rights in Poland have been confirmed by the Head of the Veterans and Repressed Persons Office by means of decisions issued pursuant to Article 117, item 4 of the Old Age and Disability Pensions from the Social Insurance Funds Act of 17 December 1998;
  • you are a soldier doing territorial military service;
  • you are a veteran who suffered harm in the meaning of the Veterans of Foreign Missions Act of 19 August 2011;
  • you are a rescue firefighter serving in the voluntary fire service and a person who has been granted a rescue worker benefit pursuant to the Voluntary Fire Service Act of 17 December 2021;
  • you are a volunteer serving in entities entitled to undertake mountain rescue efforts;
  • you are a member of a large family in the meaning of the Large Family Card Act of 5 December 2014 and hold a Large Family Card.

IMPORTANT! In order to be eligible for a reduced consular fee, you must produce a document confirming your right to take advantage of the reduced fee when you file the application. 

You are entitled to receive a passport free of charge, if:

• you are over 70 years of age on the date of filing the application;
• you are staying in a residential home or care facility and your travel abroad is related to your long-term treatment or surgery;
• you receive a permanent social assistance allowance and your travel abroad is related to your long-term treatment or surgery;
• your passport has a technical defect;
• you have filed your passport application prior to the expiry date of your current passport to remove a discrepancy (for example in your name, surname, date of birth, place of birth or PESEL number);
• you hold a final court decision that renders invalid a decision of the passport authority refusing to issue or voiding a passport document.

• IMPORTANT! If you want to take advantage of being exempted from the passport fee, bring documents that confirm meeting one of the above conditions with you.

You will NOT pay less if you file an application to issue a new passport prior to the expiry of your current passport in the following cases:

• your details found in the passport, such as your name(s) or surname, have changed as a result of contracting marriage (passport replacement is then mandatory), or your appearance has changed to a degree that makes determining your identity difficult;
• there is no space in your passport for new visas or stamps confirming that you 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 your passport application which you can use to check the progress of your case online.

If you need a travel document at short notice, for example when you have to go for a trip urgently, file an additional application for a temporary passport while you wait for a biometric passport to be issued. You will receive a temporary passport faster than the 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).

You can collect your 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 passport to a specific address through a mail operator or carrier, taking into account the security of the dispatched document.

Your former passport will be voided before the consul sends a new one. If you know that your (biometric) passport is about to be dispatched, send your former passport (or temporary passport, as appropriate) to the consul to have it voided. The consul will return the voided document to you by dispatching it together with the new passport.

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 you made a visit to the consulate to file the application

Neither can the domestic passport authority (regional governor) send a passport to someone who is staying abroad.

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.

Refusal to issue a passport document is made by the consul by means of a decision.

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 file a passport application if my passport remains valid for a few years?

You can file a application for a new passport. Remember that you will not be eligible for a reduced fee in the following cases:

• change of your personal details due to contracting marriage;
• lacking space for visas and border control stamps in the passport.

My personal details have changed, do I need to apply to have my passport replaced?

Yes, you need to replace your passport if details such as your name(s), surname, date of birth, place of birth, sex or PESEL number have changed or need to be rectified. In such case, you need to apply to have your passport replaced immediately.

IMPORTANT! Your former passport will be automatically voided if more than 120 days have passed after the details found in your passport have been changed in the PESEL register.

Remember that you are not eligible for a reduced passport fee if your personal details have changed (for example if you contracted marriage or officially changed your name or surname).

My passport is lacking space for visas and border control stamps but remains valid for a few years. Do I need to replace it?

You are not obliged to do so. If your passport is lacking space to put in visas or stamps confirming border crossing, and you plan to travel abroad, you should file an application for a new passport.

Consider filing an application for a new passport even if you do not plan to travel in the near future in order to avoid inconveniences and hindrances if you need to make an urgent trip. Remember, however, that you will pay the full fee for the passport in such case.

Can I file a 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. What do I have to do?

If you lost your passport, you need to notify the passport authority (the consul if you are abroad) of this immediately.

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 certificate or e-identity 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).

 Is it possible to send me a new passport from another consulate or from Poland?

No, you can collect the passport solely in the office in which you filed the application.

How can I obtain a passport if I was born abroad, never had a Polish passport or identity card and never lived in Poland, but one of my parents once had a Polish passport?

In such cases, as a rule you must have your Polish citizenship confirmed. After obtaining a decision of the regional governor stating that you have Polish citizenship, you will be obliged to transcribe your foreign birth or marriage certificate. By doing so, you will obtain a copy of the Polish birth or marriage certificate.

The documents required to file a passport application in this case include your photograph, a full or abbreviated copy of a Polish birth or marriage certificate and a decision confirming Polish citizenship. You also need to produce a valid identity document with your photograph.