Registration of foreign birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates in a Polish registry office.
- Transfer of a foreign certificate of marital status to Polish birth, marriage and death register, i.e. transcription !
- Localization of foreign certificates of personal status in Poland !
- Registering a foreign certificate of personal status to the Polish birth, marriage and death register !
Frequently, the reason for registering a foreign civil status document such as a foreign marriage certificate or foreign birth certificate in the Polish civil registry is the need to update data in the PESEL database. A Polish citizen who changes their name abroad through marriage actually has two identities with two different personal data. After changing the name abroad, they cannot apply for a new passport or ID card in Poland. The act of getting married abroad must be registered in Poland. If a child is born abroad from a Polish couple or a Polish-foreign couple, in order to obtain a Polish passport for such a child, it is also necessary to transfer the foreign birth certificate to the Polish civil registry and then apply for a Polish passport. It is very important to keep personal data up-to-date in the Polish PESEL database because if there are any inaccuracies or errors, it will not be possible to apply for a new Polish identity document until the personal data is corrected in Poland.
If the birth, marriage or death took place abroad and a certificate of marital status was prepared to confirm these events (birth certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate), you may request that this document be transferred to the register of Births, Marriages and Death in Poland. The result will be the preparation of a Polish certificate of personal status.
A certificate of personal status drawn up, for example, in the United States, Australia, France, Spain, Dubai, Canada, Greece, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands or any other country may be entered in the register of Birth, Marriages, and Deaths in Poland. Transcription of a foreign birth certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate consists in faithfully transcribing its content, taking into account only the data provided for by the Polish law.
Transcription can be made regardless of whether the person concerned is a Polish citizen or a foreigner ! A foreign act can be entered irrespective of its date of issue and the date of the event which the act concerns.
Polish law does not require the registration of foreign acts !
Procedure for the transcription / transfer of a foreign certificate of marital status into Polish Birth, Marriage and Death register, i.e. transcription.
Applicant:
– the person to which the event concerns
– other person who demonstrates a legal or factual interest (applies to the transcription of a document confirming death).
Competent authority, required documents:
An application for the transfer of a foreign certificate of marital status to Polish register of Birth, Deaths and Marriages may be submitted by an attorney. It is possible for our law firm to act as an authorized representative for the transcription of foreign civil status acts. The representative for the case file shall submit the original or an officially certified copy of the power of attorney along with:
– the original foreign civil status document serving as proof of the event and its registration (e.g., a copy of a civil status act) and its official translation into Polish, carried out by a sworn translator listed on the register of sworn translators maintained by the Minister of Justice in Poland.
No translation is required for abbreviated copies of birth, marriage and death certificates on multilingual forms, issued in accordance with the Convention No. 16 on the issuance of multilingual abbreviated copies of civil status records, drawn up in Vienna on September 8, 1976.
Adjustments of the spelling of the data:
The head of the registry office carries out a faithful transfer of a foreign certificate of marital status without any interference in the spelling of the names and surnames of the persons indicated in the foreign document.
Important ! If a person has an earlier certificate of personal status drawn up in Poland, he or she may, together with the application for transcription, apply for the spelling of the data contained in the foreign document to be adjusted to the Polish spelling rules.
Statements regarding the surname when transcribing the document confirming the marriage:
If the application concerns the transfer (transcription) of a foreign document of marital status confirming the marriage, but not containing a declaration of the spouses regarding their surname after marriage or the surname of children born of this marriage, the spouses may submit such declarations in the above-mentioned document. There is no strict time limit imposed upon such declarations. Such declarations can be filed at any time for the record before the head of the registry office who made the transcription.
Transcription notification:
After performing the duties, the head of the registry office issues a complete copy of the certificate of personal status. By virtue of law, this copy is treated as issued upon request. The registry office head is not obliged to notify other persons about the transfer of the foreign certificate of martial status, except when:
– the transfer, at the request of the child’s mother, is subject to a foreign certificate of marital status confirming birth. This document contains the father’s data other than those resulting from the presumption of the child’s origin from the mother’s husband. In such a situation, the head of the registry office notifies the mother’s husband about it, instructing him about the right to bring an action for denial of paternity, provided that the place of residence of the alleged father can be determined.
– the transfer, at the request of one of the spouses of a foreign certificate of martial status confirming the marriage. In such a situation, the head of the registry office notifies the other spouse about the transcription and informs him or her about the right to submit a declaration regarding the surname carried after the marriage
– the transcription was made at the request of the person to whom the transcribed document does not apply. The head of the registry office informs the persons to whom the document concerns. If the transcribed document concerns spouses, the document also informs them of the right to make statements about the surname or statements about the surname of the children
Refusal to perform a transcription:
The head of the registry office refuses to transfer a foreign certificate of marital status (transcription) if:
– the document in the issuing country is not recognized as a certificate of marital status or is not an official document or has not been issued by a competent authority or raises doubts as to its authenticity or confirms an event other than birth, marriage or death,
– the foreign document was transcribed in a country other than the country in which the event took place in,
– it would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the legal order of the Republic of Poland
It is also not acceptable to transcribe the same act twice within the same country.
In case of doubts as to the authenticity of the document and the validity of the foreign certificate of martial status, the head of the registry office may call the applicant to carry out the process of legalizing his or her document.
Professional Transcription Services for Foreign Civil Status Documents in Poland
If you need assistance with registering your foreign birth, marriage, or death certificate in the Polish civil registry, our experienced team of legal professionals is here to help. With our expertise in navigating the complex process of transcription documents, we can ensure that your foreign documents are properly registered with the Polish authorities and that you receive an official Polish certificate of vital records.