How to get married in Poland and have a Polish wedding
Finding a Polish lady friend might not be as hard as jumping through the maze at the Polish government offices to actually make your marriage legal.
How to marry a Polish citizen
There are two types of Polish marriages, Polish civil marriage, and Church marriage. If you have a Polish church wedding this is legal. I will explain the Church wedding, as this is more common in Poland.
As with any official or significant event in your life you need to learn to be patient and collect paper. All church documents must be up to date in the last 6 months. All Polish government documents must be up to date in the last 3 months.
Polish Government
1) You need a letter from you Embassy, saying you can get married or they do not have the information regarding this. This is free.
2) You need your birth certificate translated into Polish. You can order a copy of your birth certificate from the Internet. Then you have to go to an official Polish language translator and translate this into Polish. This is about 100 Polish zloty. Or better if you have a Polish Akt Urodzenia then the process goes much easier, and its only 20 Polish zloty. You get his from Urzad Stanu Cywilnego in Polish
3)Then you go to a Polish court with your future wife/husband and partition them to marry a Polish citizen . This will cost about 100 Polish zloty. You will need an official Polish translator if you do not speak the Polish language. This will take about a few months or more in a city and much quicker if you do it in the Polish countryside.
4)At the end of this, you get a piece of paper from the Polish court that says you can marry a Polish citizen. And you take this to the priests. (After you are married by the priest you take another Piece of Paper and bring it to Urzad Stanu Cywilnego, this is some Polish office where you simply register your church marriage. Urzad in Polish is a Polish government office.)
The Catholic Church marriage
1) You need to go to classes over four weeks, these classes are kind of interesting and in Polish, so if you are learning or want to learn Polish, here is your chance and the classes are fun. Your there with a bunch of other Polish couples.
Then you have to meet together as a couple twice with a layperson from the church and each individually once. After this process, you will get a piece of paper with 7 stamps. You each need this. I think this only cost about 30 Polish złoty and the counseling is actually solid advice, not this crazy media pop psychology you might get in the west.
2) You need your birth certificate and your baptism certificate, you need your confirmation certificate or a letter from your priest back home that says you were confirmed (This is the only document that does not need to be to update).
3) You make an appointment with the main church office in your town with all your papers. They check it.
5)Your future wife’s priest and your priest will need to announce, in her and your church, that you will be married. These announcements occur on three Sundays.
That is it.You are all set for your Polish wedding.
How long does this take? It depends on you. I would say 6 months is good but if you wan to do it in 3 months I think this can be done.
Can you pay anyone to make this go faster? No.
Can I get married in the church without the government paper? Technically yes. But it would not be a legal Polish wedding and I do not know if this done. But in the eyes of the Church, you are married happily ever after.
So what do I need again to get married in Poland?
1) A court decision that says you can marry a Polish person
2) Birth certificate
3) Baptismal certificate
4) Church wedding preparation certificate
@ Can, Istanbul is a beautiful city. Sorry for my skeptism but there is a lot of spam out there. Ok Basically if you are not an EU citizen you can not work in the EU. Unless your company sponors you. If you are married you can apply for a visa after you are married. That will take about 9 months to get I think. You do this at the Polish Uzad in the city you live. But you will get a temporary visa to live once you are married, but not work. So good luck with your marriage in Poland. Kind regards, Mark
Dear Markbiernat,
First of all, thanks for your reply and your being honest, direct of how you think my situation. Yes I am from Istanbul, Turkey. It is much likely to be understood that I am trying get myoff where I am living now just under the cover of marriage. Well this is absolutely not the case. I am currently working for a multinational, in a fairly good position and my sweatheart is also working for the same multinational company in Poland. Actually thats the company made us meet each other. I have currently a good salary and benefits, however, in the case of my moving to Poland, neither my sweatheart nor I have no idea of what the legal procedure to be followed in Poland to find a new job or moving in the same company. I am sorry that I might be taking your time with my concerns but without a job, surviving in a foreign country shouldnt be easy and will be a real concern in a marriage. Thats why I need your advise.
Thanks.
Can.
I am pakistani and living in pakistan with polish wife i am marrige in pakistan 3 year before what can i do for register my marrige in poland(my wife divorce case under process in poland) what is a legal position my marrige.
Bahatti, I am not a Lawyer so I do not know everything . But my question is why do you need to register your marriage in Poland? According to Polish law your marriage is not real because under Polish law you can not be married to two people at the same time. In fact, like in the USA, I think it is a crime. If she is still legally married there is not way you can register in Poland. In fact if you do It could get her in trouble. Even after her divorce it would not work as your ‘marriage’ preceded her divorce and she would be a polygamist. I find it hard to believe all this and she would be that unaware of Polish law and how it is illegal.That is why I doubt your story, I think you are just some spammer trying to get into the EU. I get 100s and 100s of these stories on my blog. No marriage in Poland for you.
Hi Mark,
Hope you are doing well.
basically i am from Pakistan but live and business in dubai. i met my girlfriend while studying in London, but she lives in poland now.
after been together few years now we decide to get marry.i am muslim and she is catholic.could you please guide me the steps to getting marry in poland.
i am puzzled because i am not sure what polish law says about 2 different religion marriages.
do we still have to registered with church/courts etc. what documents i will need to registered and usually how long it takes.
Thanks in advance
Cheers
Danish, Polish law does not care about religion. Why would civil law care about religion. Religion is something you live. But to read about marriage in Poland read the above. You will have to get court and police checks and will take a long time as you are not a EU citizen. Also why is your girlfriend not helping you with this? are you someone who really wants to get married in Poland for a visa?. I think people are trying to get into the EU via Poland and Poland is not the country to do it because the law is very hard and people who are not honest. Really I am not just saying that.
Danish, on the contrary I love the people from the middle east and Africa and travel there when ever I can. I am very lucky to have gone to these places. In fact I can not wait to go back. But I get 100s and 100s of Middle Eastern guys and Africans writing me. I get these almost everyday. Most of them are spam and scams. If you have ever run a major website you know that there are regions that are spam capitals. And my friend run some major dating sites in Europe and have just blocked these regions as 1000s and 1000s of e-mails come from these regions and they try to scam people out of money and all kind of stories. Further, I get many people asking about how to buy EU citzenships and marry for an EU citizenship. They all come from certain regions. These is illegal. So put yourself in my shoes. At first I replied to everyone, but now my mailbox is flooded everyday with such stuff. I can send you all the e-mails and you can reply but it would take all day. So please understand my situation. I no longer jump through hoops when I see an e-mail from Africa or Pakistan etc. Its not about you or your culture or anything, its about internet spam and blog spam and many people who I get on my blog seeking easy ways into the EU, including marriage in Poland. My site gets over 1/4 million page views a month. So considering that, you can image the e-mails I get.
Also I have a very good heart and do not judge anyone. Peace and love. If you knew me and more about me you would know I have no bias towards anyone and I am very spiritual, but I am also a difficult person. I know that.
But re-reading your e-mail it seems you might be real. I am truly sorry if I have offended you. My mistake and my wrong. Forgive me.
Ok In Krakow, if you want to get married you have to go directly to the Uząd ul. Lubelska This is the street and the office you need to get the documents for the marriage paper. You need to get this before any church or civil wedding. If she wants a church wedding and you are Muslim, I think you have to talk to a priest about that. At the very least to get married in the Church you will have to agree not to let her raise her kids catholic. But if you do not care about the church you can get it done in a civil service, but still will need a judge to approve it. But your first stop will be ul. Lubelska and Uząd there. You will have to get all the papers I wrote about in this post above on how to get married in Poland if you want to get married in Poland. Write me again if you have any questions.
Danish, If you think you snobbishly say you can only make a few thousand zloty in Poland your wrong, you are very ignorant. You can make as much as you want. Dubai has oil money, Poland is rebuilding from communism but there is no question Poland is a better place to live despite Dubai’s oil money. In Dubai real estate is ridiculously expensive and all plastic and modern looking. Further its a desert and is nice for vacation but all year around is very boring. And further life is not about money. I would way rather live in beautiful green, historic, charming Poland than anywhere else. So I think that if you are married in Poland, you may find yourself in Europe.
Hi Mark ,
Thanks for info but lemme tell you that i am not gonna live in Poland at all. why should i leave my settled business here and work in Poland for few thousands zloty. basically my girl friend wants to get marry in her hometown Krakow. later she will move with me to Dubai.
so bottom line is i don’t care about the Poland’s visa. i just wanted to know if we get marry there so what would be the procedure.don’t mind but i see you quiet biased towards EU citizens and when some non EU (Arab,turk, Asian) ask you some question you always reply that they want to get marry for visa etc and in my opinion its not fair.
Thanx again for your reply dear.
Cheers
hi
i am getting married to my husband to be in the next 2 weeks . He is anglican i am catholic. we want to go to poland next year can we still have our wedding ceremony in catholic church in poland despite having it done in church of england. I beleive this will give my relatives who were never chanced to attend it in uk to be in attedance .
Hi Aga, I think you can. Where are you from? If Krakow, I can give you a name of a priest that goes back and forth from Poland to England and would know all that stuff. But Basically I think the Church of England and Catholic Church are so close that there are not problems and both are very open and flexible. I think you can get married in Poland in the church even after you get married in the UK. Now you do not need two civil marriages, this is not possible, rather its just two Church marriages.
i want to marry a girl for getting green card in europe
Inderjeet, At least your honest. Many guys try to post here and try to tell me some long drama story how they meet a Polish girl and want to get married, but she is not helping with any Polish, visas or anything, and they want to know how to get a work visa to London via a marriage in Poland. But its love. Something like this. This article is intended to be more a serious article about marriage in Poland.
Thank you for this blog – it is very interesting. I am confused about the possibility of having both a civil and church wedding AND the fact that it is not possible to be married twice (in Poland or anywhere in EU)
My grandson is marrying in Poland to a Pole – so far so good BUT he and his wife to be wants to have both civil and church weddings…. again – that is fine BUT they are planning to have the church wedding 4 months AFTER the civil wedding.
Is this possible and/or legal or are they being badly advised?
Will the church wedding just a catholic ‘convalidation’ of the civil marraige (as it would be in the UK where the catholic church will not marry you if you are already married), or will the Polish catholic church actually marry them again with full vows and mass?
I thought the soviet era system was to marry in church and then dash off to get the state civil paperwork but that now all that is required is to marry in church as the state now accepts the legality of the church wedding. I am very confused about the 4 month gap inbetwwen weddings. If the church does not recognise the state wedding and so can marry them again – surely they will be in a state of sin by living together without church wedding so cannot go to mass….? Will need absolution before wedding….?
Help – I am confused and worried they are getting wrong advice.
Thank you.
Zorianna, They are doing the right thing. Let me explain. You can not legally be married twice. That means I can not be in a civil marriage in Poland , then go to the USA and get married in another civil marriage, even if it is to the same person. So usually the law is you can not have two civil marriages. But the Church is something different. Church marriages are not recognized exactly by the state. What happens is right after or before your Church wedding you sign some civil papers. This, because of a treaty between the church and the government, makes the Church marriage legal for civil purpose. But if you do not sign the papers, then the church wedding is not a valid civil marriage, but only a valid Catholic marriage.
Therefore, I could get married in the UK in a civil marriage, then four months latter have a full Catholic marriage in Poland, and just not need to sign civil documents for Poland as you have them for the UK already. I am not an expert, and the priest in Poland will guide you, I think they just need to show the UK marriage documents to the priest, then they can have a full Catholic marriage. So I think everything is ok with their Marriage in Poland.
as per ur prev. reply posted on 10 oct.
i wrote embassy of india in poland for my unmarried status document. so they write me they are not competent to issue such document.
now court in poland says we can give u exemption from unmarried status document. this is the exemption document that i applied before 2 months and deposited a fees for 100 zloty, i wrote this in my prev post too.
but then i was understanding that court will issue me my unmarried status document.
now i confirmed its exemption document from unmarried status document. so do you know about it how long will it take?
hi, i wnat to get some information about my condition. i m non EU nationl living in italy as illigal status, my girlfriend is a polish. i was living in poland 9 months ago as student status,,, we came to italy for marrige with the presence of my family but this processed took long time and my visaa was expired 6 months a go so my question is that if i will go back to poland without visa so i can merry there as illigal status….
BEST REGARDS
Karan, you can not live or get married in Poland if you are illegal. There is not way. Will not happen. You can not get married if you are illegal because marriage is a legal thing. You might be able to have a religous service but as far as the law is concerned you need paper and doucments for your current status as a legal resident.
Jatin, I am not an lawyer, but this is what I understand. The Polish court must determine if you are married or not via a statement from your embassy. If they can not, they need your embassy will write a note saying they do not issue this and you get an exemption. But you must sign a sworn statement that you are not married in India. If they find out that you lied you spend time in jail and you marriage is void. But I think you will simply get an exeption as I think you are not married. I had to do the same thing. So do not think you are treated different. Polish courts are slow. I am Polish, my family is Polish and I live and work in Poland legally, I am married in Poland and I have waited five years not months years for the Polish court in Warsaw to hopefully give me Polish citizenship. So be patient. It could take three months minimum in my opinion. In thee months, but up to seven months, the Polish courts will give you a piece of paper. The court will tell you exactly what you need. Then you can get married in Poland.
if it will take 7 months then will i have to go back to india because i have a visitor visa as my girlfriend sponsored me,my visa remained for 3 months, and i applied in court before 2 months.can i apply for further stay while living here.
Hi ! thanks for this very helpful site !
Well, i am Algerian citizen (north Africa) met the girl of my dreams, she is Polish, and we decided finally to marry, in Poland (i decided to move there also…oh yeah, Love !! ) but unfortunately, as you all know, it is so complicated , or it seems so ? …my question is simple : how can we marry there ? or better: is there a special Visa (not Schengen visa) to get there in order to marry ? We read about the Application for a Resident Permit , to marry polish citizen, but it seems it is mistranslated : is it “To marry” or for “Already married “people?….sorry, my girl friend is really confused, and she still did not go to the concerned Authority to ask details !
I am also confused, because i can’t understand why there is no special Permission or Visa for people from third party countries who intend to marry ?? because if i’ll apply for a Schengen Visa, i know i have no chance to get it …and it will be really dramatic, my fiancé can also not come to Algeria , for many reasons…..for the moment i am in Germany, but only temporary….
So please if there is anyone who can explain to us, to which kind of Visa can i apply for ? Is it possible to apply from Algeria for a Temporary Resident Permit, although we are not married yet ?…….
Thank you very much , appreciate any help 🙂
hi ,,, im pakistani student live in uk as on student visa . i want marry with my polish girlfriend . but i dont know . how i can marry with him here in uk…. plz suggestion me kindly …. i will very very thakfull u
sk
thank you for your blog, it is very interesting and informative.
my boyfriend proposed to me recently and we have decided that we would love to marry in krakow at the end of the year. i am an irish citizen and he is a british citizen. we would like a catholic church ceremony and expect around 60 people to travel over from ireland and england.
i have read the blogs regarding what paperwork we need to complete prior to making the arrangements. i would be very grateful if you could advise of any websites for suitable reception venues in krakow or whether you can provide any informaiton that would help us in planning this exciting day.
many thanks.
Hi Ali, great news. First there are a number of English speaking priests in Krakow. I was married at St. Giles Church right under the Castle. Its a small ancient church that has an English speaking priest. There are many wonderful places for the reception. What would you like Historic and old? Krakow has the oldest continuously restaurant in the world, on the market square. Prices are very good compared to the west. These are two ideas. But it depends on what type of wedding you are looking for? Wierzynek is a nice place in my opinion. But if you want more a party there are many places. 100s. Hotels are easy. I can recommend many, But the main thing is the Church. I think 100 ancient romantic Churches in Krakow. Let me know what you are thinking and maybe I can help. Bests, Mark
Hi
I’m polish but I grow up in Germany. Last year I got married to a Canadian protestant at the court in Germany. We want to have the church ceremony in Poland this year. So far I know that it is possible to marry him even though I’m catholic and he is protestant as long as we get the permission of the catholic bishop. My problem is know that at the time we got married and choose our witnesses (our best friends since childhood) we haven’t been thinking of the religion. Unfortunately my maid of honour is protestant and the best man is not baptised. Is this a problem in Poland?
Thanks for your help. Best Kasia
Hi Kasia, not a problem witness are just witnesses, they are not you. My witness was Protestant. The Church cares about you and your husband as its your marriage and no one elses. Let me know if you have any more questions. Bests, Mark
dear markbiernat,
how are you i hope fine and its wounder full job that you are doing here,and i am a pakistani citizen and live in sweden for study purpose for master programme,
so i have a polish girlfriend and met with her on internet and last week i have visit her in warsaw in his home and also met with his family and after met with her and his family me and her decided to get marriage and i also take permission from my parents for this and now she also not know and i also not know how to get marriage in poland becaz we have different religion and she said in the church we could not get marriage but in our religion islam i can marriage with her but the thing is if we got marriage in islam then the poland government accept this marriage? if not then what we should do ?and i have read your above answers and i want to ask what are the documents i need ?just the birth certificate translated in polish language and the letter from my embassy in poland or is there any other documents i also need?
i shall be very thankful to you if you reply me of my post.
thanks
hi,this is me ahmad from london.i am law graduate and an international student here.i want to marry a polish girl but i donot know how to find a polish girl.if any girl is intrested in me pleaze contact me.i leave my mob.no.as well 00447926477769.
Hi I am a british citizen and got married in poland to a polish girl in the office and in afew months we will get married in the church in poland.The question I would like to ask and help us with is our marrage legal in england or do we have to get married in england also
regards
mark
Hi Mark, You do not need to get married again in England for sure. In fact I think you are already married in England. I had the same issue with marriage in Poland, I am an American. But the US said, once you are married in Poland you are married all over the world. We have a baby now born in Poland and I will take her to the US consulate with all my papers to confirm her as a US citizen. But my tax returns and everything else I am just going to start putting married as my status. However, you can always check with the UK consulate to make sure, but for sure you do not need to get married again. I love being married, marriage is the best thing and I imagine you are very thankful you are married to a Polish girl. Mark
dear mark first of all i would lke to thank u for this blog its benn a great help for manny poepel as i see here 😉
dear mark i would like u to heare my story and advice so that i can be with the one i love
dear mark i wile surfing the net 6 month ago i did meet samone special on the net it was a girl from poland as we talk i didnt know that every min with her get me closer to her she is wonderful girl i love her she love me and her name is ewelina
dear mark this girl mean the world to me we are the same in evrything age (am 22 but she is older than me by 7 days 🙂 ) i loveher and she love me we have been online for 6 month now 5 hours a day she become a part of my life i olove herr and the world mean nothing with out her i didnt think that ill be that far with her she see the goods in me
dear mark me and this girl we did become one back n the days i didnt belive n true love but now i know love and i belive
she is coming to me in april to spend 15 days with me (am tunisien boy live in gabes city) than ill go to her there to poland we did think a lot in our relationship and we did find that the best solution is that we have to get married
she dont approuve to marry here she wanna get married in poland and i dont mind that but i wonder witch paper i need to get married there and and if am gonna go there to poland for tow month is that gonna be inoff to finish to paper worck and paper
tell me dear mark after wedding do i have to go to tunisia or i can stay in poland
ps dear mark ‘(dear mark am really lost in this am affraid and hopeless i love her but i have to know what can i do i did promess her to fight intel there is no soul in this body
dear mark manny europienne boys or girls think that arab do marry europienne girls for visa well yes but not all of them take me am doing it for love and only god know that deep inside am burning with love its a wonderfull feeling but im affraid of losing it
First, love is the best thing in the world and with love you can conquer all things. Even some paper work. Most of the paper work I have explained at the beginning of the my post on Marriage in Poland. If you have trouble or a specific question on marriage then ask. Basically you need your birth documents and passport and proof you are not married and need to go to court. It can take years. I am an American and it took a long time. But love is patient. Let me know if you have questions about marriage in Poland.
Hi MARK,
I hope that u will be able to help me. My Fiance is from Yemen, it is arabic country as u probably know. I met him in Uk because i live here at the moment, and he was living here for last couple of years, unfortunately he had to go to his country. Before that we got engaged, and now i am sick of siting here in uk with out him. I want to go back to Poland, and we want to get married there and live there. I was told by Urzad Gminy in my town that he needs to bring His birth certificate translated int polish and statemen from his Urzad that he has never been married before ad that he can marrie polish citizent and it has to br translated into polish as well and stamped by sworn translator,and that’s it. Can you please tell me if that is everything what he needs to have to get married? It will be civil marriage first. Please answer me as soon as possible. Thank you.
You need a lot. A judge has to approve of everything and this is complicated. I would read my post and read what I have written. You have to go before a judge and he will review your case etc. And just FYI. I am living and working in Poland for over 5 years and married with a family and my family was from Poland, and I am still waiting for my Polish citizenship. I know someone who is living in Poland for 10 years from only Ukraine and not Polish citizen yet, even though she is married to a Polish man. I am as Polish as you and to get a visa to live here in Poland was very hard. Maybe someday the courts will review my case – so do not assume because you get married everything will be easy for visas etc. Best of luck to you.
Hi.
I am an Irish Catholic, never married before. I am marrying a Polish Catholic woman, never married before. It will be a church weeking in July 2009.
What documentation do I need both from both a Church and Polish Government perspective? Is there a rule on “aged documents” ie. they cannot be over 3 months old, etc. Can I do it all from Ireland?
Thanks in advance.
Barry
Hi Barry, You can do everything in Ireland – for the church at least. 1) Birth and confirmation certificates you get from Ireland. 2) Premarital classes you get can get from Ireland or Poland. I did mine in Poland but it does not matter. The church will work with you and I found the easy part. I forget the rule on aging documents but it can not be too old. Then you will have to meet with a priest one on one after the classes, they want to basically make sure you are ready. I know it sounds old fashion but they do it not to stop you, just to remind you that as a man you will need to take care of and respect your wife during marriage. – Government should not be hard as you are an EU citizen. You will need your birth certificate and a letter stating you were not or are not married from you embassy. But the marriage lic. in Poland you have to get in Poland. And a judge will have to approve your wedding before you get this lic. Civil is ten times harder than Church things. Good lucky with your marriage in Poland.
how to get married a polish girl in uk-as we both are living here-the mailn thing i am an international student in uk-anyone there know about the procedures? please lemme know
Hi dear,
I am Pakistani citizen, i am studying and living in Sweden, My girlfriend is polish and we want get merry in next month.can u tel me what documents i need for that,we want to live in poland. can i get marry in sweden with my girlfriend and then move to poland ? i am living in sweden from 2 years. i am waiting for your kind response.
thanks
To get married in Poland I would say in your case it will be a year. Read my post and this tells you what documents you need for a marriage in Poland. However, the main thing is the court must approve you. For the court to approve you it takes a log time. I have been waiting for years for something from Warsaw. 🙂 If you get married in Sweden this does not give you the right to live in Poland. You must go though a visa application process with the Polish government. My family is Polish, I am American. Then I moved to Poland, got married and speak Polish. But I still had to wait for a visa.
Thanks for your reply dear:)
if we will get merry in sweden, then can i apply visa to live in poland with her in polish embassy ?
I just wanted to ask you, if American gets married to a Polish girl, does this give him a right to live and work in the EU, stay(how long he wants) in the EU or Poland? I would appreciate your answer. Thanks.
If he is married to a Polish citizen he can apply for the right to live in Poland. But it will be no problem. In fact he can live in Poland to before you get married with a fiance visa and stay in the EU. But to work in the EU and work in Poland he will have to go through another process. Poland no problem. But if is married to a Polish citizen it might take 6 months to get a work visa. Once he has all his visas in place for Poland, if you live in the UK then he has the right to apply for a visa to work as a spouse of a Polish citizen.
We aren’t married yet and we wanted to live in the UK or Ireland since it’s easier for Polish people to get a decent job and all. What about then? Do we have to get marriet already so he can have that right to work and live in the UK or Ireland with me?? What about getting him a visa to work and stay in the EU(UK, IE)? Does he have to look for a sponsorship or it would be faster if we got married? What’s your opinion?
Kudos to all your work in replying to the comments! I’m an American marrying a Polish girl. We _thought_ we had everything well in hand, however we _just_ found out that because I’m divorced, we need to fulfill the additional requirement of having my divorce decree “certified” or “recognized” (or however it’s described) by the Polish government. The wedding date is in two months and a week. Yeah, ouch. We were told it takes 6 months to get that document done.
So, since I’m thinking it’ll be highly unlikely we’ll get that bit of paper in time, I’m wondering about the comment you made about getting married in Vegas. Did you do any research on that route? Any advice or thoughts? We really can’t change the date, so I’m thinking a civil marriage in the States, followed by a ‘renewal’ ceremony here in Poland might do the trick. Thanks, and keep up the good work!
I think you can get a civil marriage in the USA and many other places very quick. Vegas is the popular place and I would get married in a place like that as its fun or many island countries have easy marriage laws. But if you are having a church wedding in Poland than why not have a civil somewhere else and a more formal in Poland. You can not get married twice legally but you can have a church wedding after the civil, that is legal. Can you write me via my e-mail and I can explain more as I want to ask you one important question that can help you with your marriage in the USA or Poland and its to complex for here. Either way good luck with your marriage in Poland.
Hats off to you Mark for a balanced, informative site.
I am a divorced British male (late 40’s)- converted to Catholicism some 18 years ago in order to marry my ex-wife. Been with current Catholic, Polish partner for 6 years now. Engaged for one year. Planning our wedding for August 2010 (next year) and have just reserved a beautiful Palace in Wojanow for the reception.
Could you please summarise what you think are our requirements to proceed with a marriage in Poland (or an alternate option if our preferred one is too complicated).
Ideally we would like a free-spirited, open-air wedding service (or blessing and repeat of vows if easier), in the beautiful Palace grounds. After all – God is everywhere and although we have nothing against the church, we feel this would make our wedding special to us and unique in some way.
Would you suggest it easier to just get a civil registery office marriage here in London and then get it blessed in Poland, or go through the whole church process in Poland. Am doubtful we can actually get married in the Palace grounds?
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this
Gary
Hi Gary, Everything is possible. It does not have to be in Church. But for a church wedding in Poland, its very easy also as long as you have an annulment from your Catholic wedding 18 years ago. If you did not than its complicated. I would recommend first try the church wedding, you need the same things as a civil wedding and a few more papers, such as your baptism and confirmation certificate. In the civil wedding you need your birth certificate and passport and a letter from your embassy that you can get married, i.e. you are not underage etc. In Poland its all about getting your marriage licence and those are the papers you will need. You may need a judge to give you a green light, no big deal as you are a EU citizen, he just wants to know if you again are of age etc to marry as you are a foreigner and he must respect the laws of your country.
Now I am a religious catholic, but my general feeling about the marriage act is what will make the two of you happy. I would try to do the Church wedding if your future wife is really set on it, but no big deal if you can not. Because God, see all and understands all even when people and churches do not. :). Its what is in your heart that counts, the spirit of the law not the letter of the law that is important and that is Jesus’ message. So if a Church wedding if not possible, or desired, than no stress about a free spirit open air wedding and get it blessed latter. This sounds great to me. I love the idea. Many of my friends had this and are married happily to this day.
hello
I live in Poland and i have no visa and I am illegal but i have a girlfriend, can I get married here for a citizenship.
No chance. If you are illegal you can not get a citizenship in anyway. They will not let you get married and will arrest or deport you. Really. I know people who have been deported from all over. Sorry you can not get married in Poland.
hello
thanks for Your reply
I am now illegal but when I came from India then I had schengen visa but now it is expire. Its mean my entry is legal in Eruope. So can i married here or no?.
thanks
Hi India is a great country but for marriage in Europe you need to be 100% legal. There is no way you will be able to get married in Poland or Europe. I did not make the law on marriage but for a civil marriage you need to show a lot of legal documents to the court to get approved for your wedding.
Hi.
I would like to know how to get marry in poland.
Thank you very much
Hi!
I am from India and my fiance from Poland. We both working
in Norway. We are planning to get marry in Poland. He had married before and
then 2 years ago they got separate. But 3 months ago he finished with divorce.
He told me, they got married in catholic church. Because of that we cant get marry in church.
He say in church they can marry only one time in life time.
We both don’t know how can we get marry in Poland.
I will be glad, if you can help us please.
My questions is
(1) Where can we get marry?
(2) How can we get marry?
(3) What we needs to do as paperworks?
Thank you very much,
Kind rigards.
You can get married in the church again if and only if the church gives you an annulment, such as if one person refuses the possibility of children. But for a civil marriage it does not matter, you can get married as many times as you want. It is just a legal marriage, not a religious marriage. If you want to get married in Poland read what I have written above and that is your answer.
Hi
I’m from England and my girlfriend is Polish, as we both live in the UK, we are planning a civil marriage in England and a more formal church “wedding” in Poland.
Obviously we will be legally married before we have the church ceremony.
Do you know of anyone who has married this way before? And if so can you please advise me of the process.
Thanks
I think a lot of people get married this way. In my opinion the civil marriage is the hard part. The bureaucrat are always looking for one more piece of paper. But if you have the civil marriage in the UK. All you need to do is show your marriage document to the Priest in Poland. Then for the church wedding in Poland take classes, I thought they were fun. You can take them in the UK or Poland. Also you need a few churchy documents, like baptism certificate etc. Do not worry if you are not Catholic, it is possible to get married in the Church without being Catholic, you will just have to jump though a few more hoops. I would set up an interview with the priest or church you choose to get married in. If its in Krakow, for example, no problem, many people from all over the world get married in Krakow, Poland. If its a small town the priest might be old fashion, but do not worry, people are people. Just focus on your goal. Your girlfriend will really appreciate it as you know if you get a church wedding. As the Church is important to Poles, as it is to me. Basically you will need for a church wedding in Poland, 1) classes, baptism, confirmation certificate or take extra classes if you are not Catholic, my Chinese friend got the whole ‘wash and wax’ in one day, she was not Catholic but after got married in the Church.
Cześć Mark, co slychac? Here is my story: I met a beautiful Polish girl in Krakow last year while on holiday. I instantly fell head over heals for her. Unlike any feeling I’ve ever had. I’m sure you know what I mean.
In short: I am an American living in New Jersey and my g/f resides near Mielec now. I have been to Poland 4 times this past year to see her and now she is coming to the US for the first time this July. I have a private Polish tutor and I speak well for only a short time. I am determined to speak fluent Polish or close to it. Anyway neither of us have ever been married before and we are both Catholic.
If everything goes well between us and we decide to marry one day what is the easiest way for us to live in Poland legally? Several questions here:
If we had a wedding (civil ceremony) here in the United States thought a K1 fiancee visa would we need another civil ceremony in Poland?
Would our marriage in the US be recognized by the Polish authorities?
Meaning can we take our marriage certificate from the US and not need another civil ceremony in Poland? ….or
Would it be easier for us to marry in Poland with a real wedding instead of having a civil ceremony in the USA?
If we do take marriage in Poland do I have to leave after 90 days or can I stay and apply for a green card?
Would I need to apply for a work visa as well?
I would like to live and find work there, and apply for citizenship like yourself.
I am well educated and would like to think all these things are possible for us.
Basically we just want to be together and are tired of the emails and skype calls.
We need to find a way so we can be together in Europe and live legally. I understand the paper trail is long and tedious but it has to be done.
I do have a good job in the US that I don’t want to give up. I am now trying for a transfer to the EU right now but it’s not guaranteed I will get the work visa.
If it fails I have to rethink my options.
A) Either I give it all up and try for Poland to be with Iwona or
B) she comes here and waits till we can move to Europe.
Will marrying a EU (Polish) citizen increase my chances of staying in Poland longer than 90 days and obtaining a green card?
We just want to find the easiest way to be together in Poland or the EU. Just like how you are living.
My other option would be to play professional hokej for FC Cracovia, but I think that might be hard since I am not Polish and I will need an agent. Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
Podz,
Justin
About marriage in Poland:
Justin, your story sounds great. If you have any Polish blood you can get a visa. If not no worries. First, Poland like the US has a fiance visa. Which means you can travel to the country with the intent of marriage. But I think you have to get married within 6 months. Also once you are married you will get a visa. It is a spousal visa, like in the US, its just a matter of applying and jumping through hoops, like in the USA, mostly its about paper.
So to answer your question yes, marriage does affect your visa status as well as your intent to get married.
Here is something that most people do, most American find a way to work it out so they live here for years. Most enroll in some lame cheap Polish for foreigners class and get a student visa. Others live illegally. then when it comes to applying for a real visa they lose their passport and get a clean one. Others try to reset their passport. But I think the main thing is a marriage in Krakow or where ever in Poland is amazing. Your girl would love it and its way cheaper than the states. If its in Krakow I can recommend things for the wedding.
You will not have a problem getting married in Poland. But you need to figure out a way to stay in Poland. Most people become students get a visa and teach English.
Worst case you can get paper in the USA like with a wedding in the court and then live in Poland no problem. And in three years you will be a EU citizen.
I love Pakistani boy. I am a Polish girl. He is illegal in England. I am to be with him, please some one tell me what do do about citizenship, visa and marriage.
Witam Kristina, If he is illegal in the EU there is not way you can get married in Poland or the EU. The court would deport him and ban him from the EU and you could get in trouble with the law if you even try. He needs to be legal before you can apply for a marriage or any other visa. He is in trouble now. Because they will look at his passport and see he is illegal and you could be in trouble too. If you love him spend your life with him in Pakistan. I would live anyway as long as I was with my love.
Thank you for your help first, What i want to know if I am a Muslim how can I marry polish woman in Poland as I am Egyptian. Is there anyway there anyway to marry her out of the Church. Do I have to do the same steps to marry her in Poland?
Being Muslim has no baring on your ability to get married in Poland as Poland has Muslims; what is important is you get approved by a Polish court. There are a lot of fake marriages, and courts are one place where the Polish government looks at the laws of your country as well as Poland’s laws regarding marriage.
I was born in Poland but have been living in Australia for 20 years now
Have met a polish boy which we are wanting to get married in a civil ceremony in December when i go back there
What papers will i need to have? Also what is the process i will need to go through
Zuzia, very easy, your a Polish citizen marrying a Polish citizen so all you need to get is a marriage license from the uząd miasta in the town where you will be married. You can call them. To get a marriage license you will need your birth certificate and fill out the application. But for a Polish civil marriage its all about this marriage license. No need to go to court of anything as you are a Polish citizen, just the application at the town hall.
Hi there.
Firtly, well done on such an informative site and having the patience to answer so many comments!
I am from the UK and I recently proposed to my beautiful Polish girlfriend. (she said yes!!)
We want to get married in a church in Poland possibly September next year or later. My girlfriend is Catholic and I am not. I am very respectful of her beliefs, as with those of any religion, but have simply not been brought up to be religious myself. I do believe in God and believe that my faith has grown stronger in recent times. I am not baptised however (none of my family are of Catholic faith )and you mentioned that a baptism certificate must be shown.
I am unsure where to start to be honest.
Any information you can give us would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Congrats of your engagements. I am very happily married, lucky is a man whose other half is Polish. Ok, to get a baptism it is not that hard. I think faith is like trust, its a very positive position towards life and existence. To get baptized, I do not even think is are any classes. If you are getting married in Krakow I can tell you specifically who to go to and where. But if you are not in Krakow, just go to any local priest in Poland or the UK. If you do not like the guys attitude find another. But like I wrote my friend who is Chinese got the ‘whole wash and wax’ to be married in the Catholic church in one weekend. I think it should be no problem at all. First, start with a priest, if you want recommendations in your area, let me know.
My fiancee and I are getting married later this year, she is Polish and I am from UK. We are both Christian and are members of a non-catholic church, however she is coming from a catholic family, therefore we would like to be married in her local (Catholic) Church. Do you think this is possible? Does it depend on the Priest?
Also – we have both been Baptized by our Church but do not have certificates to prove this? Is it necessary to have this? If so we will have to request from our Church.
I think anything is possible. Although you are not now practicing Catholics I would bring that up to the local Priest. I would say she is or not make an issue out of it. I mean you basically both believe in the same thing, God does not care about the letter of the law but the spirit of the law.
I think it is great you are both believers and want to get married and live happily ever after. The wedding is not as important as the marriage of course.
I would go forward like she is catholic as I imagine she was confirmed. She has to get the documents together in that regard from her village. You can get married in the church with the condition that you do not prevent your wife from raising the kids catholic.
Again all hoops and formalities. I think basically all Christian churches are the same. If you are from the UK were you originally Baptized by the church of England, which is very close to catholic? My brother and sister-in-law did not make a big deal of it and were married in the Church of England but are Catholic.
If you want to be totally to the letter you can not get married in the Church unless one of you are Catholic and the other cooperates.
Hi Mark,
My name is Agnes i was Reading your article about how to get married in Poland.
It was good I was just wondering about that government paper?
How to get this?
Me and my Fiance Mark are going to Poland to get married on Sept 15th.
the church is asking us to bring “Licensje na Slub” “Zgode na slub ”
We live in Michigan I don’t know what to do, they are also telling me that we need to get a Civil ceremony before we come to Poland.
Do you know what that is?
Is it a marriage License?
Do we need to apply for that in Detroit?
Please help me Mark.
Hi Agnes, it is easy. 1) You need to be married in the USA legally via a town hall then have a marriage in Poland in the church or 2) if you are both Polish citizens get a Polish marriage license and have the legal and church wedding at the same time (the church has a treaty with the Polish government that allows the Church wedding to be recognized legally.
Option 3) If Mark is American the Polish marriage license approved by a court (because he is not Polish) takes 3 to 6 months, not a lot of time if you start today. I am an American who got this approval ( just before the wedding). So it depends on timing. I would prefer it this way as its more fun to have your legal and church wedding on one day at the same time. Rather than two wedding days. But if time does not allow this you could do something crazy like have a Vegas wedding then simply fly to Poland and do a Church wedding. But its all about the marriage license. Does this clear it up? Marriage in Poland is easy, but you need a license like every country in the world.
Hi, me and me boyfriend plan to marry in Poland, i’m Irish he is Polish, the thing is i went to his sisters wedding last month, and its very different to traditional Irish weddings, i dont like a lot of the way the ceremony is organized, the way the couple walk in together and there is no kiss the bride part, also i want my family to enjoy the day as well as he is but there they don’t speak Polish, is there any way of finding a English speaking priest or is that a stupid question? any Information would be great thank you.