How to Get Married in Poland

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

Author: Mark Biernat

I live in with family between two worlds, US and Europe where I create tools for language learning. If you found my site you probability share my passion to be a life long learner. Please explore my site and comment.

407 thoughts on “How to Get Married in Poland”

  1. Thanks to replying my message,by this time we received the divorce paper of my BF to his first wife, the problem is it was be written in Polish, and they don’t want to accept here in NL they need it to translate to English, and its really hard to find some professional people here who want to translate it.it is possible if you can we can send it the documents to you by you email if you can give it and we send a money to you by western union to make it, we really need this paper to make a “saleswomen” here in Netherlands as soon as possible, samenwonen here in Netherlands is the same of marriage to make a registration the baby,hope you can make it for me, thank you once again.

    God bless you
    Gina

    1. I do not get involved in helping anyone with their citizenship beyond giving my personal experiences with it on this website. I think if you are motivated you can find someone professional to help you.
      Whenever I see western union and online and I need your help with citizenship and my boyfriend or girlfriend, I think scam. Why are they not helping you?

  2. Hi I’m Karol ,Can you help me to my problem,, We have a daughter of my Polish boyfriend can I stay in Poland even we are not married as his family? after 3 months my visa in europe is expired and we don’t have plan to getting married just we want to be together with my daughter, is it the government of Poland let me to stay, even we are not married but we have a kid.

    thanks
    Karol

    1. If you child is born to a Polish father I highly recommend you get your daughter Polish citizenship or at least try, if your boyfriend is the father. Without this I can see no legal reason the government of Poland would let you stay. If you had this baby with your boyfriend I would get married. A baby is no light responsibility and needs a father and a mother. This would allow you to stay in Poland, a fiance visa or marriage.

  3. Thanks to replying my mail,the reason why we cannot married together is i was be married in my country in my first husband the problem is thiers no any devorce in my country you can be married only one time ,but Im sure that her father is my folish BF.

  4. I can sure that by taking a DNA test,and we have biethrcertificate of her,the only problem is im married before,that why i wanna know if we can stay in poland together in poland even my visa was exfired after 3 months,poland government let us be stay as his family or not?
    thanks
    Karol

  5. Hello my name is pawell am polish am living with my girlfriend of two yrs now she is pregnant the problem is she is illegal and has been living here in Manchester for the past eight yrs we want to get married now but don’t know what to do can you advice us as I don’t want her to go back home with our baby.

    1. There are many places to get married easy with little documents in the world. You know like Vegas you just need a pasport and like 25 dollars. Once you are married your wife has a right to get a visa based on you. Since she is not legal in the EU it will be hard to get a civil marriage but I would look for ways to get a quick civil marriage legally in or close to the EU. But she could do this after the birth of the child even. Main thing is do not stress too much and you will love being a father. I do.

  6. I wonder what problems a Messianic Jewish person would have marrying a gentile Pole with this situation. I didn’t realize church and state were so connected in Poland. I know Catholics probably ahve strict rules about marrying outsiders, although I am not aware of them all. However, I don’t think I could ever say that I am a Catholic and swear on the altar, anything of this nature.

    1. You do not have to swear this and the church and state are not connected like in a legal sense.. Simply there is a treaty that says religious marriages are recognized by the state, but the reality is the civil marriage is the important thing. For example, before I got married in the church I sign the civil document, some people do it after. Does not matter. But church and state are seperate.
      If you marry a catholic, you do not have to convert, rather just state that if the bride wants to raise the children in a catholic way, you will not prevent her. This is a very liberal open thing.

  7. Hi Mark,
    Me and my polish partner are very confused.
    I am English and we would like to marry in Poland.
    We have been advised by our Polish Priest in order to minimize paper work and logistics we would be better to have a civil ceremony in the U.K and then
    a Church blessing in Poland with all the trimmings.
    We have contacted our local priest in then u.k who
    says different.Can you help? thanks

    1. Either way is fine. I think if you have a couple of months do it all in Poland. The Church and the state have a treaty so the Church wedding and the civil wedding is one, all you need is a marriage license. This should take about 3 months to get. I did it and I am American, so I think as a UK citizen it would even be easier. It is according is you want to do the paperwork.

  8. Hey Mark,
    I need your advise about a marriage in Poland. My boyfriend and I are planning to get married because I am now pregnant. The problem is I am now living in one of Asian cities and don’t have any visa to Poland yet. Can you give me some advises to deal with this problem, what type of visa can I obtain to get along with this plan? How about fiancée visa, is it also possible for me to get it instead of C visa type? Could you also tell me how to get the certificate of impediment? Thank you.

    1. Hi that is great you are going to have a baby. I think the fiancee visa is easy to get. At the Polish embassy they can help you with this. Once you are married, even in a simple civil marriage you will get a full visa and one your way to citizenship if you want.

  9. I am English and my partner is Polish. We are trying to get married in Poland but have hit a problem I’ve not seen anyone else having.
    I was married before and divorced. The marriage was in a registrar office not church. However the Polish Bishop has rejected our application on the grounds that he has no proof that I was not married in a church at some time in my life. How can this be proved? Has anyone else had this problem?
    Thanks
    Andy

    1. Easy solution, the fact is you were not married. He may be an old stubborn guy but you have the right to marry in the Church because you were never married in the Church’s eyes.
      You need to talk to a priest who knows Vatican law. It is free. In a big city like Krakow they can help you. I think all that is required is a note from your parish back home that says you were not married.
      But it might be more complex. That is why you need to talk to a priest that knows Vatican law. Do not be intimidated or become sour, jump through a few hoops now and it will be worth it to get a nice wedding you and your bride can look back on. Shakespeare wrote, ‘the course of true love never did go smooth’.

  10. i am a polish girl and i have a boyfriend from Africa and we are planing for marriage but the problem is that his visa has expire and we want to get office marriage but i don’t know how to go about it he has get some document from his embassy that he is free to marry in Poland but i am afraid if the government will deport him back if they find out he is illegal in Poland please advice me what i can do if this fiancee visa can get this time first or go on with the civic marriage.

    1. Halina, You have to do things legal. I am not tell you that because I am any kind or good moral person. But the Polish Uząd checks everything. They have seen situations like this many times now. They are not longer easy with foreigners. Believe me I know. I am Polish but American and I still have a hard time. That is why if you want to get married in Poland you really have to plan everything out in a legal way. They will deport him in my opinion if he is not legal in the country. This could also prevent him from coming back to Europe for like three years.
      I can not advise you because if he is past his visa, it is a real problem and I do not know what I would do. I think if I loved him. I would move to Africa and live with him there and get married there. That is what I would do. If you love him why not?
      My friend’s parents did that and she never came back to Poland. The weather is much nicer there of course.

  11. Yeah, but there is malaria, corrupt police, the water is not clean, not too mention in some places it is plain dangerous. I was in Africa for 5 months and I can think of many reasons why she may not want to go live in Africa. Of course, Africa has its good points, such as weather , scenery, wildlife, but it all comes at a price.

  12. Dear mark,
    You are doing great job,
    we really need your help.
    We have a complicated problem and we have lost our way what to do? I am from Iraq ,I have asylum case in Norway,I can’t go out of Norway till my case is under process and this process may take several years,I have Polish girlfriend,we want to get married and live together in Poland,she is studying so she can’t sponsor me, please help us how we can get married and live together in Poland ?
    Thanks,

    1. I am sorry for all the trouble you have had in your life. However, I do not have the answer. If you have to stay in Norway, than this is your situation legally. Can she study there?

  13. Hello Mark, I was wondering if you could help me. I am a U.S. Citizen and my future wife is both a Polish and U.S. Citizen. We would like to have a civil wedding in Poland this coming June and I was wondering if you could advise us as to what we need to do in order to make this possible. I thank you in advance for your help.

    1. Paul,
      Basically all you need is a marriage certificate. To get this go to the Uząd in your area and they will guide you.
      They will tell you all documents need to be translated into Polish with an official translator.

      Birth certificate
      decrees of divorce from previous marriages
      letter from your embassy you are free and clear to marriage and do not have any legal problems
      Your CV or life history
      Note from a Polish court that you can get married
      Visa’s if any for living in Poland

      If you have the above, they will give you a marriage certificate which you can then take get a civil marriage.
      A church marriage in Poland would only require taking classes at the church in addition to the civil marriage certificate in Poland.
      It seems hard but it is not. Everything can be done in a week, except the court approval.
      Let me know if you have any questions about marriage in Poland.

  14. Thank you for all the information Mark. How long does the court approval take and do I have to be in Poland for any of this? I’m planning to go to Poland at the end of May and planning to have the wedding reception the second weekend in June. Will we have enough time to get all of this administrative paperwork in about two weeks?

    1. It will not be enough time. No way. Not even a chance. If you can start the process now in December today, maybe you can have a wedding as planned in June. That means if you contact the Uząd and embassy and do all the paperwork in the next two weeks, it will get the ball rolling. You may have to wait for about 4 months for the court and you as a foreigner have to be present. You may have to go back a couple times. Lets hope 6 months is enough time. But if you pursue this with passion, it should be.
      We were engaged in April and just barely got all the paperwork together for the end of October. I live in Kraków and was at the Uząd all the time and speak Polish and really pushing them, and I had a greencard at the time and a citizenship now. So I was not even a full foreigner.
      If you want to get married in Poland, start today.
      I think it is well worth it. You might get your paperwork done in a month, who knows. But why chance it. If your fiance is Polish she should do it as you need to communicate with the Polish offices. Call them today and ask what the next steps are.

  15. Help me in getting the Polish court to let me marry.

    ——————————————————————————–

    Paper work nightmare

    I am hoping to marry in Poland in July. I was married before in Spain in civil marriage. I have read I would need from Polish court agreement that I am divorced & free to marry. Is this true? As I am trying to marry in the Church the paper work there is also time consuming.

    List of Documents needed. (Please add to list if needed)
    Civil
    1. Birth certificate (Translated)
    2. Passport
    3. Letter of freedom from Foreign Office. (Divorced) (Translated)
    4. Marriage cert from last marriage? Spanish to polish translation?
    These documents could get me certificate from Polish civil office to allow the marriage in the church.

    List of Church Documents needed (Please add to list if needed)
    Please help with document length of validation i.e. 3months or 6 months
    1. Baptismal certificate (3 Months)
    2. Confirmation cert
    3. Parish Church letter of freedom (Which Parish. The Church I go too or home address)
    4. Letter from School that I studied Religion
    5. Civil licence to marry (see above)
    6. Letter from local parish of Marriage announcement.
    Help me my mind is melting

    Kind regards Gar

    1. This is normal I think in any country. Do not panic, I know it seems like a lot but I did it and so can you. Once you do it you have the rest of your life to look foward to. It will take one day to get all these things rolling, some phone calls and letters. Most of the Church stuff you get from your parish priest, they will have it. It is no stress really. Let me know if you have any questions.

  16. Hello Mark
    I am hoping to marry my gorgeous fiance, in Poland in June 2012. I appreciate this is some way off but I have previously been married in the UK (Church of England)and would liike to understand our oprions. I have been divoreced for 10 years now and I would like to know if at all it is possible to marry in church in Poland- Also if a civil weeding is all I can expect, will I be able to book the civil regstrar this far in advance- I was hoping to pick the time so we could have a blessing by the priest on the day to make it more of a special event.

    1. Yes to all. In my opinion you can get married in the catholic church, one way or another. All this will be no problem. Here is the reason. You were never married in the catholic church, therefore the church may not even recognizes your previous marriage, it would be a like a civil marriage and divorce a non event in the eyes of the church.

      On the positive side the Church of England is basically like the Catholic church. My brother’s wife was from this church and they have been married 30 years. No big difference at all. It is the same idea.

      What city will you be married in in Poland? You need to find a priest to guide you who understands all this. There are many. You might need to get a few extra documents or something but I do not see it as anything more than anyone else has to go through. It is just jumping through hoops and getting paper and stamps. I went though it and so can you. And once it is done, you have the rest of your life to look foward to. And if you have a Polish bride I think you will have a very good life.

  17. Hi Mark, I am an EU Citizen and i would like marry in Poland with my girlfriend who is here on tourist visa. Which paper do i need for the civil marriage.Thank you
    Sam

    1. If she is Polish it is no problem. What nationality is she? I imagine she is American as Poles do not need visa’s for Europe of course because of the EU.

  18. She has Indian nationality.Please can you tell what are the requirements and how long it will take to get married. Is it possible to live in EU after marriage for her.Her tourist visa is valid for 3 months. How long it will take to get married.Thx Sam

  19. My story is like from the book, I met boy from India in UK
    he applied for visa but his visa was rejected from UK, once his parents find out he is in love in polish girl they engage him and force him to marry, he is very depress as none understand him there. We try to apply for visa from India to London but there is lots of restrictions at the moment, and without his parents support is very difficult( as he need to show he account balance, statements, family statements)
    he is married but he’s marriage is not registered in court it was like Indian ceremony only.
    my question is is it possible he come to Poland and marry on tourist visa or sponsorship visa? as am sure hes parents will do any thing to stop him, Or can he come to UK without he’s parents banks statements ?

    How he can get paper he is single in India?

    If u can answer on any of this question it will be very helpful.

    1. If he is married in India he is legally married all over the world. It would be not legal to proceed with any type of visa based on an intent to marry in Poland as he is legally married, even if he does not have a piece of paper in the Polish language. That does not matter. If he can prove that he was forced into marriage beyond his own free will or not in a sound mental state when he was married against his own ability to defend himself from this, he might be able to get annulled in the court in India. But I think this is unlikely.

  20. Thanks for for your reply.
    See he is married but 90% marriages in India is not registered, what it mean? That he never went to court to sign any papers, it was just ceremony in front of his family. After ceremony usually people going to court to register this marriage otherwise is not legal or is legal only in India.
    Problem is only one we need to get paper that he is free to marry in Poland do u know how to get it? where he should ask in India? As his name doesn’t appear in any institutions.

    1. I can not advice you on this, as I think you need a immigration lawyer. However, this is my view. If it is legal in India, even without paper, it is legal all over the world. Whatever Indian law says applies.
      I also think that is you are a Polish girl, my wife who is Polish said you should be careful, he might want to gain access to the EU for visa and passport purposes and there is a chance it is not true love.
      If this is the case and you do anything not legal it could cause you problems. Further, many guys marry Polish girls for the EU visa and citizenship, latter the guy disappears and legally the Polish girl is still married and can not get remarried as she can not divorce her husband who disappeared. It is a very dangerous game.
      If it is true love and real love and the other marriage was based on a forced marriage against his free will as a human, than he should get it annulled and than he is free to marry you.
      But if freely and willingly married a girl, then it is more complex and I do not have the answers.
      I do not recommend going to Polish court to get approval until the other marriage is legally not valid or divorced. If you did you would open yourself up to liability.
      I am not saying this to be mean or wrong, I just know that the law in Poland is very exact. It is more Roman law rather than case law. Therefore, what is on paper and what is written counts. If you have a statement that swears he is not married and in someway, he is married, even if in India it would be consider a crime I think.

  21. My name is Errol and I live in Austria with my girlfriend who is Polish, and we wish to get married in Poland. But am a non EU citizen, but doesn’t have any residence permit. Please advise us on what do. Thanks Errol

    1. You need to make sure you are legal in the EU or you are in trouble. If you are not legal when you apply for your visa, they will ask why are you in the EU and how you are living legally. If I was not legal, I would leave the EU as it could only make things worse. If you want to get married in Poland, you need to work within the law or it will never happen. If you do not have a residence permit you have only three months on your passport, most likely. So you need to get your girlfriend involved in the whole process.

  22. Hi Mark
    I am from Israel and going to get married, civil way
    inPpoland on May 28 this year.
    I have 2 papers, birth certificate and registration extract
    say I am a bachelor. As I understand its not enough and we have to
    get court decision. Do you know how much time the court desicion can take?
    Is it from today to tomorrow or thats take longer?
    thank you.

    1. I think you will have no problem to get a court to allow you to marry. I think it will be very easy. However, courts in all countries are slow. It might take lets say four months. Some people say six months and some people can get it in three months.
      Therefore, you are cutting it very close in terms of time.
      Maybe you could get all the paper work in this week and get them to rush it for you if you have out of town guests, but I think we waited over four months.
      I am American but basically Polish with a Polish greencard at the time and then Polish citizenship and live in the town down the street from the court and was really persistant and all the papers were in order, but still it was over four months and we were lucky at that. So maybe you have a summer wedding instead.

  23. Hi Mark, I have read your article and it’s really informative, I need your help, currently im living in Poland, im from Guatemala in Central America and don’t need a Visa to be in Poland for 3 months, me and my girlfriend who is from Poland been together for a year, I came here to start a new life, I been trying to find a job but with no success since I don’t have a work permit, my girlfriend had plan to get married next year, that’s why I came here to work and start a new life, but due to the problem that I cant get a job or a work permit I don’t thing ill be able to get them on time, so we thought of getting married early (the civil wedding) right now in order for me to stay and find a job, from what I read I need, my birth certificate translated in Polish, a letter that im legal to get marry translated in Polish and then go with my future wife to court, now my question is, after getting married by civil, will I be able to stay in Poland? or will I need something else? I really will appreciate if you can answer me, thank you in advance.

    1. Pablo, welcome to Poland. If you need a job you will never have to worry about work in Poland. If ou are smart about it you can live an upper middle class life teaching Spanish as you are a native speaker. Bthe way next comment check your grammar and capitalizaton, thanks.
      As a Spanish native speaker doors will open, not only in places like a call center but teaching. You can charge like up to 100 pln an hour or more for business Spanish.
      If you live in Krakow, I would meet you if you like to give you some ideas. Please let me know if you are in Krakow.
      About marriage and citizenship, yes they will let you stay as you are married to a Polish citizen. However, you will have to give them a lot of paper. You need to work with the Polish office and you will go back and forth forever on this, but they will let you stay. You might have to prove that you can pay for insurance and other things at a predetermined rate of like 50 pln a day or something for your living expenses.
      It took me years to get a Polish citizenship and I am Polish, or my family, so be patient. You will love Poland I an I very happy you meet the love of your life.
      I think Guatemala and Poland have some things in common like the Catholic culture.
      I think your first step is to go the the Polish office which deal with marriage. Court is the last step almost, they jut ask you questions about are you old enough to get married. But the first step is the document from the Polish office. This you need all birth documents and the things I outlined in my post.
      Again, let me know if you are in Krakow and we can meet.

  24. Thank you for the warm welcome., sorry for the bad grammar, didn’t had time to check it, anyways back to topic, I live almost close to you, at the moment living in Bielsko Biała, beautiful city, almost like Krakow. My girlfriend and I looked online and made some phone calls to have more information about what papers I need to have, they told us the same information that you posted here, but the only problem was that supposedly my country doesn’t give the paper that I can be legally marry, so for me to be able to do it, I will need a paper called “zwolnienie z przedłołenia do ldolnośi prawnej”(sorry if i wrote it wrong, couldn’t read my girfriend’s writting) anyways, translated would be “exemption from submission of the legal capacity”, and to get it, I have to go to my girlfriends town and go to court, and since I don’t speak Polish I need to go with a English translator, do you know anything regarding this? Is there another way to do it? Also, I was reading some of your previews post, and read about a fiancee visa, and that you are able to stay for 6 month for you to get marry, is that true? my girlfriend asked the government office and they say there is no such thing as that, I know you can get that visa in USA, is it the same in here?, I will love to meet up with you, since I’m new to all of this, new culture, and I would love to have someone I can talk to and have ideas, anyway I can contact you? Maybe we can schedule a meeting next week? Let me know, and again. thank you very much for your help.

    1. You are going to have to contact your embassy and get the documents there. I can not imagine that your government does not have that. If they do not, then you will just have to make that statement in court and I think it should be OK. You have to be proactive if your embassy, that is why they are there and you pay taxes. They work for you.
      But it will only delay the process if you do not have it as I think the Polish court would have to research if this is true. I think you would make a sworn statement or something.
      If you do not speak Polish you need an official translator in court. I spoke Polish, not perfectly but enough so that is not a problem.
      Every country has a visa if you have the intent to get married in a few months. You need to really go in person and be in their face and press them. They work for you, not the other way around. You need to go to the government office for the marriage license and go there several times a day until they tell you exactly what you need.

  25. Thank you Mark for your reply, now the problem that I have with that paper, first, Poland doesn’t have a Guatemalan embassy, so the closet one that i have is in Germany, unfortunately, haven’t been able to get in contact with them, now. We called the government office in her town to know more about that paper, from what they told her, it takes some time, and it will take until June for us to have an answer, the problem is that I can only be here for 3 months, I’m trying my best on how to get a hold of a visa, so by going to the government office and asking for a visa for us to get marry they will now what we talking about? we got a hold of a person in the government office, they said that what they can do is give me an extension, to stay for more time, but they cant guarantee that after feeling the papers I will be able to, do you know any other way that I can get a visa here in Poland for me to stay at least for 3 months in order for me to get marry, that is my main problem currently, I will really appreciate it if you can help me with this, in any way you been of great help.

    1. I do not have the answers. I know know what you need to do. How you get them is up to you. I know I was at the Uząd every day for weeks. You can not call people. You have to go there. Calling does not good. Go to the office of foreigners in Krakow or your town. Go there and they will guide you. Go to Germany. The government does not mess around and does not care about I can not. You either have to get the papers in order or they will deport you.
      I am only saying this to be nice. I would not call, I would go there. Hitch hike if you have to. Hire an immigration lawyer. Do what it takes if you love your future wife.
      You can also move to your county with her for a time, if it gets too complex with the paper work. But every country will require similar documents. The main thing is if you love her do not separate from her.

  26. Thank you Mark, i will do that, a little bit late but i will still do it, i really love my girfriend, she is the best girl ever!! and if i already did the efford to come to Poland, i cant give up!. We tought about going back to Guatemala, to tell you the truth, the situation in there is kind of hard at the moment, and she is still studying, thats why i moved here, anyways, ill try everything i can, and ill tell you how it goes, would be cool to meet up with you, maybe you can give me some tips on how to survice in Poland, (having a hard time with the language :/)

  27. Hi Mark.
    I’m a Divorced Christian, and was married in a civil christian function.
    I’m planning to get married to my girlfriend whom is a Polish Catholic.
    If I change my faith to Catholic will my previous civil wedding be recognised in a catholic church, or will I have to get this annulled?
    Can you help me, we are both deeply and truly in Love, just want to know the facts.

    1. Steve, do not worry. You were not married in the Catholic church therefore there is no way you need to do anything special. I am a a Catholic but also a universalist, that is I believe all that promotes goodness and love are good, so peace and love whatever your current religion is. If it is the Church of England or something it is basically the same but does not need an annulment as it was not a specifically catholic wedding.
      I think it is great that you will have a catholic wedding, this is a big show of support for your future wife. I personally would do something like this if I was in a similar situation, as I am pretty easy going.
      No matter what some Polish priest who does not know everything says, you do not need to do anything special except get your civil paperwork together and then do some steps in Catholic church for conversion or at least preparation. My friend who was Chinese did it in like a week, the whole wash and wax. No stres about it, the main thing is you will be with your love.
      I have friends married in the Angican church and did not even convert just started going to Catholic chruch and visa versa. But to do it officially is better for paperwork.
      If you are in Krakow, Poland let me know we can connect. But bascially you can also speak to a preist who knows about these things. In any big city there are many who have experience with exactly what you are asking. But let me know if you have any more questions.

  28. Hi Mark, I want to marry my fiancé in Zakopane (we live in London). I wasn’t baptised, but we want a civil ceremony anyway – he says we would still need baptism papers! Do I need to get baptised or is there a way around this?

    Thanks,
    Jade

    1. You do not need to be baptised in a civil wedding. No way. You could be a druid and get married in a civil ceremony. What you need is your birth certificate translated into Polish.

      1. Just saw your response, thanks for being so helpful. Your forum is really interesting actually, glad to see we aren’t the only ones totally confused!

        jade

  29. I found a wonderful woman from Poland. The paperwork is frustrating me. What is the process to get a civil marriage to her in Poland and bring her back to the United States?

    1. The bottom line is you need to be earning money in the USA. If you have a good job and can prove that your wife is really married to you for love, then they will give you a visa for the USA.
      I know it sounds crazy but a green card visa for and wife of an American citizen is all about how much money you make and can support her for ten years regardless of your relationship status in the USA.
      If you have a civil marriage in Poland you should have no problem immigrating to the USA if you have a good job in the USA.

  30. There is requirement of pre-nuptial enquiry to be completed at least 2 months before the wedding.
    I am Polish catholic who wants to marry South African fiance in Poland. We lived in London and after our wedding we are going to live in South Africa.
    Due to a serious health problem he had to go back to South Africa for a treatment – all is going well but he is not planning to come back to London therefore we don’t have 2 months to meet together for completing Pre-nuptial enquiry in my London’s parish. What can be done?

    1. I am sorry to hear about all your troubles with getting married. However, every couple who is planning a wedding has tests along the way. Do not let it dissuade you. My recommendation is you talk to a priest about it and they will guide you. The Pre-Cana Catholic consultation course is flexible and can be done in one day.

  31. My partner and I would like to get married in Poland this winter. His grandfather is from Poland and we want to be wed in the town he is from. I understand that a civil wedding is not very hard to obtain. However it is important for us to have a religious ceremony. I was baptized Lutheran and my partner Catholic (but I don’t think he went through confirmation). We are both non-denominational, and unwilling to become Catholic/Lutheran for the sake of the ceremony. Will we be able to find a church to get married in? Thanks for your help.

    1. If you can get the civil paper work done, it is not a problem to find a church in Poland to get married in. For example, in Krakow where I live, there are protestant churches of course and I think they tend on non-denominational but smaller. Or larger ones, for example, on ul. Grodzka 58, there is St. Martin’s Evangelical Augsburg Church, which is beautiful 13th century design. It is worth looking into also. I also would think that maybe you could do it in a catholic church with a non-denominational ceremony. However, I do not know this for a fact.
      You might have to do some footwork to find someone who will let you.
      If you want to be wed in his town, go directly to the Priest there and ask. Explain the situation, the worst thing that could happen is he says no. If you can not consider plan B.

  32. Hola amigo Marcos,tengo una duda yo y mi novia tenemos un bebe aqui en polonia y yo aun no hice mis papeles de divorcio en mi pais,y quiciera obtener mi visa permanente aqui en Polonia. Yo quiciera vivir aqui .con ella y mi hijo que debo de hacer,seria un problema eso? que documentos se nececita para casarse asi rapido,sin tener problemas por civil? Gracias

    1. I understand your situation and congratulations on your baby. However, the Polish government will need to see the divorce papers as it is highly illegal in almost any country in the world to be married to two women at the same time. It does not matter legally or civil marriage in Poland, the court will as to see the papers and the only way you can get a Catholic marriage is first get approved by the court.. You could get a visa another way for a temporary situation like teaching Spanish in a school. I am sorry for making this difficult but that is my understanding of the law in Poland. Let me know if you have any questions.

  33. Hello Mark, I am businessman from India. My girlfriend is Polish, but she has a child from another relationship. She is not married to him. He is a french citizen who is studying in Poland. I am interested to marry her. But I do not know what to do. If she could travel to India then I could manage all the paperwork here and get married to her. But as far as I know, if she has to travel to India she has to get an Indian visa for her baby who is a minor(her child is 1-year-old) For that both parents have to sign on the visa application. I am not sure if that guy would be ready to sign it. Now I am in a dilemma. can you advice me what to do?

    1. There are too many moving parts here for me to answer for you. However, what I personally would do is this. Clarify the extend that the father of her child wants to be in the child’s life. This is important as it is not about you, the Polish girl or the French guy. It is about the welfare of the innocent child. Once this is clarified, with a face to face meeting, then both your relationship and your relationship with her child will be clearer and the answer will reveal itself to you.

  34. Hi Mark

    This is an amazing forum, thanks a million for all the info! We are an Irish couple (both Catholic) and we want to get married in Zakopane next January (2013). Do we need to petition the court for permission as neither of us is actually Polish? We are moving to Australia at the end of this year so we won’t be in a position to fly to Poland until approximately a week or so before the wedding – will this work? If we get married legally in Ireland (civil ceremony) a few days before flying to Poland , could we have the Church wedding over there? Would you happen to know any English speaking priests in Zakopane?
    Kind Regards
    Emma

    1. Emma, I think you picked a wonderful place to get married. It all should work with ease and I know there are many English speaking priests in Poland. I was married by one. If not in Zakopane, in Krakow and they might enjoy trip down as it is only a 90 minute trip.
      I guess the question is how important that your marriage is approved from a civil aspect in Poland or Ireland and the timing.
      I think the easiest is get the civil papers in Ireland.
      I wish I could reply in more detail, and would need to research this, but if you have a civil marriage certficate or wedding in Ireland yes the church wedding is no problem in Poland. Even in Poland we signed something minutes before we got into the church which was like the civil wedding and then the church preformed out real wedding so to speak. My friend from China living in the USA did the same. When to a office and got a civil papers and then had her wedding in the Catholic church as they were catholic. But to make the process easier did the civil first.
      Now I can ask the priest about how this all works.
      The ideal would be do what I did, that is just to to the Church in Poland and get married. But I have to research this as there is nothing definitive on the web. A lot of people talking but no concrete information.

      Update on Foreigners married in Poland

      Ok after Mass I asked my priest. He said that the best and recommend way to get married in Poland as a foreigner is do the civil paperwork back home with a civil marriage. You can go though the Polish courts but it is a long of hastle.
      You get the civil marriage back home, which is just getting a piece of paper and you can have a beautful marriage in Poland in the church.
      I am a Polish citizen now but when I was getting married I was only a green card holder. It took so long in the courts we almost got married in vegas and then were going to fly back and have our real marriage in the church in Poland. It all worked out but I do not recommend the stress of the Polish courts.

      Just do the paper in Ireland and then start the process with a Polish priest in Poland. The Bishop will give the approval but the priest said these are all none issues. Believe me I worked with the priests in Poland and they are the best and very easy going. On the other hand if you can avoid the Polish Uząd or civil offices are nothing but a pain as they will not know how to handle this. But the Church in my experience is very easy going and it will be a beautiful experience.

      1. Hi Mark

        Thanks a million fot that – it’s so helpful! We are going to Zakopane to visit the hotel we have booked the reception in in October so we will visit some churches and talk to some priests then! We are hoping to get married in one of the old wooden churches!

        Thanks again for your help!

        1. I love those wooden Churches in the moutains. It is ancient and beautiful and mystical there. There is a new wooden church there that is pretty famous also, built in the 90s.

          If you have any trouble with finding what you want in Zakopane, I recommend also considering Krakow to connect with priests.

          There are scores of English speaking priest in Krakow and even more foreigners so they are accustom to marriages with foreigners. They can guide you if you are not making the connections you need to with the small chapels priests down there.

          If you have questions let me know.

  35. Hi Mark,

    My Husband and I have been married almost 25years and would love to renew our vows and have our marriege blessed in a church in Poand. We are both prodetstants. Can this be done and how?

    Regards

    Jean

    1. It is easy. My parents who have been married over 60 years do this renewing from time to time. Since you are already married, all you need to to arrange it with a Priest or a pastor. It does not require any official documents.
      The main thing is find the church to renew it in. There are certainly protestant churches in Krakow I know, beautiful ones. I think a catholic priest might even do this in a RC if that is what you like? It is a very nice thing you are thinking of and 25 is a huge milestone.

  36. hi Mark
    I am Polish citizen curently living in UK (2 yrs). My boyfriend is Indian (curently living in India). We want to get married in Poland. What documents are required? Do we have to have any permission ? How long must my boyfriend have to be in Poland before wedding is due? How he can get a visa and what kind of visa he needs ? And what about myself : how long I have to stay in Poland for? How does this process look like ? I don’t know anything about this matters. If You know any websites which can make this clearer for me that will be a great help.

    Regards

    1. I have written a lot on my website about this. Please review the other comments on my website regarding marriage in Poland for people living abroad. You will need court approval to marry a foreigner in Poland of course. After you have read my site more, please come back with question.

  37. Hi Mark
    Thanks for that kind advices please , advice me :

    As I am legally resident in Germany from More than 2 years, I am working engineer in Big Co. In Berlin.
    My base of work is Dubai, I speak German and I have Polish girl (not Girl Friend as we married in the mosque Islamic married few weeks before in Berlin)

    I want make with her legal Married with Papers so please advice me
    Is It better If marry her in Germany , Poland , Dubai ( as I am resident in Dubai ) , Egypt (I am Egyptian ) . Or in some countries not required a lot of Document ?
    I want to know your opinion what is better for our starting small family.

    Please advice me as my resident in Germany will Finish soon 2012

    And she accept to leave with me in Dubai starting from 2012 , put sure I will need to come again with her to Europe for visit her family , for vacations or for making home in Poland .
    Sorry for that long question put to be more accurate.

    1. I do not want to advise you the wrong way about marrriage but this is what I would do. If you are a religous person and in your heart in the mosque it is a real wedding than to get a legal wedding, you get married where ever it is easiest. It does not matter.
      The rule is once you are married legally in one country you are married in another. That is how it works. You are married all over the world.

      However, I find it odd that you could be married in a Mosque as usually there is a treaty between religous and civil authorities which states the civil marriage or at least documents must proceeded the religous. But maybe Germany is different.

      Anyway, I would find the easiest place in the world to get married, lets say the vegas of Europe or the Middle East. Somewhere with little paper work and low fee. I do not know where that is. If you find out or anyone knows let me know. I think if you are living in Germany it is not that hard. Maybe your home country of Egypt? This way you have a clear understanding of the paperwork.
      Portugul and Denmark are also easy to get married if you are a foreigner.

      However, marriage is one thing, a visa is another. Your Polish girlfriend would have to be legally married and employed in Germany for you to get the right to stay I believe. It is not like you are married and have a visa. You have to be married and employed and have insurance and money in the bank. You also need a background check to make sure that in your country you are not connected to any organizations that on a watch list etc or that you have no committed any crimes etc. I am a white catholic American guy of European roots and they checked me, the police did background checks etc. It is not easy to get a visa even if you are married. You have to show economic means of support as well as a good clean record, they knock on people’s door and check things.
      So if everything is in order than you could get a visa, but it is not like it use to be. Foreigers are viewed with suspect especially if you have not been married long.
      My wife and I have been married a while and we have a child and still, the USA department of homeland security did a detailed check. I had to hae good income etc. And I am an American. I thought it was crazy but the world is different now.
      So step one get married legally if and only if she is your one and only. Then understand the visa requiremnts for the EU, which is basically the ability for your wife to support you and her having a job.

  38. Hello Mark! I am an Argentinian man who has a sweet and beautiful Polish narzeczona who lives in Kraków. We have been in a long term relationship for two years and a half now, visiting each other (mostly me going to Poland) two times a year. We have decided to live together starting next year, and we will start the proceedings to get married in Poland when i move there in January. Let me tell you that your blog has been a lot of help to me, and it motivates me and fills me with enthusiasm to deal with all the legal procedures (it kind of frightens me).

    Right now, I’m quite glad because I found out that here in Argentina I can get a certificate on legal capacity to get married, and my question for you concerning it is, who should I address it to? I know it had to be presented in a Polish court, and probably we will do it in the Polish court at Mszana Dolna (Kasia’s hometown) so they’ll probably work faster than a court in Kraków. However I need to know when I ask for this document in my country, to whom it will be addressed, if it should be plainly “Polish court”, the name of it in Polish,or if it has to be addressed to the specific court i will assist to get the paperwork done.
    After I get this document i think i should get it legalised by Apostille Hague and then translated by an official translator, right?
    Once again, I am very glad indeed i found your blog and read a bit about your experience and get your great advise. Thank you very much and best regards form your soon to be neighbour.

    Martín

    1. I think Poles think well of Argentinians and they will not look at your case with excess scrutiny. The culture is similar in terms of its connection to Europe, religion and democracy as well as economics. So when you get married you will just have to jump though some hoops but I can not foresee any show stoppers.
      I think a general letter ‘To whom it may concern’ type language is good enough and was on my document from the embassy.
      You do not have to get anything legalized as it is legal from the issueing authory. You might need to get a translator in Krakow to translate it officially. My embassy in Krakow issued it in Polish and English. It can not be any translator but an offcial one with a stamp.
      Any embassy in the EU can issue it for you from your country.
      For example try this:
      Embassy of Argentina in Warsaw, Poland

      Brukselska 9
      03-973
      Warsaw,Poland You can call or email them. I think they can issue one and there is no need for anything else. They will know what to do as they do this from time to time.

      1. Hello Mark!

        This is just a follow-up of my previous post to let you know who I m doing after almost one month in Kraków. To be honest I feel rather disoriented and everything seems hard. Nevertheless, slowly things are going their way. As for legal procedures, I had all legal documents ready from before leaving Buenos Aires and they just needed to be translated from a sworn translator approved by the justice department. Then I found out that the equivalent of a certificate on capacity to get married expended in Argentina is useless for the civil registry, so we went to a family court in Limanowa to get this kind of certificate, it just took this certificate, my birth certificate, a sworn statement, a copy of my passport made by a public notary and 100 zl. And now we are just waiting for it so we can go to the civil registry again and apply for marriage (my fiancée wants it to be in june so her family has time to get ready for this). As for other matters, I arrived to Poland with a D type Visa (long-term stay) which is valid till July.
        I thought that in order to be able to work I would only be needing a work permit having this visa. I was quite excited because there was a Company interested in hiring me for a job offer as IT support analyst, the only thing is that it was to be covered urgently and they found out that besides a work permit I need a residence permit which may take 3 months, so well, they offered the job to another candidate. So I was somehow disappointed, nevertheless I knew it would take some time till I could start working so I’m focusing on organizing other things while I wait for the system to do its work on the papers.
        As for living together with my gal, so far so good, but we are learning and adapting to each other, and things are slowly going better when we can relax and do things calmly and get our chaos in order. However I think we need to get out more and not stay so much on the apartment, even though it’s so cold outside 😀
        Luckily I found a way to get money from my bank account in Argentina and buy Euros here, since things are pretty bad in Argentina, and a recent law limiting who can buy and how much of foreign currency has sabotaged a bank transfer I was counting on.
        Well, just wanted to share a little bit on the blog, I’m sure that I’ll have some good news in the future. Best regards,

        Martín

        1. Thank you very much Martin for the update. In Krakow there is a lot of opportunity to work if you speak Spanish, such as teaching Spanish. Second, the worst of the Polish winter is over. Third, it is hard anywhere, it would be even harder if this was the USA and you tried to get a visa.
          I have a website polishgrammar.com which goes more into the issues of living in Poland.

          The main thing is do not give up and you just moved to the other side of the world. It will take about a year to get situated. I recommend an Mbank account for example for money. Go to Galeria Kazimierz they have a kiosk there in front of Empik.

          Keep me posted and ask questions if you have any, thanks, Mark

  39. Hi Mark

    Just reading your interesting and helpful comments.

    I am English and live in England with my Polish partner. We are getting married in England in early November 2011 in a civil marriage but are having the reception in Krakow on November 5. We would like some sort of blessing ceremony in the day time on that day in Krakow to give the day a proper structure and give my partner a chance to wear a dress! The blessing would preferably be by a catholic priest (although this is not essential). It would probably be best if this were to take place in the hotel where the reception is – there will be about 100 guests – half English half Polish.

    My partner is catholic but I am not.

    Do you know any priests in Krakow who we could talk to about what is possible? It can if necessary be very informal and we would pay quite well. Any help you could give would be very much appreciated.

    Many thanks

    1. There are many English speaking priests in Krakow. I personally would recommend http://www.krakow.dominikanie.pl/ the Dominican order. They are know for being easy going and working with English speaking people as they run a small English speaking chapel near the Wawel, the Church of St. Giles. If you are in Krakow they will have Priests on hand who will meet with you. They do a lot of exchanges with the UK and they speak English well and can even bless the marriage in both languages.
      If you are not in Krakow, send them an e-mail or call them.

  40. I am from Morocco, I date a Polish girl who is working and living in Poland, we love each other, we are thinking to be married then living together in Poland, so my question is after to be married here in my country it is possible to get it translates and restiger in Poland?, I would like to know if Poland recognised the Moroccan mariage?, which visa I should to get for moving in Poland.

    1. If you are married in one country you are married all over the world. So your marriage is valid, however to get a spousal visa, that is another problem. Poland has cracked down on foreigners trying to a visa through marriage as 1/4 are fake. Therefore there are rules and laws that make it harder. Such as you need to show income to support yourself, pay for your insurance and a number of other requirements as well as a judge approval. Let your fiance guide you on this as she is Polish and can talk to the Polish government offices directly and give you the details.
      It will be no problem if you have the income I think. Even me, I am married to a Polish national for sometime and I am American and we have an American child but they would not let us in the USA unless I demonstrated US based income at a reasonable rate for a reasonable time. I think it is disgraceful that countries separate families based on income.

  41. Thank you very much Mark,
    My relation with this Polish girl is really based on love and undesrtanding, I hope we do not have probllem in the process to get the visa.

  42. Hi Mark,

    I am trying to married in Zakopane Poland, I have been told I have to have the ceremony in a civil court rather than a hotel which i wanted to get married in.

    Is there anyway around this, the civil court in Zakopane is not very pretty

    1. You need a Marriage license. That is the main thing in Poland. Once you have this you have many options. Once you have this you can get it performed by a minster if you are not Catholic. They also have Justice of the peace but it is very rare here and do not know how to go about it. You can do it here in Poland, even if you have to pay someone the Polish office if they would go to the hotel. This is not a bribe but rather an off site performance of duty. I do not have a definitive answer as everyone I know gets married in the Church. But I am pretty sure there are ways around it. What about a Protestant minister? There are several Protestant churches in Krakow nd they could come down to the mountains.
      Let me know what you find out as it would benefit others.

  43. Hi Mark,

    Hope you’re well. You have a brilliant blog here on the whole marriage subject. I have an enquiry and was wondering if you could assist. My story goes as follows;

    I am South African born and traveling with a South African Passport. I lived and worked in the UK for almost 7 years (legally on visas). Thereafter moved to Thailand for almost 2 years, to lead a more relaxed lifestyle. Where I met and fell in-love with my Polish girlfriend. She was working as a fashion model in Thailand and due to the constraints of her work, she had to leave a few months later. As she had had been contracted to other modeling agencies abroad. So after spending a grueling 11+ months apart and exchange of lengthy Skype calls and emails. I took take the leap of faith to Poland, where we rekindled the love for each other. I was introduced to her family who took me in with open arms and to a great liking into me instantly!

    Things were becoming tense as my time is drawing to a close and the thought of being apart for another few more months that seem like eternity. We decided that we could not be apart from each other and with her parents blessing decided to get engaged.

    So down to the nitty gritty.

    – I entered the EU on a Schengen (90 day) Visa that expires within less than 4 weeks. I “maxed” out the allowed the days that I am allowed in the EU for a 6 month period. I believe this process can take more than 4-6 weeks. I do not want to overstay my visa. What are the necessary steps to take? Apply

    – I have applied for Certificate of No Impediment, an Unabridged Birth Certificate including an Apostille Certificate from South Africa. Which I have translated to Polish here in Poland.

    – I have never been baptized and not religious. Would I need to get baptized if we’re getting married in court?

    -Would I need any other supporting documents besides the above-mentioned ones? So technically it seems like I will have just a little over 2 weeks on my current visa left over once all documents have been prepared and submitted. We will be submitting all the documents here in the countryside where we staying at my girlfriends holiday home. To try and speed up the process.

    Just to confirm If the marriage in court is successful and they approved. I would have to leave the country and apply to the Polish embassy in another country for a residents permit correct? Or would I be able to remain and apply for it in Poland?

    Thank you in advance for you assistance. It will be highly appreciated.

    1. In a Polish court you need no religious documents, they do not care. They do care about legal visas. Apply now to the office of foreigners in Poland. Every major city has one as your girlfriend to help. You will most likely have to leave Europe for a while. Many of my friends did. but do not over stay your visa or game over. all supporting documents are mentioned in the post on Marriage in Poland. That is it, but you are getting a civil marriage, no religious documents matter and they will be annoyed if you give them that because it has nothing to do with the civil marriage. But why not get married in the church?

  44. Hi Mark,

    Your responses are very in-depth and helpful. If you would be so kind, could you try and answer my questions?

    I am a UK citizen, my fiancée is Polish, we both reside in the UK but want to get married in Poland. I have never been married before, have been baptised and confirmed but no longer attend church, I am also C of E, not Catholic. The issue I have is with the USC wanting my baptism certificate, confirmation certificate and birth certificate to be issued no sooner than three months before the wedding. The thing I do not understand is that my birth certificate is as old as I am and my other certificates are a minimum 10 years old. I already own these certificates and just need them translating, I do not want to get them re-issued, so how do I prove to the Polish authorities that the info is correct whether it is three months before the wedding or three YEARS before the wedding? Also, do I need an apostille stamp on the certificates?

    We are getting married in May 2012, by the way.

    Many thanks, Ben

    1. These requirements are standard actually to any country. They want new copies of certain but not all documents because people change their names get married etc. However, lets clarify, the Church and the Civil marriage are two different ideas. The only think you need to focus on is the civil documents to get the marriage certificate. There is no need to get any religious documents for the Polish government. I think those do not have to to date. You hand them old birth certificates as long as they have a raised seal and translated. You need something from your embassy that says you are free and clear to marry. That is basically it.

      The Catholic marriage you can work with a priest who will guide you, but you will need a new copy from your parish Priest (C of E) that says you were not married in the last six months I believe, this is to prevent people getting married twice. Everything else can be old and does not need to be translated, even that if your Priest reads English.

      The Catholic and English Church are almost the same as you know so I think there will be no problem getting married in either, in fact I know it.
      So the bottom line is only the letter from your church that you have not been married needs to be up to date as I understand it. Unless I am not understanding you correctly.

  45. I am from Asia living in Poland as illegal immigrants for past few years. I have a baby girl(three month old) from my girlfriend who is Polish. As, being in illegal status I could not get married to her before. Can I marry with her now on behalf of our child? I am waiting for your nice suggestion.

    1. You have a responsibly as a father. If you are a father it changes everything in your life but your legal status under the law zero. First you would have to prove you are the father with DNA or something but once you do, you are still not married and not Polish so you have no rights to live in Poland, further you are illegal, which they will not like at all.
      My suggestion is do everything legal. Get a lawyer in Poland for advice. If not, leave Poland somehow. Get married anywhere with the mother of your child, as once you are married in any country, you are married all over the world. Then apply for a Polish marriage visa legally and honestly. It might take a year in total. However, did your mother ever tell you life was going to be easy?
      You have a family and you need to step up to the plate and do things the right way so you will have a right to stay in Poland and work in the EU to support them.

  46. I overstayed my Visa in Poland, I know it was wrong…
    That being said, my fiancee has dual citizen, Polish/USA. We wanted to get married but heard we can’t since I am illegal here, in the mean time she is pregnant and we are expecting our child in January. Is there anyway I can get a temporary visa to become legal here then we will be getting married? I was hoping I could get something due to the child being born, but I am getting mixed answers.

    I am concern if I apply for anything else I can be kicked out of the country and no way I am leaving my child, but with my fiancee job and we just bought a house here she cannot leave Poland.

    1. Try to get a fiance visa. Or just get married on paper, via a civil marriage and then do the whole shebang church wedding latter. I do not know if it would work but in your sensitive case maybe talk to a Polish lawyer as if you have over stayed your 90 days + 90 days it might make everything complicated. I mean people have lived in Poland for like 15 years without a visa, but your situation is different because you have a family. So I do not want to mis-advise you.

  47. To stay in Poland get a fiance visa. Or just get married on paper, via a civil marriage and then do the whole shebang church wedding latter. I do not know if it would work but in your sensitive case maybe talk to a Polish lawyer as if you have over stayed your 90 days + 90 days it might make everything complicated. I mean people have lived in Poland for like 15 years without a visa, but your situation is different because you have a family. So I do not want to mis-advise you.

  48. I see that your site is very helpful and i have never thought about using my polish background for this but here is my question:
    I am an US Citizen born from both polish parents who left Poland in the 80’s via Austria to the US. I know that i can start by applying for confirmation of citizenship but fear this will take some time. I have met the love of my life when I was in Poland last year and we would like to get married. He lives in a small town in Poland and has already been denied a travel visa (which we wanted so we could get married in NY)
    Our next option was to get the court date for me to request to marry a Polish citizen in 3 weeks when I go there. Is there a way around this as I am technically Polish and am currently filling out paperwork for confirmation? Maybe I should ask which is the better option, try to get my passport or petition to marry a polish citizen? And if it’s the petition, how do I get this free paper from the US embassy you speak of?
    I’m afraid if I apply and petition to get him a fiancée visa he will get refused again. I’ve been there 4 times in one year, but we just now got engaged.

    Please let me know what you think is best 😉 its torture not being able to see him, and i cant figure out which route is best! Thank you so much!! you’re great!

    1. I think confirmation of Polish citizenship really should be a painless process if both of your parents were from Poland. All you need is the akt urodzenia from one or both of your parents and this can easily be obtained.Go to the Polish embassy and I think in a few months you can have confirmation. Call them if you can speak Polish.
      You can get your boyfriend a fiance visa not a travel visa. I think you have 6 months to get married. Please check this on the Department of Homeland security website.
      I actually think Homeland seucirty and the department of immigration wants to help US citizens and their families.
      Look I know this all seems hard and complicated now, and I have personally been though the A to Z gamut with both the USA and Poland. All I can say is if I can do it so can you. I mean this in the nicest way. I would try a mult prong stragegy. I would at once work on the Polish confirmation of citizenship.
      I would consider getting help with the travel visa, find out why he was denied. There is something there they are not liking, most likely not enough assets or income to not percieve him as an illegal risk factor. I know it is unfair and it is really wrong they requie Polish people full EU members visas. It is really all about money. Further, when US companies get gas contracts in the newly found Polish oil and gas reserves the US will change this policy. It is all politics, I mean Poles can work in the UK now if it was about fear of immigration. Anyway, that paper is obtained in any US embassy. Call them or go to on.
      OK enough rambling on my part. Make sure you put the case together progfessionally all the documents and income and assets in order and in line. Fiancee visa he will not get refused if his background is OK because it is not based on economics. The US tries but generally can not seperate families. If you need to get help with an immigration assist, you do not need a lawyer, just someone who helps put all this together.
      You could also live in Poland and teach English until all this is settled.

      1. Thank you for all the info! I’m getting all my documents together and we are prepared when I go there in a week to start the other route of getting that document from the embassy and registering the marriage there 🙂 I did have one more question, might be silly, but if I get married there, the USA will acknowledge this correct? or do I have to get married in NY for him to be on my taxes, benefits etc?

        Thanks again, I’m so happy I found your blog, I read through it and found out so much information that was very interesting and I’m very glad there is someone like you helping all these “lost” souls find the answers there are searching for! Many hugs!

        1. If you get married in Poland or anywhere, you are married all over the world and do not need to remarry, in fact it would be illegal. I am set up in the USA now with my wife and we have not had to show are marriage certificate once besides getting a green card. About benefits, there are none. If you bring a foreigner in the USA, you can not get benefits for ten years. It is the law and a condition of the visa. You must support them and show a good level of US-based income to even bring them to the USA.
          If you are teaching English or have a job in Poland you can not bring your spouse to the USA. It is unfair but that is the way it works.
          Ask me questions about this, if it is important to you.

          1. Ok so now my fiance moved to the UK to work and find a better career as Poland was not cutting it with income. Since his visa and appeal were denied about 3 months ago he hasn’t reapplied. My question is, if we want to get married in the UK, can we? and how do you handle something like that, do I have to prove I’m single like in Poland or is it simpler in London like in NYC? He’s a UK resident and he lived there for a few years, but not a citizen of UK yet.

            Thank you! you are my wedding guru!

          2. Married anywhere in the world means married in Poland and the UK. You can fly to Vegas for a day, and get married on a passport and 25 dollars and you are married in Poland and the UK. This is an international thing. In the European region I think there are easy real marriage spots people go. Poland has no right to restrict you in other countries. If you are married you are married and recognized all over. You might have to translate a document if you want a marriage visa but you are married. You could be married in Tunisa or whereever, and then you are married in Poland and the UK. It does not matter as long as it is a real country etc.

          3. Hello Again, again I would like to thank you for all your help. After getting my Polish citizenship confirmed I’m just waiting on my passport. Being I have both (he had Polish only) and he is living in the London, we decided to get married in London. Yet my only question is, since US citizen need a visitor visa in UK for marriage but not Polish citizens, if we get married with me using my Polish passport to enter UK, marry, and return, is that ok? Mainly I want to ensure that when I marry him in the UK under “Polish status” can we still fill out the Spouse Visa for US. Or do I need the visa and need to marry him under US status. I think since I have dual citizenship, he is still marrying an American right?

            Thanks again

          4. I am sure that it does not matter that you are married under a Polish passport at all. You can always double check with the embassy, but You are an American and that is that. I was married in Poland and the US embassy did not care about any of the details. They just wanted to see my US passport and the marriage certificate. It does not matter. Once you are married in one place you are married all over the world and these things do not matter to the USA.
            What does matter is the marriage is real and that you have US based income to support your immigrant spouse. Ask me if you have questions on this. Sorry for the delayed reply as I have been working a lot lately.
            I am happy about your good news of course.

  49. Hello,

    If someone could please help that would be great.
    I understand most of the posts are in relation to getting married in Poland but Im trying to find out my rights as a spouse of a Polish Citizen. Im finding it really hard to find information.

    Im Australian and my fiance is Polish, Im in Oz and he is in the UK.
    We are about to apply for a Marriage Visa for Oz next year, our celebrant is booked etc. Although long term we will most likely be in Oz we are now tossing up whether to spend some time living and working in Poland before starting a family here in Oz.

    I dont have a British or EU Passport and although I can come and go on holidays I dont know where I stand in relation to being his wife and if I can work etc.

    Im trying to find out my rights because if its something straight forward that I can apply for then he can come here and marry me on a tourist visa and save ourselves a couple of thousand dollars for the Marriage Visa.

    I have emailed the Polish Embassy/Consulate here and am waiting to here back.

    Any help would be much appreciated.
    Thanks Lisa

    1. Yes. I am not an expert, but here is the idea. Marriage and a visa are two different ideas. They in once sense have nothing to do with each other. You can go to vegas for example on a vacation and get married. Just bring 25 dollars and an ID. That is it. You will be married anywhere in the world. You do not need a fiance visa to be married. You just need a marriage license. To get this you need your birth documents etc. But you can get married on a tourist visa from my understanding, but it depends on the country. If you are talking about bureaucratic Poland. Well a judge must give you an OK before you get your marriage license. Mostly checking to see if you are not married in your country and are of age. If this is OK then you can get married. However, I do not know all the details and frankly many of the young judges do not and have to look things up in books as they do not see these cases often, and they make mistakes as was in my case.
      So my next step would be to write or contact the office of foreigners in a major city like Krakow or Warsaw, they speak English and know these things.

  50. What kind of documents should possess a citizen of Kosovo to be married to a Polish woman in Poland, I possess a certificate of marital status, birth certificate and citizenship certificate but Poland wanted a document “the marital capacity” which the State of Kosovo did not possesses.
    I’d be very grateful if you suggest something.

    1. Same as the documents listed above, I was a non EU citizen at the time of my marriage. The main thing is do not be intimidated by the Polish courts or legal system. They will work with you, especially since you are from Europe, believe me. It may take time. If you embassy does not have that, they issue something like a statement that they do not have this. The US says nothing but issues some general letter that they can not confirm or deny or somethingto that affect and the Polish court accepted it. It is a very standard letter, I am sure your government has that, you have to really reseach it as it is a new country and people in your government might not see this too often.

      It is a common question I get but every country has some statement like this for its citizens.

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