Civil marriage in Poland
Wedding in Poland with a foreigner – what formalities should be completed?
The conclusion of a marriage in Poland is subject to strict procedure and consists in the completion of many formalities. Unfortunately, if the Polish citizen intends to marry a foreigner, the amount of formalities increases. As a result, a lot of nupturants do not know what to do to get everything on the last button. No wonder – it’s easy to get lost in it! The following study aims to help these people deal with bureaucracy.
When you get married at the Registry Office …
The first way to enter a marriage in Poland is to perform this activity in the Civil Registry Office, in front of an Official. The regulations clearly indicate what documents should be submitted to the Office. They must be submitted at the latest 31 days before the wedding. These are:
Identity documents with a photo of people who intend to marry – there is no problem here. A citizen of the Republic shows his identity card, while a foreigner – a valid passport, and if he has the right to stay in Poland – a residence card.
Copies of the birth certificates of these people – here the first stairs begin. If the Pole can easily obtain the appropriate act from the Polish Civil Registry Office after submitting the application, the foreigner must complete additional formalities. It is first necessary to obtain an act from your country and then to prepare a translation into Polish made by a sworn translator from the list of translators published on the website of the Ministry of Justice or the Consul of the Republic of Poland. This of course involves an additional time and cost, and thus – contributes to the prolongation of the proceedings. It is therefore worth to find time and resources!
Certificate from the country of origin of the foreigner about the ability to marry (only for a foreigner!) – this document can be obtained from the appropriate country of origin and it must also be translated into Polish as described above. This formality is necessary to confirm that a foreigner can marry.
There is an exception to the above rule! If a foreigner can not show the document required above, he has the right to request the District Court to issue a decision on release from the obligation to show it. The competent court in this case is the court that corresponds to the place of residence of the foreigner. In order not to slow down the proceedings, remember to pay the appropriate stamp duty. In the application, it is necessary to specify in detail the reasons why it is not possible to obtain a document so that its consideration is positive for the foreigner and does not make it impossible to get married.
Declaration by name – it is the name of the spouses who will be married after the marriage and their children. However, this statement, unlike the others, is in place in the presence of an official.
Proof of stamp duty payment – PLN 84.
When you take a concordat (religious) wedding …
In Poland, since 1998, it is also possible to marry a clergyman. If you decide to marry, you must:
Provide the clergyman with all the documents that are required by the given religious association (here the requirements are different – from the baptism certificate, through the certificate of the completion of the respective matrimonial courses),
Submission of a certificate from the Civil Registry Office – this is a certificate of no circumstances precluding marriage and results from the need to guarantee the legality of marriage in Polish law. In order to obtain a certificate, one should go to the Civil Registry Office competent for the place of residence of one of the nupturants and submit all the documents that were mentioned during the wedding in the Civil Registry Office. Additionally, however, you must submit …
Written assurance of non-existence of circumstances precluding marriage.
After completing the above procedure, the clergyman is obliged to provide documents within 5 days from the date of the marriage to the Civil Registry Office.
Finally, the following are also the answers to the most frequently asked questions on the subject:
What if the nupturient-foreigner is divorced or his marriage has been annulled? Then, in addition, he must provide the Civil Registry Office, together with other documents, with a short copy of the marriage certificate with an endorsement of divorce or a shortened copy of the marriage certificate with an annotation about the annulment of the marriage. Of course, just like any foreign document, it has to be translated (which has already been mentioned).
What if the nupturient-foreigner is widowed? Then it is necessary to provide a copy of the death certificate of the spouse, along with the translation on the principles discussed.
What are the conditions for marriage, that is when it is validly concluded? They are: the difference between the sex of nupturs, simultaneous presence, consistent a declaration of will to marry and the receipt of this statement by a competent person. In addition, for a religious marriage: submission of a declaration on the will to marry in the form of a denomination and drawing up a constitutive entry on the basis of documents sent by the clergyman and forwarded in a five-day period (as has already been mentioned).
What are the obstacles to entering a marriage? Despite the existence of the abovementioned there may be an obstacle preventing the conclusion of a legal relationship. Such obstacles include: failure to reach the required age, incapacitation of one of the nupturients, mental illness or mental retardation, stay in one of the nupturants in a married relationship, relationship between nupturants in a straight or lateral line (up to the second degree), affinity, and the relationship of adoption between the spouses.
Does the wedding guarantee the foreigner the right to stay or work permit in Poland? Unfortunately not. Such documents should be requested separately from the relevant office, where it may be examined whether the marriage is fictitious.