Poland in Ethiopia

The mother or the father, as well as a court-appointed legal guardian or attorney ad litem submits a temporary passport application online, as a rule, if the child already has a PESEL number. 

Go to gov.pl:  Get a passport for a child.

REMEMBER! A temporary passport, as a rule, is issued only in an emergency (for example, in case of a death of a family member, sudden illness, lost or stolen documents and a need to return to the place of permanent residence). When applying for a temporary passport for a child, you must attach documents confirming the occurrence of the unforeseen circumstances. If the application does not meet the necessary requirements, the consul may refuse to issue a temporary passport by way of a decision.

REMEMBER! After you have submitted the online application, the passport fee will not be refunded.

The e-service allows you, generally speaking, to apply for a temporary passport for a child under 12 years of age without the need to visit a consular post.

You do not need to book an appointment. You can submit the application online. 

To use the e-passport service and file an e-application for a temporary passport, the mother, the father, a court-appointed legal guardian or attorney ad litem of a child under 12 years of age must have:

• a trusted profile or
• a qualified certificate of an electronic signature or
• a personal signature certificate (consent to a personal signature certificate is given when applying for an e-ID).

REMEMBER! To be able to submit the online temporary passport application for a child under the age of 12, you need the other guardian’s consent: mother, father, a legal guardian, or an attorney ad litem. For more information, go to the tab: “Consent to issue a passport for a child.”

REMEMBER! If the child was born outside Poland and does not have a Polish birth certificate, first you must transcribe (register) a foreign birth certificate. You can do it yourself at a register office of your choice in Poland or through a consular post outside Poland.

In this case, after obtaining a Polish birth certificate through transcription, the passport application cannot be submitted by using an e-service (issuance of a birth certificate does not mean issuing a PESEL number). The PESEL number for a child will be issued when filing a passport application at a consular post.

To file an online passport application, you will need:

1. One recent (taken within the last six months) colour photo of the child in a digital format to be attached to the e-application. It you want to take the photo yourself, check how to take a passport photo.
2. Proof of payment of a passport fee transferred to the relevant consular post’s bank account (after you have submitted the e-application, it will not be refunded).
3. Consent of the other parent to the issue of the temporary passport. If the other parent has not registered their consent to the passport at a consular post (outside Poland), at a passport authority (in Poland) or through the e-service Consent to the issue of a passport for a child, you must attach their consent with their signature authenticated by a notary to the application. The original must be sent by mail to the consular post for verification. 
4. If the other parent's parental rights have been terminated or restricted with regard to giving consent to issue a passport, a document stating the scope of parental responsibility (i.e. a relevant decision of a family court) must be attached. The original must be sent by mail to the consular post for verification.
5. If the mother and the father disagree or the consent cannot be obtained from one of them, attach a relevant family court’s ruling. The original must be sent by mail to the consular post for verification. By submitting the family court ruling, you can obtain one passport only.

Fee for an online passport application for a child under the age of 12 is USD. The fee must be paid through a bank transfer to the consular post’s bank account. For the account number contact the office via email: addisabeba.konsul@msz.gov.pl

When you submit the application online, you will receive a proof of receipt to your e-mail address. It will include the number of your passport application, which will be useful to:

• track your application online,
• activate your child’s passport online if required.

REMEMBER! Given that temporary passports, as a general rule, are only issued in emergency situations, the consul takes a decision on the passport application without delay.  The consul will inform you if providing any missing information in the passport e-application is necessary. This may delay your application.

The child's temporary passport can be collected by either of the parents (guardian/attorney ad litem) in person at the same consular post where the e-application was submitted.

To collect the new document, bring:

• a valid identity document (a personal identification card or a passport),
• the child's previous passport (or temporary passport). The current passport will be cancelled, except for pages with valid visas, and returned.

REMEMBER! A child under 5 does not need to be present when you collect the passport. To collect a temporary passport for a child aged 5 to 12, the child must be present with their parent, guardian or attorney ad litem.

REMEMBER! If you have received a temporary passport for a child (under the age of 5) by mail, you need to activate it yourself via a dedicated electronic service.  To activate the passport, you will need:

• Internet access,
• the child’s temporary passport number,
• the application number (you will find it in the proof of receipt of your passport application).

Can I file an online application to get a temporary passport for a child born outside Poland?

REMEMBER! Generally speaking, you will not be able to make a temporary passport application online if the child doesn’t have the PESEL number. To get a temporary passport, you need the child’s PESEL number. Outside Poland, it is the consul who applies for the PESEL number to be issued and does so only in connection with a passport application for a child who is not yet a PESEL holder. The child must have a Polish birth certificate to obtain the PESEL number. This means that you must have a foreign birth certificate of your child registered with a Register Office of your choice in Poland first, and then file a passport application in person (and obtain the PESEL number for the child) at a consular post.

If I file an online application for a child's temporary passport, can I receive it by mail?

The consul may agree that you do not have to collect the passport for a child personally only in the case of children under the age of 5. After the consul agrees not to require you to collect the document personally, you will have to cover the delivery cost. The consul will send the temporary passport to the indicated address by mail or courier, ensuring the security of the document. The consul will annul the current valid passport of the child before the temporary document is sent. Please remember to bring the current passport or temporary passport of the child to the consular post. It will be cancelled (except for the pages containing valid visas) and then returned.