Poland in Thailand

A foreign civil status certificate can be registered at a selected civil status office in Poland. Registration can be done in three ways: a) in person at the Civil Registry Office in Poland; b) by proxy (e.g. a family member living in Poland); c) through the consul.

Personal registration is the fastest method of registering a civil status certificate.

In the matter of registering a foreign civil status certificate through a proxy or immediate family: ascendants (grandparents, parents), descendants (children, grandchildren), spouse, siblings, please contact the relevant Civil Registry Office in advance to arrange the required documents.

You can also submit an application for registration to the territorially competent consular office of the Republic of Poland.

Documents can be submitted in person or sent by post.

You can book your appointment to apply for a visa via the e-konsulat system, by choosing “Legal matters” from the menu on the left of the screen. If the system does not show a date you want, it means there are no slots available on that date or the Consular Section is closed. New appointments are opened every Tuesday from 10.00-10.30 a.m. local time.  

Thai offices already issue English-language civil status certificates (birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, etc.). Having an English-language act facilitates the procedure of document registration in Poland.

Documents required:

1) transcription application (downloadable at the bottom of this page),
2) original foreign marriage certificate, legalized by the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
3) translation of a foreign marriage certificate into Polish

Documents prepared in a foreign language must be submitted with an official translation into Polish by:

1) a sworn translator entered on the list kept by the Minister of Justice,
2) consul.

If the foreign marriage certificate contains information about the surnames of the spouses after the marriage and about the surnames of the children born out of the marriage, you can also include statements on this matter when submitting the transcription application or submit a statement to the consul for the record.

1. The visa fee is 1806 THB.
2. Consular fees should be paid upon submitting your application at the Consular Section.
3. Accepted forms of payment: cash.
4. The final amount of the fee will be determined during the visit after analyzing the submitted documents.
5. More information about the payment is available here: Consular fees.

The consul will immediately forward your application to the head of the Register Office of your choice

A Polish copy of the marriage certificate can be collected in person at the consulate or sent by post.

The head of the Register Office will refuse to transcribe a foreign civil status document if:

• A document is not considered to be a civil status document or is not a valid official document or has not been issued by the competent authority in the issuing state, or raises doubts as to its authenticity, or confirms an occurrence other than birth, marriage or death.
• A foreign document was created as a result of transcription in a state other than the state of occurrence.
• It would be contrary to basic principles of Poland’s legal order.

A refusal to transcribe a foreign civil status certificate will take the form of an administrative decision which may be appealed with the competent provincial governor for the territory in question.

Do both parents have to be present to submit a transcription application?

No, both parents do not have to be present while submitting an application to transcribe their child’s birth certificate. Transcription application to a chosen head of the Register Office may be filed by a person affected by the occurrence that is subject to transcription or by any other person who will prove a legal interest in transcription. 

Can a transcription application be filed by a person other than parent?

Anyone “who will prove a legal interest in transcription” can file a transcription application. That is why the cases of applications submitted by e.g. unrelated persons or local institutions are considered on an individual basis.

My partner gave birth to our child in XXX. Our child’s birth certificate shows me as the child’s father. But my partner’s divorce lawsuit is still pending in Poland. Will the transcribed Polish birth certificate show the details of her husband as the child’s father?

No, details of the child’s father will be the same as in the foreign birth certificate. During the appointment you will asked to provide the address of the partner’s husband. After the transcription, the head of the Register Office will notify her husband of registering the child’s birth and entering your details as the child’s father. The head of the Register Office will also instruct the partner’s husband that if he acknowledges his paternity he may bring legal action for the denial of paternity.

Does a Polish birth certificate also involve the assignment of a PESEL number?

Not exactly. In the case of persons born abroad and without a registered address in Poland, the issuance (as a result of transcription) of a Polish birth certificate is a necessary condition for assigning a PESEL number. However, the PESEL application for a child is filed only during a passport appointment. In the case of persons who have their certificates transcribed in connection with ongoing proceedings to confirm holding Polish citizenship, obtaining a positive decision from a provincial governor on holding Polish citizenship will be an additional condition for a passport application to be accepted (and a PESEL number to be assigned).

Details in our child’s foreign birth certificate have been saved without Polish characters. How does it affect the transcription application?

In this case you may request to have the spelling in the transcribed certificate adapted to the rules of Polish spelling or request the rectification of the details based on your marriage certificate or your birth certificates. However, while the Register Offices in Poland can correct the details of the parents in their child’s birth certificate on such a basis (as persons who already have civil status certificates in Poland), they do not always correct the details of the child. This may lead to a situation where the parents’ details will be saved according to the rules of Polish spelling while the child’s will be saved without Polish characters.