Brian GeekIf you are a citizen of Poland living in the United States of America, you don’t have to worry whenever your Polish international passport is getting expired, since you can always easily get it renewed right there in the USA.
Polish passport renewal in USA costs just $125, and it can be done at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington DC, or any of the Consulates General in Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York.
Polish Passport Renewal In USA
You can get your Polish international passport renewal done in the Embassy of Poland in Washington DC (the Consular and Polish Diaspora Section) or any of the Consulates General in different parts of the United States (in Los Angeles, Chicago or New York). First, you simply have to book an appointment ahead of time and visit their office on the date of your appointment.
Kindly note that you are required to submit these documents as you visit their office:
- The passport application form. This must be properly filled with the right details only, and you should pick it up from the Consulate General office around you.
- A color photo of yourself, which must comply with appropriate standards.
- An Abridged or Unabridged Polish Marriage Certificate, for folks who changed their names after they got married. Note that even if you didn’t change your name after you got married, if you don’t have the PESEL number, you must still submit your Polish Marriage Certificate either as a male or female (abridged or unabridged form)
- A copy of your Polish Birth Certificate (either abridged or unabridged). This is however for folks yet to obtain the PESEL number.
- Your current passport.
If you are deserving of a reduced passport fee, you can go with a document that confirms that you are eligible for this. If you are a student for instance, you can go to the office of the Consulate General with your student card and submit it alongside other important documents.
It should also be added that if the officials couldn’t clearly establish the identity and citizenship of the particular applicant, they can demand for more documents to know. Hence, you should ensure you are with a copy of your Polish Birth Certificate (either abridged or unabridged) as well as a copy of your Polish Marriage Certificate (either abridged or unabridged). In such cases where the consul couldn’t establish the identity and citizenship of the applicant, they may be required to submit an attestation of the province governor to attest to their Polish citizenship. They may also present valid foreign identity documents.
Cost Of Polish Passport Renewal In USA
Polish Passport Renewal in the United States of America costs just $125, which you have to pay at the office counter when you are submitting your application at any of the Consulates General. Kindly note that the payment is only accepted in the form of money order, cash, or cashier’s check.
If you are paying with a cashier’s check, it should be issued in accordance with the Consulate General you are making your application. That is to say, if you are making your application at the consulate general in Los Angeles, the check should be issued to the “Polish Consulate in Los Angeles”. If you are submitting your application at the consulate general in New York, your cashier’s check should be issued to “Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York”. If you are making yours in the Consulate General in Chicago, the check should be issued to the “Polish Consulate in Chicago”. However, if you are processing the renewal of your Polish international passport in the Embassy of Poland in Washington DC, then your check should be issued to the “Embassy of Poland”.
However, note that if it’s going to be handled by mail, you have to pay only by cashier’s check or money order. You are not permitted to pay via personal checks.
It should also be added that some categories of Poland citizens are qualified for a 50% discount. They include:
- Applicants who are students and still schooling.
- Polish applicants who are pensioners
- Polish applicants who are disabled
- Polish applicants who are being sustained by spouses that are either disabled or pensioners
- Folks living in a residential care facility
- Those getting a permanent benefit from the social service
- Folks who are war veterans
- Those who are members of a numerous family
It should be added that applicants in any of these categories should see to it that they present appropriate documents for review to confirm their eligibility when submitting their passport application. This is how they can benefit from the 50% discount.
There are certainly other people who won’t pay to get a new Polish international passport. They are folks that fall into any of these categories:
- Applicants that are 70 years and above
- Those living in a residential care facility and have to travel abroad for health reasons
- Those getting permanent benefits from the social service must travel abroad for health reasons
- Those who have Polish international passport has a technical fault.
Additionally, before an applicant can be exempted from paying any money to obtain a new Polish international passport (i.e for free), such must submit documents to confirm that they are in any of those categories.
On a general level, however, even if you are not in any of those categories, applicants will pay less amount of money to obtain a new Polish passport if they apply for a new one before the expiration of the current one, as far as the passport has no more free space for visas or border crossing stamps. Also, they can benefit if the data in the passport changed.
Finally, the Mission published a list of Polish passport fees for different categories of people. They are:
- $125 for general regular Polish international passports
- $40 for passports belonging to minors under 13
- $46 for temporary passports belonging to individuals between 18 and 70
- $34 for temporary passports belonging to minors
- $17 for temporary passports belonging to people under 70 years old awaiting a biometric passport
Kindly note that if your passport got missing or is damaged, you must pay up to $374 to get a new one as an adult. A minor would pay up to $230 for a new one.
Closing
Polish passport renewal in USA is pretty easy, as far as you adhere to the instructions given already. When an applicant has successfully submitted their passport application in the office of the Consulates General, they will get a written confirmation of application receipt, and they will also be informed of an estimated collection date. They can always track their passport progress online with the passport application number which they will find on the receipt.
Applicants can pick up their passport when it’s ready in the same office they made the application in the first place. If you submit your application to the Consulate General in Los Angeles for instance, that is the same place you will collect the passport when it is ready for collection. It is also important to add that applicants are required to bring their previous passport on the day of collection of the new passport.
If you want your passport sent to you by the Consulate when it is ready for collection, discuss this with the Consular beforehand as you are submitting your application. Of course, you have to give good reasons why this must be so (like if visiting the consulate again will be difficult for you). There is a form you have to fill out at the consulate when you are submitting your application if you fall into this category. You also must submit a well-written request and pay the postage. With this in place, the Consulate will mail your passport to you when it is ready for collection (to the address you indicated). They will do this through postal or messenger service operators. Of course, they have to first cancel your current passport before they will send the new one. Therefore, even if you are not picking up your new Polish international passport in person at the consulate general office, you should still send your current passport to them for cancellation first. The Consulates General in the United States of America will only attend to citizens of Poland in the United States of America, and not elsewhere.
Applicants that are in urgent need of a passport for any good reason can also apply for a temporary passport. The temporary passport can be utilized while you await the delivery of your main biometric passport. Temporary passports are released quicker than the main biometric ones. It is however important to state that different foreign countries have different regulations about the entry and stay of foreigners in their territories with a temporary passport. Therefore, Polish traveling to foreign countries with a temporary passport should ensure they check the current rules of the country beforehand.
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