Residence card of a family member of EU citizen

Documents

A family member of an EU citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Poland who is not an EU citizen, applying for a residence card, submits to the voivode competent for the place of their stay:

• completed, in accordance with the instruction, the application form for issuing a residence card – under pain of leaving the application unexamined. The rules for completing the application are presented in the next stage: "Filling in the application".

• 4 up-to-date photographs that clearly show the foreigner's face, without a hat and obscuring lenses, meeting the detailed criteria defined by law, i.e., undamaged, in colour, with good sharpness; 35 mm x 45 mm; made not earlier than 6 months before the date of submitting the application; showing the face from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, so that the face covers 70-80% of each photo, against a uniform light background, showing the foreigner facing straight, with open eyes, uncovered hair, with a natural face expression and closed mouth, as well as showing the natural the colour of their skin; clearly showing the foreigner's eyes, especially their pupils, and the foreigner's eye line parallel to the upper edge of the photograph - under pain of not processing the application.

  The regulations allow for a situation in which:

• a foreigner who wears a headgear in accordance with the rules of their religion attaches to the application photographs showing their in this headgear, provided that the headgear cannot cover or distort the oval of the face, and they will attach a declaration of the foreigner on belonging to a religious community;

• a foreigner with congenital or acquired eye defects may attach to the application photographs showing their wearing glasses with dark lenses. In this case, however, they should attach documents confirming the disability, and if it is not possible to present them, submit a declaration of disability,

• the application will be accompanied by photographs with closed eyes, other than a natural expression of the face or with an open mouth, if it is objectively justified (e.g., by their health condition).

• a photocopy of a valid travel document (at the same time presented to the person accepting the application with its original for inspection - under pain of no processing the application);

A family member of an EU citizen also submits a certificate of registration of residence of a European Union citizen issued to a European Union citizen with whom they reside in Poland, while a family member of a Polish citizen submits a copy of the spouse's identity document and their declaration of intention to return to Polish permanently. In both cases, the foreigner also submits a statement on the date of the last entry into Poland.

In addition:

• if you are the spouse of an EU citizen, present:

• a document confirming the marriage (e.g., a current copy of the marriage certificate issued no earlier than 3 months before the date of submission of the application).

• if you are a direct descendant of an EU citizen (i.e., you are the child of that EU citizen or their stepdaughter, under the age of 21 or dependent on an EU citizen or their spouse) present:

• a copy of the birth certificate and possibly other documents confirming your age and the existence of family ties (e.g., a parent's marriage certificate)

• (In addition, also if you are over the age of 21) documents proving that you are dependent on a parent/stepmother or stepfather (e.g., a statement by a parent/stepmother or stepfather about being dependent).

• if you are a direct ascendant of an EU citizen (i.e., you are the parent of that EU citizen or his/her mother-in-law and you are dependent on them or dependent on his/her son-in-law/daughter-in-law) present:

• a document confirming the existence of family ties (i.e., the child's birth certificate and possibly the child's marriage certificate)

• a document certifying that the EU citizen or their spouse is dependent.

• If you are a direct ascendant of a minor EU citizen, present:

• a document confirming the actual (i.e., actual) care of a minor and a document certifying that the minor is dependent on you.

• if you are the spouse of a citizen of the Republic of Poland, present:

• a document confirming the marriage (e.g., a current copy of the marriage certificate issued no earlier than 3 months before the date of submission of the application).

• a document confirming that your spouse immediately before arriving in Poland had a residence right of more than 3 months or the right of permanent residence in another EU Member State, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland;

• if you are the spouse of a citizen of the Republic of Poland who previously has the citizenship of another EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, please present:

• a document confirming the marriage (e.g., a current copy of the marriage certificate issued no earlier than 3 months before the date of submission of the application).

• document confirming possession (acquisition or restoration of citizenship of the Republic of Poland)

• a document proving the previous possession of the nationality of another EU/NO/IS/LI or CH Member State.

• if you are a direct descendant of a citizen of the Republic of Poland, present:

• a document confirming the existence of family ties (e.g., a copy of a birth certificate, or a parent's marriage certificate) and a document confirming your age (under 21 years of age) or certifying that you are dependent on a citizen of the Republic of Poland or their spouse,

• a document confirming that the citizen of the Republic of Poland immediately before arriving in Polish had the right of residence for more than 3 months or the right of permanent residence in another EU/NO/IS/LI or CH country.

• if you are a direct ascendant of a citizen of the Republic of Poland or their spouse in:

• a document confirming the existence of family ties (e.g., a copy of the own birth certificate – in the case of a parent or the birth certificate of a spouse together with a marriage certificate – in the case of a father-in-law) and a document certifying that a citizen of the Republic of Poland or their spouse is dependent,

• a document confirming that a citizen of the Republic of Poland immediately before arriving on the territory of the Republic of Poland had the right of residence for more than 3 months or the right of permanent residence in another EU/NO/IS/LI or CH country.

• if you are a direct ascendant of a minor citizen of the Republic of Poland, present:

• a document confirming the existence of family ties, a document confirming the actual care of a minor and a document certifying that they are dependent on you,

• a document confirming that the minor immediately before arriving in Poland had the right to stay for more than 3 months or the right of permanent residence in another EU/NO/IS/LI or CH country.

Remember!

• The documents should be attached in the original or in a copy certified to be a true copy of the original by a notary public or the party's attorney who is an attorney-at-law or legal advisor. Certification of the compliance of the copy with the original may also be done by an authorized employee of the voivodeship office in the administration office, upon presentation of the original document;

• Documents drawn up in a foreign language must be presented together with a sworn translation into Polish. The register of sworn translators is kept by the Ministry of Justice and is available at the link: https://arch-bip.ms.gov.pl/pl/rejestry-i-ewidencje/tlumacze-przysiegli/lista-tlumaczy-przysieglych/search.html ;

• documents closely related to each other should be presented jointly and remain valid on the date of presentation (copies of marital status records should be issued not earlier than 3 months before submitting the application).