Marriage to a foreigner

If you intend to marry a foreign citizen but the person does not have a document certifying the absence of marriage impediments (i.e., circumstances that exclude the possibility of marriage under the law of the country of which he or she is a citizen), you can apply to the court for an exemption from the requirement to file such a document. In such a situation, the court itself will determine whether your foreign partner can marry.

According to the rules of civil procedure, your application should include:

1. the designation of the court to which it is addressed - the application should be

submitted to the district court with jurisdiction over the applicant's place of residence;

2. the names or surnames of the parties, their legal representatives and attorneys – this

information should be included under the designation of the court. Enter "Applicant" here, followed by your name and residence address. In addition to your data, you should also indicate the same information about your partner whom you should describe as "Participant." If you have an attorney indicate him/her by noting "represented by (name, surname, mailing address of the attorney and his/her professional title)";

3. designate the type of letter - describe the "title" of the application as "Application for

exemption from the obligation to submit to the registry office the document needed for marriage";

4. the body of the application or statement - this is the substantive part of the application, which states what the actual intention of the applicant is. You should state your request in detail in it;
5. An indication of the facts on which you base your request, and an indication of the

evidence to prove each of these facts;

6. Signature of the party or its legal representative or attorney;
7. List of the attachments.

It is important to attach to the application:

1. A copy of the application and attachments;
2. A copy of your birth certificate and the person you intend to marry with a sworn translation;
3. A photocopy of the foreigner's passport - the page confirming identity and citizenship (i.e., the page with a photo) is sufficient;
4. If the foreigner with whom you intend to marry was previously married and subsequently divorced, the divorce decree must also be attached along with a sworn translation;
5. Declaration of first marriage (if neither partner has ever been married before);
6. Information on whether a sworn translator will be required during the proceedings.

The application fee is PLN 100, which should be paid to the court's account.

Proceedings on applications for exemption from the obligation to submit to the registry office a document needed for marriage take an average of 3 months. It should be borne in mind that the more documents constituting evidence of the facts mentioned in the application are mentioned in the application, the greater the chance of faster completion of the proceedings. This is because it often happens that the courts, if doubts are raised during the processing of applications, turn to the relevant ministries to interpret the law, which significantly extends the time of the proceedings.

If you need professional legal assistance in the area of marriage to a foreigner, we encourage you to contact our law firm!