Recently, our law firm took on the case of a person who, due to procedural complications, had no identification documents other than a student ID.
This person had absolutely no way of obtaining either a passport or any other document proving his or her citizenship.
This caused enormous problems in handling any official matter. The root of this situation was the person’s extramarital birth. Because at the time of birth, there was a legal presumption of paternity by the mother’s husband (both spouses were foreign nationals), the establishment of paternity (by a Polish citizen) had to be carried out in a separate court proceeding; however, this proceeding took place after the person had turned one year old and, as a result, did not lead to the person’s automatic acquisition of Polish citizenship. The establishment of paternity by a Polish court, in turn, was never registered in the mother’s country of origin. Consequently, under Polish law, this person bore the surname of the biological father, whereas under the law of the mother’s country of origin, she continued to bear the surname of the mother’s husband. This person’s parents had been trying unsuccessfully for many years to regularize their child’s legal status and, above all, to determine her citizenship. The situation was becoming increasingly dire because the individual had already reached the age of majority and faced the real threat of having to navigate adult life without any form of identification.
Ultimately, the case was referred to our law firm, which successfully handled the proceedings to recognize this person as a Polish citizen, even though she was unable to present a valid passport or even a residence card. As a result, she can now obtain a Polish ID card and passport.
