In today’s post, you will learn about registration of a foreign divorce in Poland. So you will find out how to register a foreign divorce in Poland. You will get information about what documents are needed and how long the procedure takes.
Registration of a foreign divorce in Poland
You can conduct the registration procedure of a foreign divorce decree if you have a divorce decree issued by:
– a court of an EU Member State from 1 May 2004 and
– court of a non-EU country since 1 July 2009
Registration of a foreign divorce in Poland
Divorce judgments issued by the courts of the EU Member States since May 1, 2004 are directly recognized by the Polish authorities and are only subject to the registration procedure. You will carry out this registration procedure in Poland at the registry office (urząd stanu cywilnego).
Similarly, divorce judgments issued by courts of non-EU countries since 1 July 2009 are also directly recognized by the Polish authorities and are only subject to the registration procedure.
Recognition of foreign divorces
However, the remaining judgments require the recognition of the divorce judgment in Poland. This is because divorce judgments issued on the territory of the EU before May 1, 2004 or outside this territory before July 1, 2009 may be recognized in Poland only as a result of proceedings in a Polish court.
Registration of a foreign divorce in Poland
The procedure for registering a foreign divorce judgment in Poland consists in entering a note of the divorce in the marriage certificate.
To register a foreign divorce judgment in Poland, you should submit an application to the registry office where you entered into or registered your marriage. You can find a list of registry offices here.
The following documents must be attached to the application:
–a final divorce judgment in the original (in the case of some judgments, it is necessary to legalize the document, see Apostille and legalization of the official document),
– translation of the judgment into Polish by a sworn translator,
-in the case of judgments issued by the courts of the EU Member States, the certificate referred to in Art. 39 of the Council Regulation 2201/2003 (issued by the competent foreign court), the so-called Form of Certificate under Article 39 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 of November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters – known as „Form F42” or „Form 42”,
– translation of „Form 42”,
– in the event that the divorce decree was issued in absentia, in accordance with Art. 37 of Council Regulation 2201/2003, also provide the original or a certified copy of the document stating that the document instituting the proceedings or an equivalent document was served on the party who did not appear.
NOTE: In order to translate the above-mentioned documents, you should contact a sworn translator in Poland.
How to register a foreign divorce in Poland?
You can register in person at the competent registry office in Poland or by an attorney with a power of attorney.
You will wait approx. 1-4 weeks for the registration of the judgment.
Registration of a foreign divorce in Poland
Gawor Kancelaria Prawna specializes in registering foreign divorces in Poland for clients from all over the world. We register divorces in registry offices throughout Poland.
NOTE: You do not need to come to Poland to register a foreign divorce in Poland. All you need to do is grant us a power of attorney and we will arrange everything for you.
If you need more information on the registration of divorce judgments in Poland, make an appointment with us. For customers staying abroad, there is a possibility of consultation via Skype.
You can read more about registering a foreign divorce judgment here.
Read more about the recognition of a foreign divorce judgment here.